Guide to the Papers of Rex Hobcroft, 1907-2005

Summary

Collection number:

MS 8019, Acc06.015

Creator:

Hobcroft, Rex, Mr

Extent:

13.8 metres and (84 boxes, 3 folio boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Rex Hobcroft, 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 papers of Rex Hobcroft comprise a large collection of files relating to his early life and various stages of his career.

The bulk of the files date from 1961 and contain correspondence, notes and a large collection of printed material in the form of programs, brochures and flyers. There is also a collection of reports on music related issues, music school handbooks and brochures.

A number of the files relate to Hobcroft's time as Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music from 1972-1982 (renamed Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 1990) and as Artistic Director of the Sydney International Piano Competition (1976-90). They contain correspondence, programs, reports, voting sheets and cuttings. There are also scrapbooks for the 1977, 1981, 1985 and 1988 competitions.

Correspondents include Don Banks, John Brodie, Don Burrows, Stuart Challender, Miriam Hyde, Wilfrid Lehmann, James Penberthy, William Primrose, Harold Schonberg, Peter Sculthorpe, Larry Sitsky, Storry Walton and Roger Woodward.

A small number of files relate to Hobcroft's childhood and early career. They include school and music reports, records of his service as a pilot (both in the RAAF and with Ansett), letters from fellow students at the Melbourne University in the late 1940s and early 1950s and programs and cuttings about his performances. Also included is Hobcroft's unpublished autobiography entitled 'Australia's Con man' (380pp).

Included in the papers is a large collection of letters and cards from the poet Gwen Harwood to Hobcroft, covering the period 1962-95. There are also a number of manuscripts and typescripts of poems by Harwood, some of them dedicated to Hobcroft.

The papers document the various phases of Hobcroft's career in music and the organisations and projects with which he has been associated. They provide a good insight into the musical infrastructure in Australia from the late 1960s to the early 1990s, musical politics and the staging of piano and other musical competitions.

Biographical Note:

Date	Event
1925	Born in Renmark, South Australia on 12 May to Ivy (neé Philpot) and Hurtle Hobcroft.
1931-42	Educated in Renmark
1942-45	RAAF pilot
1945-46	1945-46 Commercial pilot with Ansett Airways, while studying music part-time at the Melbourne University Conservatorium
1946	Accepted into full-time music course at the Melbourne University Conservatorium, as part of a post-war ex-servicemen rehabilitation program
1948	Graduated with first-class honours in Pianoforte from Melbourne University
1949-50	Post-graduate studies in Europe, including at the Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris
1950	Married Victoria Olga Eabry in Stockholm (divorced 1960)
1952	Gained a teachers certificate from the Claremont Teachers' College, Perth
1952	Appointed an Australian Music Examinations Board examiner
1952-56	School music specialist with the Music, Speech and Drama Branch of the West Australian Education Department
1957-61	Foundation Head, Piano Department, Queensland Conservatorium of Music
1961	Married Loretta Marbeth Lightfoot (divorced 1976)
1961-70	Foundation Head, Music Department, University of Tasmania
1963	Appointed chief examiner for matriculation and higher certificate music
1963-71	Foundation Director, Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music
1967	Tasmanian Churchill Fellow: travelled to the United States, Canada, England and Asia
1968	Studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts
1972-82	Director, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
1972-82	President, Federated Music Clubs of Australia
1975	Japan Foundation Fellowship
1976-90	Co-founder and Artistic Director of the Sydney International Piano Competition.
1977	Married Perpetua Clancy, daughter of Francis Clancy and Elizabeth Durack (divorced 1997)
1977	Awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal for service to the community
1982	Retired from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and moved to Perth
1983	Chair, WA State Government Conservatorium Advisory Committee
1990	Appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to music
1992-98	Patron, Australian International Conservatorium
1998	Auxiliary Director, Suzuki Association

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 papers were purchased by the Library from Hobcroft in two instalments, one in 1990 and the other in 1997.

Arrangement:

Original consignment: Hobcroft grouped the files into subject areas and this arrangement has been retained by the Library. Each folder description in this guide commences with Hobcroft's file title, followed by a brief description of the contents. A list of the principal subjects is can be found under the Related Documentation tab. Hobcroft kept separate files for correspondence with colleagues and friends and this arrangement has been preserved by the Library.

Index cards: A set of index cards, prepared by Hobcroft, accompanied the original consignment boxes of files. There is a card for each file, giving a summary of the file contents. These cards were grouped in consignment box number order by Hobcroft, who numbered the files in each box separately. When this collection was arranged by the Library, although the order of the files was maintained, consecutive numbers were allocated.

The consignment box number and the corresponding Library allocated folder numbers are listed below. Boxes 14 and 15 were transferred to the Library at a later date, which is why the file numbering is out of sequence.

December 1996 addition: Many of the papers in this addition follow on from files that were included in the first instalment of papers. Where this is the case, a 'see also' reference has been included.

Hobcroft's order and arrangement of the papers has been retained and the papers are listed by file title. The Library has allocated consecutive numbers to the files, which follow on from the first instalment.

Indexed terms

Names:

Hobcroft, Rex, Mr

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2701547).

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 Rex Hobcroft, 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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