General Correspondence, 1939-91

Component identifier:

Series 1

Content Summary:

Box numbers for Correspondence files are ordered chronologically and can be found below the alphabetical correspondents list.

Only a small number of letters have survived from Clark's years in Melbourne and Oxford or even from his first years in Canberra. The correspondence essentially begins in 1953, when Clark and his family moved into the house in Tasmania Circle, Forrest, designed by Robin Boyd. Clark lived there for the rest of his life and most of the papers were accumulated in that house.

Until the late 1960s most of the letters were filed simply by date. Clark then began to devise a more complex filing system, forming sequences under such headings as 'Comments on my work', 'My great friends' and 'Public life'. Sadly, there were great inconsistencies in his filing. Letters from a particular person can be found under several headings, while routine or business letters can be found under the heading 'My great friends'. Some sequences were abandoned and near the end of his life he again filed many letters simply by year. Despite the inconsistencies, the files have been left largely intact.

In his last years Clark began to create files for specific individuals, especially close friends, and he removed their letters from the more general files. This rearrangement was incomplete at the time of his death. The Library has not created any new files for individuals, but where a file already existed it added letters from the individual found elsewhere in the general correspondence.

Many of the files contain newspaper cuttings and printed ephemera, as well as letters. This is especially true of the sequences 'Comments on my work' and 'Public life'.

Clark wrote most of his letters and postcards by hand and did not keep copies. The bulk of the correspondence therefore consists of incoming letters. However, he often made handwritten drafts of letters of importance and they can be found among the letters he received. In addition, there is one folder of out-letters and drafts (1/65).

The series is a large one, containing well over 10,000 letters. Clark maintained a very wide correspondence and in some cases it continued for decades. His most prolific correspondents were Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Geoffrey Fairbairn, James McAuley, R.M. Crawford, John La Nauze, Sir Keith Hancock, Frank Kellaway, Geoffrey Dutton, Don Baker, Barbara Penny, Russel Ward, Judah Waten, Patrick White, Bruce Grant, Ken Inglis, G.P. Shaw, John Ritchie, Lyndall Ryan, Suzanne Welborn, Pat Dobrez, Humphrey McQueen, Helen Garner and John Embling. A more extensive list of the principal correspondents can be found in Appendix I. It should be noted that many of the correspondents only used their first names and often it has not been possible to identify them with certainty.

Most other series in the collection also contain correspondence. In particular, letters can be found in the series entitled Australian National University (7), Harvard University (8), Journeys (10), nearly all the series on publications (11-26) and Family correspondence (30). Select list of correspondents in Series 1: Clark received letters from thousands of individuals. The following list covers writers who are either well-known or who were frequent correspondents and indicates the approximate date range of their letters to Clark. It is not comprehensive, as many writers only used their first names and they cannot be identified with any certainty.

It should be noted that letters of many of the writers listed below can be found in other series, in addition to Series 1.

