Guide to the Papers of Lady Frances McNicoll, 1922-1989

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9246

Creator:

Lady Frances McNicoll

Extent:

2.4 metres and (16 MS boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Lady Frances McNicoll, National Library of Australia, MS 9246, [series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part permission required for research during the lifetime of Heather Henderson. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers relate almost entirely to Lady McNicoll's work on a biography of Sir Robert Menzies, a project that was never completed. The largest category is her notes and research material and there is also correspondence, some personal documents, newspaper cuttings, tape recordings and transcripts, lectures by or about Menzies, publications and documents received from various sources. There are a few papers of Sir Alan McNicoll.

Biographical Note:

Frances Chadwick, the daughter of John Chadwick, a London barrister, and his wife Edith, was born at Bromley, Kent, England. Her brothers were the diplomat Sir John Chadwick (1911-1987), Sir Owen Chadwick (b.1916), Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University (1968-83), and the Very Reverend Sir Henry Chadwick (1920-), Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University (1959-69), Dean of Christ Church, Oxford (1969-79) and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University (1979-83).

For twenty years Frances Chadwick was on the staff of the Economist, both in its London bureau and as its Australian correspondent. She was later contributing editor of Vogue Australia. She married the Australian naval officer, Captain Alan McNicoll in 1957. He became a Rear-Admiral in 1958 and was Flag Officer commanding HM Australian Fleet in 1962-64 and Chief of the Australian Naval Staff in 1965-68. He was knighted in 1966 and was appointed Ambassador to Turkey in 1968. Sir Alan and Lady McNicoll returned to Canberra in 1973. Sir Alan died in 1987 and Lady McNicoll died in 1993.

Lady McNicoll met Sir Robert Menzies in 1959 and corresponded with him intermittently in the 1960s. It appears that in 1969 they agreed that she should write his biography. In 1972 Menzies altered his will to give her exclusive access to his personal papers during his lifetime and for three years after his death. In 1972-73, while she was living in Ankara, Lady McNicoll had an extensive correspondence with Menzies and on her return to Australia she recorded a number of interviews with him. She worked on the biography for several years, but does not appear to have progressed beyond some first drafts. In 1982 the Menzies Family lifted the restriction on most of the Menzies Family and in late 1983 it was decided that Dr Allan Martin should take over as the biographer of Menzies.

Provenance:

The custody and ownership of the papers were transferred to the Menzies Foundation shortly before Lady McNicoll's death in 1993. They were subsequently deposited in the Library by Sir John Bunting, the National Co-ordinator of the Menzies Foundation. The Foundation has retained ownership of the collection and has directed that most of the papers can be made available for research within the Library.

Arrangement:

The papers were in a highly disordered state. Wherever possible, Lady McNicoll's files and file titles have been retained, but the overall arrangement has been imposed by Library staff.

Related

Separated Material:

A number of original papers of Menzies were found in the collection and, with the consent of the Menzies Foundation, they have been transferred to the Menzies Papers (MS 4936).

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn239845).

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 Lady Frances McNicoll, National Library of Australia, MS 9246, [series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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