In the early 1980s the Archivesreceived from internal sources anapparent curiosity — a dusty,

black-framed photograph of the finish of a race at Kensington racecourse in 1920, thirty years before the coming of the university to the site. It was discovered that the small, elderly but resolute figure in a grey university security uniform standing in High Street outside Basser College each morning was the winning jockey in the photograph — Harry Reed,over sixty years on. His links with the university and its site wereremarkable. After his racing careerended, he was nightwatchman on theMain Building, a member of securityand, finally, a porter at Basser. Helived on campus, was sought out,and gave the Archives generously ofhis time and memories. An oral his-tory was recorded. Walks were takenwith him, with sketch-pad, to makenotes about the very early days:where the racecourse stables werelocated, what changes occurred whenthe migrants came to High Streetafter the war. Photographs wereannotated and relevant secondarysources selected. A few years later we added photographs of him, larger-than-life but still looking small,as the chosen university figure in alocal community mural on the mainshopping street of Randwick.

Harry died in 1983 and, appropriately, on campus. One day

in 1996 two of Harry’s children,now in their middle years,

Henry and Rosalind, hesitat-ingly and humblyapproached the Archives forassistance in discoveringmore about their father. The delight was mutual.They could again listen to

their father’s voice, hear himtell of his early life and tough

times, see our mix of photographsand collected articles, and perhapsgain some satisfaction from knowingthat the university had cared enoughto document such a life. They couldalso share in Harry’s oft-repeatedstory about the win shown in theblack-framed photograph that hadcome into our possession. The winwas surely an omen for the future:Harry’s horse was called The Student.

Origins No. 6 1

Newsletter of the UNSW ArchivesNo. 6 December 2000–January 2001

I N T H I S I S S U E

Up close and personal 1

What have you got for us? 4

Biographical profile 5 — Robert Quentin

News 7

Oral History News 9

Recent accessions 9

Contact the Archives 12

Twenty years of collecting for the Archives

Origins

Caricature of Harry Reed by C.S. (Jim) Smith. Harry Reed had a long association with the UNSW Kensington site, first

as a jockey at Kensington Racecourse, then as security guard at the university and, finally, as a porter at Basser College. [CN1038/3]

(continued on page 2)

U P C L O S E A N D P E R S O N A L

Laurie Dillon retired as University Archivist in September 2000. He was appointed to establish the UNSW Archives in February 1980.

Origins.1 1/2/01 12:38 PM Page 1

The UNSW Archives has strivensince its establishment in February1980 to engage closely with the peo-ple that make up the university, andto keep them at the centre of its con-cerns, which is what makes storieslike Harry Reed’s so satisfying for us.

A desirable element in anyarchival endeavour aimed at evokingthe life and times of individuals is toacquire a broad diversity of records:personal papers, photographs, filmand video, oral history, memorabilia,publications and records of specialsub-groups — such as those of uni-versity sports clubs, and organisa-tions for staff and students. Today,within this diversity, visual recordshave an especially important place,as does personal reminiscence.

Diverse documentation hasmarked many efforts by the Archivesto capture something of the life andtimes of many university figures.Professor Fred Hollows was one. Hiswas one life which had tested theroutine structures of the university,and much else — a life whichbecame, at the end, almost publicproperty. After the death of FredHollows the Archives acquired hisresearch and activity records fromthe Department of Ophthalmology,Prince of Wales Hospital. But beforethat, he had donated personal itemsincluding four volumes of press-cut-tings relating mainly to his workfighting both the politicians and tra-choma on behalf of the Aboriginalpeoples. We added variously a video

copy of a segment on his overseaswork donated generously by ‘60Minutes’, copies of articles on his lifeand work, and obituaries. FredHollows found time, somehow, torecord for the Archives an oral histo-ry interview, which may well havebeen the last extended interview hegave to anyone before he died.

As with Harry Reed, there aresome ‘signature’ visuals for FredHollows. We hold two special photo-graphs. One shows him examiningthe eyes of an Aboriginal woman inoutback Australia in 1978. Theother, purchased by the Archives,shows him with a happy youngAboriginal woman, the then primeminister, Bob Hawke, and his wifeHazel, at Admiralty House onSydney Harbour in 1991. The workdepicted in the former led to theoccasion depicted in the latter:namely, his official recognition asAustralian of the Year, alongsideCathy Freeman as Young Australianof the Year.

The Archives receives manyrequests for information. One camefrom the film director George Miller,who wanted to know what yeararchitectural guru BuckminsterFuller spoke to students on campus.The scant evidence of one filmed lec-ture in the Archives suggested itmight have been the early 1970s.George Miller thought it was earlier.So it proved. Fuller had made atleast one earlier, very memorablevisit. Telephone calls across a wide

network of helpful present and for-mer staff and alumni produced —for the Archives as well as for ourenquirer — a wealth of stories ofpoetry-loving students walking intoand out of Fuller’s eight-hour long,arm-waving lectures. Architectureacolytes later built around campusyellow, plastic, geodesic domes — aquintessential Fuller symbol. Onerecalled ‘Hey, it all went purple whenyou entered — and we hadn’t eveninhaled anything!’.

These were not stories sourcedfrom any official record. But this sug-gests that, in theory at least, everyarchive has the potential to be ascolourful, diverse, characterful andnon-stereotypical as the individualsand organisations it documents —or, certainly, to be richly informedand shaped by such qualities.