Adams, Phillip 1977-89

Alexander, Fred, Prof. 1959

Anderson, Hugh 1958

Anderson, Jessica 1988

Armstrong, David, Prof. 1961-90

Arndt, Heinz, Prof. 1954-90

Atwood, Margaret 1978

Auchmuty, J. J, Prof. 1972

Auchmuty, Rosemary 1972-85

Aurousseau, Marcel 1966-71

Baier, Kurt 1987

Bail, Murray 1989

Bailey, Sir Kenneth 1958-72

Baker, Don 1964-90

Ball, W. Macmahon, Prof. 1959-85

Barrett, John 1981-82

Barry, Sir John 1957-59

Bartlett, Norman 1975-78

Bassett, Marnie, Lady 1967-72

Bean, C. E. W 1959

Blainey, Geoffrey, Prof. 1953-90

Bolton, Alec 1959

Bolton, Geoffrey, Prof. 1961-85

Boyd, Arthur 1972-85

Boyd, Robin 1952-55

Briggs, Asa, Prof. 1959

Brisbane, Katharine 1971

Brissenden, R.F 1956

Bryan, Harrison 1983

Bruce, S. M, Viscount 1963

Buckley, Vincent, Prof. 1956-60

Burke, Sir Joseph 1972

Burns, Creighton 1954-55

Burton, Herbert, Prof. 1955-83

Campbell, David 1967-78

Campion, Edmund 1990

Carolin, Mary 1981-85

Chisholm, A. H 1959

Christesen, C.B. 1955-90

Cobley, John 1962-65

Coleman, Peter 1958-83

Coombs, H. C 1972-90

Cowen, Sir Zelman 1956-80

Cowper, Sir Norman 1975-85

Craven, Peter 1989-90

Crawford, Sir John 1962-68

Crawford, R. M, Prof. 1954-85

Crisp, Helen 1986-90

Crisp, L. F, Prof. 1955-83

Crocker, Sir Walter 1956

Crowley, Frank, Prof. 1955-89

Cumburlege, G. 1952-56

Curnow, Tim 1981-87

Currey, C.H. 1951-66

Dacre, Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron 1981

Dallas, Ken 1956

D'Alpuget, Blanche 1980-87

Dark, Eleanor 1946-80

Darling, Sir James 1965-75

Davidson, Alistair 1963-70

Davidson, Jim 1984

Davies, Alan, Prof. 1961

Davis, Beatrice 1958-86

Dawe, Bruce 1981-88

Dening, Greg, Prof. 1957-70

Denoon, Donald, Prof. 1972-73

Devaney, James 1958-70

Dobrez, Livio 1982-90

Dobrez, Pat 1982-91

Dobson, Rosemary 1976-90

Downing, R. I, Prof. 1955-75

Drysdale, Sir Russell 1975-80

Durack, Mary 1983

Dutton, Geoffrey 1960-91

Dutton, Ninette 1984

Duyker, Ed 1986-87

Ebbels, Noel 1955

Eddy, John 1975

Egerton, Judy 1957-90

Elliott, Jane 1989

Elliott, Ralph, Prof. 1983

Ellis, M. H 1955-62

Embling, John 1980-88

Eyre, Frank 1951-59

Fabinyi, Andrew 1962

Fairbairn, Geoffrey 1945-80

Ferguson, G. A 1954-61

Ferguson, Sir John 1952-61

Fitzgerald, Tom 1958-61

Fitzhardinge, L. F 1956-60

Fitzpatrick, Brian 1954-61

Fitzpatrick, Dorothy 1961-80

Fitzpatrick, Kathleen 1953-90

Fry, Eric 1959-86

Gammage, Bill 1964-89

Gardiner, Laurie 1954-84

Garner, Helen 1978-90

Gibson, R. Boyce, Prof. 1955

Gilbert, Alan 1965

Golding, Bill 1975-83

Gollan, Robin, Prof. 1975

Goodall, Heather 1983

Grant, Bill 1987-90

Grant, Bruce 1956-88

Grattan, Hartley 1967-79

Green, Dorothy 1980-83

Greenwood, Gordon, Prof. 1957-82

Greenwood, Irene 1981-84

Grey, Nancy 1989

Grimshaw, Patricia 1989

Grose, Kelvin 1970-71

Haddrick, Ron 1967

Hamer, Sir Rupert 1953-81

Hancock, Ian 1971-90

Hancock, Sir Keith 1956-84

Hardy, Frank 1961-90

Harlow, Vincent, Prof. 1956

Harper, Norman, Prof. 1955-72

Harris, Stewart 1972

Harrower, Elizabeth 1980

Hart, Kevin 1977-80

Hasluck, Sir Paul 1971-72

Hawke, R. J 1983

