Guide to the Papers of Rosalie McCutcheon, 1911-1998

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9380, MS Acc09.126

Creator:

Rosalie McCutcheon and Garrett, John, Dr.

Extent:

2.7 metres and (15 ms boxes + 1 folio item + 8 sound/av carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Rosalie McCutcheon, 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 comprise letters and correspondence written to family and friends, family papers relating to her son Kim and husband Oliver (who died while working as a missionary in India), diaries and notebooks, speeches, scripts for ABC radio morning devotional broadcasts, autobiographical writings, financial papers, photographs, slides, and cassette tapes. The papers relate to McCutcheon's work with the Australian Student Christian Movement, Frensham School (Mittagong, NSW), and International House at the University of Sydney. The collection includes a substantial sequence of letters written to her family while accompanying her husband in India in 1934-36.

Biographical Note:

Rosalie Joyce was born in Chewton, Victoria on 6 May 1904, the daughter of Miriam Woodruff (1871-1955) and Harry Sewell Joyce (1874-1932). Her father was a Congregational Minister and during Rosalie Joyce's early life the family moved to parishes in Prahran, Ballarat and East Malvern. She was educated at state schools in each posting, before finally attending Korowa Anglican Girls' School in Melbourne in 1918-21.

After leaving school, Rosalie Joyce applied for a teaching scholarship and in 1922 was offered a position at Spring Road State School in Malvern and later Somerville House in Brisbane. In 1926 she moved back to Melbourne to attend the Melbourne Bible Institute for missionary training and in 1927 transferred to Parkin Congregational College in Adelaide as a candidate for the London Missionary Society. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Divinity at Parkin College. While at University she began her involvement with the Australian Student Christian Movement, later becoming co-President.

After graduating from the University of Adelaide in 1929, Rosalie Joyce failed the medical examination needed to serve overseas with the London Missionary Society. Instead, in 1930 she joined the Australian Student Christian Movement as Travelling Secretary. In 1933 she resigned and travelled to India to marry Oliver McCutcheon, a Methodist missionary in Northern India. Her son John Kimball was born in 1935. Her husband contracted pneumonia in India and died in 1936.

After returning to Australia, Rosalie McCutcheon worked in various jobs to support herself and her son. In 1941-47 she worked at Frensham School in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales as head of the Junior School. In 1949-53 she was Australian Secretary for World Students Relief (later called World University Service) in Melbourne, assisting refugees and overseas students with their education and adjustment to Australia. In 1953 she worked briefly as Secretary of the Incorporated Association of Registered Teachers of Victoria before rejoining Frensham at Gib Gate (Frensham Junior School).

In 1956 McCutcheon travelled to England, working periodically for the British Council of Churches. In 1958 she returned to Australia and until 1964 worked again for the Australian Student Christian Movement as a Resident Secretary, counselling students at the Universities of Sydney and New South Wales. After a year of travel in India, Ceylon, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, she joined International House at the University of Sydney as Deputy Director, where she worked until her retirement in 1972.

Rosalie McCutcheon died in Adelaide on 17 February 1992.

Source: June Epstein. Rosalie McCutcheon: a memoir (1993)

Provenance:

The papers were donated to the Library by McCutcheon's literary executor Dr John Garrett in 1992. Two small additions (tapes of McCutcheon's funeral and memorial service and personal correspondence of Sister Constance (Paul) Fairhall) were donated in 1993. A third addition was donated by June Epstein in 2001. This material includes letters from McCutcheon to Madeline Crump, 1978-1991, letters from Anne McCutcheon, Leonore Collard, Mary Learmonth and others to Crump, 1990-1998, photographs (7) of McCutcheon and others, 1932-1970, and other papers.

Arrangement:

The McCutcheon Papers were received by the Library in a largely disordered state. While some of the material was filed, only Series 2 Files 12-19 (alphabetical correspondence files) had a discernible order. The present order of series and files has been imposed by the Library.

A quantity of loose slides from the collection were returned to Dr Garrett.

Indexed terms

Names:

Garrett, John, Dr.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn232927).

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 Rosalie McCutcheon, 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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