Select documents in Australian history, 1948-56

Component identifier:

Series 12

Content Summary:

In 1946 Clark began to teach Australian history at the University of Melbourne and his teaching led him to search for early Australian documents in the Public Library of Victoria and the Mitchell Library in Sydney. Two years later he decided to publish some of the documents he had used in his teaching. Len Pryor of the Melbourne Teachers' College had had the same idea and the two men collaborated on Select documents in Australian history 1788-1850. It was completed in 1949 and published by Angus and Robertson in 1950. Clark originally hoped to cover the period 1850-1940, but the second volume, published by Angus and Robertson in 1955, dealt with the period 1850-1900. Both books were received with great acclaim.

Very few papers have survived relating to Volume 1. Most of the papers comprise handwritten or typescript copies of documents assembled when Clark was writing Volume 2. There is a comprehensive collection of reviews for both volumes. There are a few letters among the reviews. The writers include Eris O'Brien, Ailsa Thomson, A. Lodewyckx, C. A McCallum, Russel Ward and A. G. L Shaw.

The series also contains reviews and cuttings of Clark's book Sources of Australian history, which was published by Oxford University Press in the World's Classics series in 1957. The volume contained an almost entirely new selection of documents, including newspaper articles, poems and ballads, dating from 1788 to 1919.

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 In his will Clark bequeathed his papers and unpublished works to the Library on condition that they be closed until the year 2000.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)

Contents

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