Hazzard, Shirley 1980

Hayden, Bill 1981-82

Headon, David 1990

Henderson, Peter 1985-86

Herbert, Xavier 1978-83

Hergenhan, Laurie 1966-74

Heydon, Sir Peter 1970

Hodgkin, D. K. R 1056-60

Hohnen, R. A 1956-57

Hone, Brian 1954-58

Hooper, Beverley 1975

Hope, A. D, Prof. 1956-81

Hope, Jeffrey 1959-60

Horne, Donald 1985-89

Humphries, Barry 1965-88

Huxley, Sir Leonard 1966

Inglis, Amirah 1962-75

Inglis, Ken, Prof. 1955-90

Jacobs, Marjorie 1957

James, Gwyn 1953-60

Jolley, Elizabeth 1991

Jones, Barry 1980-83

Jose, Nicholas 1981

Kellaway, Bill 1956-58

Kellaway, Frank 1979-91

Kiddle, Margaret 1953-57

Kiernan, Colm, Prof. 1955-84

King, Hazel 1963

Kinloch, Hector 1966-83

Kneipp, Pauline 1970

Knight, Ruth 1961-66

Koch, Christopher 1965

Kramer, Dame Leonie 1972-88

Krugerskaya, Oskana 1961

La Nauze, John, Prof. 1954-81

Lacour-Gayet, R 1971

Lawson, Sylvia 1983

Legge, John, Prof. 1955-80

Lindsay, Joan, Lady 1979

Low, Anthony, Prof. 1975

Lowenstein, Wendy 1981-82

McAuley, James, Prof. 1956-76

McBriar, A 1958-59

MacCallum, Duncan 1955

McCarty, John 1979

McCulloch, Sam, Prof. 1957-80

MacDonagh, Oliver, Prof. 1965-66

McInnes, Graham 1965-69

Macintyre, Stuart, Prof. 1982-90

McKay, Fred, Rev. 1983

McKernan, Michael 1971-84

McLachlan, Noel 1959-89

McLeod, Don 1981

McManners, John 1956-60

McPhee, Hilary 1985-91

McQueen, Humphrey 1981-90

Mair, Ian 1956-84

Malouf, David 1983-90

Mansfield, Bruce, Prof. 1979-90

Marchant, Leslie, Prof. 1956-85

Marshall, Alan 1966-84

Martin, Allan, Prof. 1955-89

Martin, David 1962

Martin, Philip 1974

Masterman, K. 1956

Melville, Sir Leslie 1960

Milner, Ian 1967-90

Molony, John, Prof. 1974-89

Moore, Tom Inglis, Prof. 1956

Morgan, Ed 1989-90

Morris, Deirdre 1971-75

Morrison, John 1961

Moyal, Ann 1966-85

Muir, T. L 1954-55

Mulvaney, John, Prof. 1971-83

Murdoch, Iris 1967-90

Murray, Les 1968-87

Murray-Smith, Stephen 1954-87

Murtagh, J. G 1955-57

Nairn, Bede, Prof. 1964-82

Neale, R. G, Prof. 1956

Niall, Brenda 1974-90

Nolan, Sir Sidney 1967-80

O'Brien, Eris, Archbishop 1954-67

O'Brien, John 1961

O'Connor, Mark 1982-90

O'Farrell, Patrick, Prof. 1965-75

Oliphant, Sir Mark 1962-89

O'shaughnessy, Peter 1972

Owen, T. M 1954-90

Packer, David 1958-60

Palmer, Helen 1959-60

Partridge, P. H, Prof. 1966

Paszkowski, Lech 1972-82

Penny, Barbara 1955-80

Perkins, Elizabeth 1980-82

Phillip, June 1954-56

Phillips, A. A 1955-59

Pike, Douglas, Prof. 1957-67

Porter, Hal 1966

Poynter, John, Prof. 1971

Price, Sir Archibald Grenfell 1963

Prichard, Katharine S. 1967

Pringle, J. D 1955-81

Pryor, Len 1957-85

Pugh, Clifton 1985

Radi, Heather 1975-83

Rathausky, Rima 1984-87

Reed, Bill 1980-84

Reid, Genette 1977-90

Reynolds, John 1955

Reynolds, Margaret 1960-87

Ritchie, John, Prof. 1961-89

Rivett, Rohan 1966

Roberts, Barney 1982-91

Robinson, Portia 1972-83

Robson, Lloyd 1967-90

Roderick, Colin, Prof. 1953-65

Roe, Jill, Prof. 1966-89

Roe, Michael, Prof. 1960-81

Roland, Betty 1984

Rowse, A. L 1956

Roxburghe, Rachel 1987-90

Rudé, George, Prof. 1961-64

