Correspondence, 1943-1950
- Component identifier:
- Series 1
- Content Summary:
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Correspondence between Hector and his wife Kathleen ("Beech") written while Hector was stationed in New Guinea as a private in the 5th Division Postal Unit and as sergeant with the Army Education Service of the 29th Australian Infantry Brigade. Hector wrote about 342 letters to his wife from January 1943 until January 1944. The letters are numbered and some contain annotations in red pen added by Hector in the 1980s while writing articles on the New Guinea campaign. Some letters in the sequence are missing. The letters were written from Milne Bay, Buna and Port Moresby and related to his work lecturing for the AES, articles written for Guinea Gold and articles he wrote informing troops of current affairs from newspapers and magazines sent by his wife. There are also descriptions of the local inhabitants and their customs, comments on the improved living conditions in Port Moresby, reminiscences on the anniversary of the bombing of Darwin, and a description of jungle training in Milne Bay.
Interspersed with Hector's letters are letters by Kathleen Hector, numbered up to 235. The letters were written from Townsville and Sydney and relate to her typing job, friends, day to day activities and the difficulties of separation from her husband.
The series also includes a letter of application for a position at The Argus, January 1950, including a curriculum vitae.
- Immediate source of acquisition:
- The collection was donated to the Library by Kathleen Hector in December 1991.
- Arrangement:
- The letters are arranged in chronological order.
- Names:
- Hector, Kathleen, Mrs
Contents
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- The collection is available for reference.
- Parent Terms of Access:
- Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. Photocopying for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material. In order to publish such material, however, written permission to publish must first be obtained from the copyright holder(s).
- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: