Guide to the Papers of Wendy Lowenstein, 1918-2003 (bulk 1953-2000)

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9968

Creator:

Lowenstein, Wendy, 1927-2006

Extent:

4.4 metres and (31 boxes, 3 elephant folios and 2 folios)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Wendy Lowenstein, National Library of Australia, MS 9968, [series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Papers documenting Wendy Lowenstein's activities in the fields of folklore, oral history and the peace movement. They consist of correspondence, interview transcripts, papers relating to her writing, publishing and other professional activities, song lyrics and music, photographs, fliers and posters. Correspondents well-represented in the papers include Russel Ward, Ron Edwards, Shirley Andrews, Warren Fahey, Bill Scott, Alan Scott, Drew Cottle, Danny Watson, Peter Hamilton (Wattle Recordings), John Meredith, Keith McKenry, Don Henderson, Dorothy Howard, Graham Seal and Harry Robertson.

Biographical Note:

Katharin Wendy (Robertson) Lowenstein was born on June 25, 1927. At sixteen Lowenstein joined her brother and sister in Melbourne's New Theatre and the Eureka Youth League where she discovered radical writings, theatre, art and politics. After leaving Box Hill Grammar, she worked briefly as an editor for the Eureka Youth League magazine Youth Voice then as a journalist with the Radio Times before marrying Werner Lowenstein in 1947. Influenced by the largely left wing revival of folk culture in England and the United States Lowenstein co-founded the Victorian Folk Lore Society in 1952 with Professor Ian Turner. For fifteen years she edited their magazine Gumsucker's Gazette, later renamed Australian Tradition. The folk movement provided an avenue to continue her involvement in left wing activism as she had discontinued her membership of the Communist Party by 1960. While working as a school librarian Lowenstein completed an arts degree at the University of Melbourne, with graduate studies in teaching and librarianship.

In 1969, Lowenstein and her family spent a year travelling throughout Australia during which time she recorded folklore and tales of working life, turning this material by 1978 into Weevils in the Flour, the groundbreaking oral history about the Depression. Her first published book was the compilation of children's playground rhymes in Shocking, Shocking: the improper play rhymes of Australian Children in 1975, followed by The Immigrants, with co-author Morag Loh, a best selling book of interviews with non-English background migrants. In 1980, Lowenstein was a co-author to the revised edition of Cinderella dressed in Yella, first published by Ian Turner and June Factor. It was at this time that Lowenstein decided to become a full-time writer and oral historian and spent the next six years travelling widely interviewing ordinary Australians.

A book, 'Dead men don't dig coal', based on South Gippsland coal miners, was commenced after interviews from Weevils in the flour were used by her filmmaker son, Richard, in 1980-81 in the making of Strikebound, a film about the 1937 miners' strike at Korumburra. The book was never completed despite being listed in the film credits. Difficulties with finding publishers saw her set up Bookworkers Press in 1982 resulting in the publication of Under the Hook : Melbourne waterside workers remember: 1900 - 1980.

Lowenstein recorded interviews with iron ore workers in the Pilbara mining region of Western Australia c. 1986-1987 but a period of bitter industrial troubles cancelled that projected book. She later used some of this material in her 1996 publication about unemployment, Weevils at Work : what's happening to work in Australia - an oral record. From 1996 to 1998 Lowenstein produced a collection of children's' rhymes, Never let your dingle dangle: songs my mother never sang me and collaborated with Kathleen Dunlop Kane and Marjorie de Saint-Ferjeux on an RMIT internet database, Gondwana to Gold : a chronological history of Australia. The Patrick's Stevedoring Dispute in 1998 saw a self-published, revised edition of Under the Hook. Her last book, written in 1999 was Self-Publishing without pain. Over a period of 40 years Lowenstein wrote articles for journals, magazines and newspapers, conducted workshops, was writer-in-residence for at least two tertiary institutions and was guest speaker at numerous literary events.

Lowenstein continued to be a committed member of the social activist organizations, People for Nuclear Disarmament and Arts Action for Peace, and supported other causes associated with labour, peace, the ecology and civil liberties up until 2003, when illness prevented further involvement.

Wendy Lowenstein died in Melbourne on 16 October 2006, survived by husband, Werner, and their three children, Peter, Martie and Richard.

Rapley, Monica (2006). 'Wendy Lowenstein papers : biographical notes'.

Provenance:

Three consignments of papers were purchased by the Library from Lowenstein in 2000. A further small consignment was donated to the Library by Lowenstein's children via Monash University. The Library received the consignment from the University's Institute for Regional Studies in 2006.

Arrangement:

The original order of parts of the collection has been maintained, including: Series 1, correspondence, Series 11, Shirley Andrews papers and Series 12, posters, all of which were received from Monash University; Series 2, a run of manila files with hand-written titles in alphabetical order and containing correspondence, folklore and oral history material and papers relating to Lowenstein's publications; and Files 1-41 in Series 3 consisting of an alphabetic run of files arranged by interviewee name and containing transcripts of interviews and correspondence with interviewees and associated with Lowenstein's Weevils in the flour.

The remainder of the material has been arranged by the Library into series whilst maintaining the internal order of papers within the files and files in which Lowenstein or Monash University stored them. The few papers which were not inside files when received have been rehoused and placed into relevant series by the Library.

Container List:

Series	File/Item	Box
1	1-11	1
2	1-7	2
2	8-12	3
2	13-17	4
2	18-23	5
2	24-31	6
2	32-37	7
2	38-45	8
2	46-52	9
2	53-60	10
2	61-62	11
3	1-3	11
3	4-11	12
3	12-18	13
3	19-25	14
3	26-33	15
3	34-42	16
3	43-50	17
3	51-56	18
4	1	18
4	2-3	19
4	4	Folio
4	5	19
4	6-7	20
5	1	20
5	2-6	21
5	7-13	22
5	14-18	23
6	1-6	23
6	7-10	24
7	1-3	24
7	4-11	25
7	12-19	26
7	20-30	27
7	31	28
8	1-6	28
8	7-9	29
9	1-4	29
9	5-6	30
10	1-5	30
10	6	31
11	1-2	31
12	1-2, 4	Elephant folios
12	3	Folio
13	1	Folio

Indexed terms

Names:

Lowenstein, Wendy, 1927-2006

Conditions Governing Access:

The collection is available for reference.

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 Wendy Lowenstein, National Library of Australia, MS 9968, [series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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