Runciman, Sir Steven 1970

Rusden, Heather 1983

Rudnitsky, Artem 1987-91

Ryan, John 1980-85

Ryan, Julia 1981-84

Ryan, Lyndall 1968-91

Ryan, Peter 1970-84

Ryan, Susan 1981-89

Santamaria, B. A 1983-85

Sayers, Stuart 1966-84

Sculthorpe, Peter 1982

Serle, Geoffrey, Prof. 1954-90

Seymour, Alan 1965

Shaw, A. G. L, Prof. 1960-67

Shaw, George 1966-89

Shaw, Sir Patrick 1956-72

Sheehan, Frank 1981-84

Sinclair, K. V, Prof. 1980-86

Sinclair, Keith, Prof. 1960-84

Smith, Bernard, Prof. 1982-91

Souter, Gavin 1974-87

Southern, Sir Richard 1965-90

Stead, Christina 1981

Stephen, Sir Ninian 1988-89

Steward, H. D 1982-89

Stewart, Douglas 1953-83

Stilwell, Geoffrey 1966

Stivens, Dal 1971

Stow, Randolph 1966

Stretton, Hugh, Prof. 1958-69

Sumner, Humphrey 1939

Swan, K. J 1966-71

Tawney, R. H, Prof. 1955

Throssell, Ric 1959-89

Thwaites, Michael 1940-87

Tipping, Marjorie 1967-72

Todd, Murray 1954-57

Tomasetti, Glen 1961-90

Tranter, John 1981

Turner, Ian, Prof. 1958-78

Waddy, Lloyd 1983

Ward, John M., Prof. 1960-65

Ward, Russel, Prof. 1954-89

Waten, Judah 1954-85

Waterhouse, Jill 1967-80

Watson, Don 1983-91

Welborn, Suzanne 1973-91

West, Francis, Prof. 1965

West, Morris 1984

White, Patrick 1961-89

Whiting, Bertram 1956-65

Whitlam, E. G 1974-78

Wigmore, Lionel 1956-75

Williams, Mick, Prof. 1955-86

Williamson, David 1973-88

Winant, Ursula 1969

Winks, Robin, Prof. 1965

Wood, F. L. W, Prof. 1959-65

Woolcott, Richard 1967-90

Wright, Judith 1967-88

Yarwood, A. T, Prof. 1967-81

Zainu'ddin, Ailsa 1954-69

Zubrzycki, George, Prof. 1982

Immediate source of acquisition:

Manning Clark's association with the National Library extended over forty years and much of his research for A history of Australia was carried out in its reading rooms. In the final volume, published in 1987, he wrote that 'The Petherick Room, the Manuscripts Room, and the Newspaper Room are present in every page of this volume, just as they are present always in my heart'. In 1988 Clark began transferring papers from his home to the Library and they were formally presented under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme in April 1989. Further donations under the Scheme were made in January 1990, June 1990 and May 1991, a few days before his death. The papers received in 1989-91 make up the bulk of the collection. They include most of the correspondence, the drafts of his books and other writings, and the research material for A history of Australia. In his will Clark bequeathed his papers and unpublished works to the Library on condition that they be closed until the year 2000. The remaining papers were received from Dymphna Clark in 1994-95. They included his diaries, notebooks and further correspondence, including some substantial files of letters from major correspondents. Some correspondence, manuscript articles and references were also transferred from the History Department at the Australian National University.

Names:

Clark, Manning, AC, Professor (Charles Manning Hope)

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