Guide to the Papers of Delprat and Teppema Families, 1816-1998

Summary

Collection number:

MS 7029, MS Acc02.247, MS Acc09.178

Creator:

Delprat and Teppema Families

Extent:

8.72 metres and (30 boxes, 12 folio boxes, 2 map folios, 1 folder)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Delprat and Teppema Families, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection is largely concerned with three generations of the Delprat/Teppema family, documenting their lives in the Netherlands, Australia, Argentina and Uruguay. It is distinguished by the remarkably complete and well-ordered nature of the family's correspondence, particularly between Tania Teppema/Hemblys-Scales and her parents. There are also letters of Daniel Delprat (1816-1840) and his son F.A.T. Delprat (1820-1933); letters and papers of Guillaume Delprat and his wife Henriette (1894-1937); material relating to the musical career and travels of Carmen Delprat (1904-1956); personal and diplomatic papers of Peter Teppema (1912-1960), photograph albums, diaries, invitations, press cuttings and several extraordinary items of realia, notably a nineteenth century tortoiseshell-bound Dutch bible; a ceremonial Japanese lacquered bowl presented by the Emperor of Japan and a lacquered box containing Japanese insignia and ribbon. The collection also contains material on Sir Douglas and Lady Mawson and photographs and other items relating to Broken Hill and the Newcastle Steelworks.

This is an intensely personal collection, documenting in detail aspects of mid-twentieth century diplomatic life, as well as intimate details of the lives of the members of this family.

Biographical Note:

Material in the collection covers several members of the family: Daniel Delprat, Theodore (F.A.T.) Delprat, Guillaume Daniel Delprat, Henriette Delprat, Daniel Apollonius Delprat, Elizabeth Francisca Carmen Delprat/Teppema, Petrus Ephrem Teppema, Tania Virginia Teppema/Hemblys-Scales

DANIEL DELPRAT:

Daniel Delprat was Chaplain to the Dutch court early in the nineteenth century, but no biographical details are revealed in this collection.

THEODORE (F.A.T.) DELPRAT:

Theodore was Daniel's son who had a military career and was briefly Dutch Minister of Defence in first half of the nineteenth century.

GUILLAUME DANIEL (G.D.) DELPRAT:

Born 1856 in the Netherlands, he was an engineer in charge of a Scottish copper mining project in Spain when he was offered the position of General Manger of B.H.P. in 1898. G.D. Delprat had an enormous influence on the development of B.H.P. and was instrumental in the establishment of the Newcastle Steelworks. He died in 1937.

HENRIETTE DELPRAT (nee Jas):

Wife of G.D. Delprat. G.D. and Henriette Delprat had five daughters and a son:

Mary married Bullinghe Wichers (Dutch diplomat)

Leintie married Fer McDonald

Carman married Peter Teppema (Dutch diplomat)

Paquita married Douglas Mawson (Antarctic explorer)

Lice married Milo Sprod (doctor)

Theo - marriage details unknown.

DANIEL APOLLONIUS DELPRAT:

G.D. Delprat's nephew, was born in the Netherlands in 1890. He was a director of the Suez Canal Company, a Senator and a director of the Dutch shipping company, Netherlandsche Handel-Maatschopjiy, N.V.

ELIZABETH FRANCISCA CARMEN DELPRAT:

(known usually as Elizabeth as a child and Carmen as an adult):

Born 1889 in Spain, daughter of G.D. Delprat, Carmen was a professional violinist and violin teacher before her marriage. The collection contains concert programs and mementoes relating to her performances both in Australia and in Europe between 1904 and 1918, and also prospectuses and reports of the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (1916-18) which refer to her teaching career. She married Petrus Ephrem (Peter) Teppema in 1918 and died in 1959.

PETRUS EPHREM TEPPEMA

(known usually as Peter or Teppie):

Born in Netherlands in 1890, Peter joined the Dutch Foreign Service and was appointed Dutch Vice-Consul to Melbourne in 1914. From 1920 till 1931 he was Dutch Consul-General to Sydney, New Zealand and British possessions in Polynesia. He was appointed Dutch Minister to Argentina in 1932 (and to Bolivia in 1941) and remained in South America until 1944, when he became Dutch representative to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (S.H.A.E.F.) in London. He was also briefly Dutch Ambassador to the Czech Government in exile in London in 1945. He was appointed Dutch Minister to Spain in 1946 but did not take up the appointment, as the Netherlands withdrew diplomatic representation in Spain because of United Nations' disagreement with the nature of Franco's government. He then became Dutch Minister to Australia in 1947. His last posting was to Tokyo in 1952-1955 as Netherlands Ambassador to Japan. He and his wife Carmen then moved to Montevideo to live. He died in Uruguay in 1960.

TANIA VIRGINIA TEPPEMA/HEMBLYS-SCALES:

Born in 1925, in Sydney, the only child of Peter and Carmen Teppema. Tania spent her early childhood in Sydney and moved to Buenos Aires with her parents in 1932. She remained there until 1944, when she enrolled at South College, Massachusetts, but apparently did not graduate. She moved to Canberra with her parents in 1947 and married Robert Hemblys-Scales, an Englishman working for the British War Office in Canberra in 1949. Robert Hemblys-Scales was in MI5 (the British Security service) and later in MI6 (the British overseas intelligence service). The Hemblys-Scales were posted to Ismailia in the Suez Canal Zone in 1949, to Singapore in 1951 and to Bangkok in 1952. They lived in London for a year in 1955 before moving to Munich and finally Peru in 1961. Robert then left the British Foreign Service and went into business. They then moved to Buenos Aires, where Robert suffered severe business difficulties involving heavy financial loss. After separating from her husband, Tania reverted to her maiden name, living in Punta del Este, a resort town on the Uruguayan coast. She has no children.

Collection Retrieval Advice:

Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there may be multiple Box 1s). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Library by Tania Teppema in 1984.

Indexed terms

Names:

Delprat and Teppema Families

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2592155).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Delprat and Teppema Families, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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