Guide to the Papers of Arundel Del Re, 1911-1974

Summary

Collection number:

MS 1879

Creator:

Arundel Del Re

Extent:

0.84 metres and (6 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Arundel Del Re, National Library of Australia, MS 1879, [series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection comprises mainly handwritten and typed notes relating to Del Re's many academic appointments in Japan and later, in New Zealand. Drafts of articles for newspaper and magazine publications, galley proofs and published subject materials are also included.

The collection also incorporates a quantity of correspondence, newspaper clippings, printed materials, poetry, photographs, typescript reports and statistical tables on Japanese educational activities after World War II, and writings of Del Re's colleagues. The earliest items in the collection are a letter from Tuscany dated 1911, and a University of Oxford form of agreement, dated 3 July 1924.

While the collection documents Del Re's professional academic career from England in 1911, to Japan 1927 and finally to New Zealand in 1960, the correspondence in particular gives an insight into his many interests in the fields of literature, social culture, and research projects. Reflected in the correspondence is his special interest in the Elizabethan writer John Florio and the students of the Colombo Plan.

Del Re's particular interest in the cultural and educational aspects of Japan became evident through many of his writings and lectures which are contained in the collection.

Official documents and Del Re's personal observations of post-war Japan are also included in the collection.

Biographical Note:

Dr Arundel Del Re, OBE, MA, Litt. D., was born in Florence on 29 January 1892, the son of an Irish mother and an Italian father. He graduated in Arts from the Junior College Liceo Michelangelo, Florence, in 1911.

Del Re took up studies at University College, University of London in 1911 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1917. During his undergraduate years, he was a founding member of the Poetry Bookshop in Chelsea and assistant editor of the Poetry Review, bringing him into touch with such people as Robert Bridges, Ezra Pound, Harold Monro and W.B. Yeats.

During World War I, he was employed as an official translator of propaganda material, and became a special secretary to the Head of the Italian Military Mission in London.

In 1921, Del Re was appointed Lecturer in Italian at Oxford University. During this time he was an active member of literary circles, and founding member of the Oxford Arts Club and the Oxford University Opera Society. In 1923 he graduated as MA from both Oxford and London Universities. He was awarded the OBE in 1927. In the same year he was appointmed Professor of English Literature at the University of Tokyo and left England to reside in Japan.

Branching out from his academic appointments, Del Re became private secretary to the Barone Aloisi, and collaborated with him in the organisation of an exhibition in Rome of Japanese art works. In 1931, the King of Italy awarded Del Re the Chevalier, Order of the Crown of Italy (knighthood).

From Japan, Del Re went to Formosa as Professor of English Literature in 1930, a position he held for 13 years. During this time he was also Italian Consular agent and the representative in Formosa of the Lloyd Triestino Company. His comparative study of Buddhist and Christian religious experience, The happy otherworld, was published in 1940.

The Second World War led to a period of internment for Del Re and his family. At the close of the War, Del Re returned to Tokyo and became advisor to the American Army leaders there, dealing with the educational re-organisation of Japan and co-ordinating educational research, analysing reports and generally assisting in the implementation of the Allied Educational directives. He acted as Italian Delegate to the Educational Congress in Tokyo in 1948.

In 1951 Der Re was appointed Professor of Language and Literature, Nanzan Catholic University, Nagoya, an office he occupied till 1954. It was during this appointment he received the degree of Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa for his work on the writer John Florio. During his time in Japan, he concentrated on the comparative study of English and Italian literature and cultural attitudes, as well as the impact that Eastern and Western cultural patterns had on each other. He focused attention on the difficulties and problems involved in the teaching of English as a living language to students whose linguistic traditions, habits and processes differed so materially from those of Western people.

Ill-health terminated Del Re's time in Japan in 1954, when he left to live for a while in Sydney. Here he became a foundation member and secretary of the Oriental Society of Australia (1955-1957).

Subsequently, Del Re was Lecturer in English at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand from 1960 to 1966. In these years he was a member of the Unity Theatre, the Japanese Society and the Circolo Italiano and organised art exhibitions to commemorate the lives of Michelangelo and Dante in 1964. While in New Zealand, he received the Medaglio d'Oro for his services to Italy and a special order from the Emperor of Japan in recognition of his cultural works. His special interest while in New Zealand was the Colombo Plan; he lectured and was a tutor and counsellor in English to Colombo Plan students.

During the late 1960s Del Re and his family moved to Australia. He died at Geelong in 1974.

Del Re's married Joan Harriot in 1923; they had two daughters. His wife accompanied him to Japan where she taught English at several universities and schools and also gave private tuition. During their first visit to Australia in 1954, she taught at Miss Hale's Secretarial College in Sydney. In New Zealand she occasionally taught Colombo Plan students.

A list of Del Re's published writings can be found in the Bibliography.

Provenance:

The papers of Arundel Del Re were purchased by the Library in 1984 from his daughter, Dianora Del Re.

Indexed terms

Names:

Arundel Del Re

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn479548).

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 Arundel Del Re, National Library of Australia, MS 1879, [series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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