Guide to the Papers of John Barrett, 1905-1997

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9453

Creator:

Barrett, John, 1931-1997

Extent:

1.68 metres and (12 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of John Barrett, National Library of Australia, MS 9453, [series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference; except for papers from Series 2/Folder 3 which are restricted until 13 September 2020.

Background

Content Summary:

Barrett's life, friendships and dual careers as an historian and minister in the Methodist church are comprehensively recorded in the papers. After completing his doctoral thesis on the religious aspects of colonial life, his research interests focused on the social history of war in Australia, including conscription. Through his academic work Barrett established contacts with many prominent historians, and numbering amongst the correspondents are Russel Ward, Hugh Stretton, Douglas Pike, Manning Clark, Allan Martin, Roger Joyce, John Hirst, Ken Inglis, Peter Cook, Sir Keith Hancock, W.W. Phillips, Leonie Foster and Inga Clendinnen. Collectively the letters reveal much about 20th century Australian historiography, as well as the politics of university history departments.

The papers also provide a detailed account of Barrett's work as a South Australian country minister during the 1950s and 1960s. Letters from former parishioners and other ministers, and parish newsletters from his period at Naracoorte provide insights into both church affairs and to life in rural South Australia generally. A further body of correspondence and reviews relate to Barrett's membership of the editorial board of the Journal of Australian Studies.

Biographical Note:

Date	Event
1931	Born Yorketown, South Australia, 23 January
1936-1937	Alma State School, Broken Hill
1937-1939	Balaklava State School
1940-1946	Port Lincoln State School and High School
1946-1947	Adelaide High School
1948	Shop assistant at Clarkson's hardware store, Rundle Street, Adelaide, whilst undertaking matriculation studies at night school and studying for a provisional library certificate
1948-1950	Assistant, South Australian Parliamentary Library
1951-1955	Undergraduate studies in history and political science, University of Adelaide, including one year residency at Wesley Theological College, Wayville; external studies towards partially completed Bachelor of Divinity Degree, University of Melbourne
1953	Co-President, Student Christian Movement, University of Adelaide
1956	B.A. (First Class Honours), University of Adelaide, under supervision of Douglas Pike and Hugh Stretton
1956	Probationary Methodist minister, West Hindmarsh
1957	Married Margaret Sexton
1957-1960	Methodist minister (ordained 1958), Snowtown
1961-1963	PhD, Australian National University
1964-1968	Methodist minister, Naracoorte
1966	Publication of <em>That better country : the religious aspect of life in eastern Australia, 1835-1850</em>
1968	Resignation from Methodist ministry
1969	Appointed Lecturer, La Trobe University
1971	Appointed Senior Lecturer, La Trobe University
1979	Publication of <em>Falling in : Australians and 'boy conscription', 1911-1915</em>
1979-1990	Member Editorial Board, <em>Journal of Australian Studies</em>
1981	Appointed Reader, La Trobe University
1987	Publication of <em>We were there : Australian soldiers of World War II</em>; establishment of the John Barrett Award for Australian Studies, La Trobe University
1990	Retired
1997	Died, 17 February

Provenance:

The papers were donated to the National Library by Barrett's widow Margaret in March 2000. They form an exceptionally orderly collection, characterised by a large body of sustained correspondence, and reflect both Barrett's flair for letter writing and his meticulous approach to record keeping. Series 5 (a letter to his daughter Clare) was added on 3 October 2001.

Arrangement:

It is evident that Barrett was methodical in keeping the letters he received and recording background information about the writers. This care was carried over to his retirement when he set about listing and documenting the collection. The arrangement of the files, according to the four subject groupings devised by his wife, has been retained in their transfer to the National Library. For the most part file titles are those supplied by Barrett, with additional information provided by Library staff in a few instances for purposes of clarification. Many of the individual items bear Barrett's annotations, including contextual information, explanatory notes, dates and later reflections on earlier happenings.

Container List:

Series	File/Item	Box
1	1-8	1
	9-15	2
	16-21	3
2	1	3
	2-8	4
	9-12	5
	13	6
3	1-4	6
	5-12	7
	13-19	8
	20-26	9
	27-33	10
4	1-6	11
	7-13	12
5	1	12

Conditions Governing Access:

Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2076528).

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 John Barrett, National Library of Australia, MS 9453, [series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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