Some appreciation of suchcolourful qualities can also begained from the cartoons and carica-tures of university life and people inthe Archives collection. The mostfamous of these are by GeorgeMolnar, Sydney Morning Herald car-toonist (1952–84), who taughtarchitecture at the University ofSydney (1946–65) and at UNSW(1965–75). He depicted the unex-pected and, often, the funny side of

The Student, with Harry Reed as jockey,winning at Kensington Racecourse, 1920[CN468/1]

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university life. The Archives has theoriginal of one of his cartoons andhas compiled information about hisother UNSW-related cartoons,together with copies of them.George Molnar was generous in hissupport of these endeavours to doc-ument his work. Universities, beinguniversities, often have intelligentobservers from within. C.S. (Jim)Smith, a staff member, drew carica-tures that were affixed to the wallsof the university workshop’s can-teen. The Archives organised a pho-tographic expedition to the canteen,and there is now a pictorial recordof these caricatures with identifica-tion available in the Archives.

Nothing better illustrates theintent to place people at the centre ofthe Archives’ concerns than theArchives oral history program. Itsroots date back twenty years to aninterview (in April 1980) with thelate Tay Cuningham, then warden ofthe University Union, and another(in 1981) with Peter Spooner, thefirst Professor of LandscapeArchitecture in Australia. Academicshave a natural affinity with the inter-view process — as do politicians.When the writer was visiting thehead of the oral history unit at theJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Libraryin Boston in 1981, a telephone callcame through from a former aide toJimmy Carter. He wanted to arrangea series of oral history interviews forthe Carter Administration. It was anencouraging moment.

The UNSW Archives oral historyprogram has grown immeasurablyand achieved much since those firstinterviews. It has built up an exten-sive set of interviews that go beyondjust exploring the early life of theuniversity. They provide a rich andbroad perspective on living andworking in Australia, on growing uphere and in other countries — allthrough the lives of its subjects. Theprogram’s special surveys and follow-up interviews capturing the personalexperiences of some of the first twodecades of UNSW students, and ofsenior academic women have beenrevelatory in every respect. The pro-gram has also produced publications,which include Unique Providers(1994), an illustrated history of the

extraordinary fundraising work of theU Committee for UNSW over its firstthirty years. The Archives was excep-tionally pleased to be able to generatethis kind of permanent public tributeto the members of a voluntary groupwho, through their personal efforts,have made such an enormous differ-ence right across the university.

There are those who think ofarchives as being a mite dry and bor-ing, in common with that publicationgenre called ‘university history’. ButPatrick O’Farrell’s historical portraitof UNSW was a delight with its narrative sweep, evocation of timeand place, personality and incident,in its anecdotes, liveliness and oftenunconventional choice of illustra-tions. It is a demonstration againstthe dull and boring in histories ofuniversities. The Archives was able tomake available to the research for thishistory not only the traditional offi-cial university records but also, fortu-nately, sources for much of this story’scolour. There were recorded personal

reminiscences, privately sourced pho-tographs, cartoons and caricatures,biographical profiles, as well as personal papers and useful personalreferrals to some of the many individ-uals who have contributed to build-ing up our holdings. We like to thinkthat Patrick O’Farrell’s blow againstone historiographical stereotype wasaided by our own long-held determi-nation to avoid another stereotype, its archival counterpart.

Irene Reuter, then Irene Eyck, aged twen-ty-six. The Reuters migrated to Australiabefore the outbreak of World War II.Irene Reuter, an active member of variousuniversity-related associations includingthe U Committee, was convener of thefirst Book Fair. Both she and Fritz Reuterhave been interviewed for the OralHistory Program. [I. and F.H. Reuter99A124]

(continued on page 4)

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To have a deliberate diversity in archival sources requires the existence of diverse sources, therecognition of their (variable) valueand a well-spring of encouragement— especially a suitable organisationalculture — upon which to draw. Forthis Archives the inspiration camestrongly from the 1970s, the decadeleading up to its establishment. In the1970s UNSW had a natural commu-nicator in its vice-chancellor,Professor (later Sir) Rupert Myers.The early 1970s were unpredictableand tension-filled. Among SirRupert’s generous donations to theArchives have been letters hereceived from unhappy members ofthe public — some well-known —after Sir John Kerr was pelted withobjects (were they eggs?) during avisit to the university, and SirRupert’s level-headed replies, steeringa course through the highly chargedemotions from both sides. Sir Ruperthas also donated five large photo-graph albums spanning many yearsof life as vice-chancellor. It is anastonishing record of university life,and service to the university, right upclose and personal, in the charmingmanner of Sir Rupert and his wife Io.Personal papers can help illuminatepeople’s lives and work, and for thealert researcher reveal unexpectedinter-relationships and new lines ofenquiry.

And one of Sir Rupert’s last actsof foundation was to approve theestablishment of the UniversityArchives in 1980, along with itscommittee and its general charter, allembodying some elements of thevigour, variety, communicative cul-ture and even-handedness of theyears that had gone before.

It is significant in more than oneway that Uniken was established, too,in the middle of the Myers era by DrPeter Pockley. It was a publicationthat came to be perceived externallyas one of the best university newspa-pers in Australia. The universityadministration’s interest in events rel-evant to its public image in the late1960s and early 1970s led to news-paper cuttings being collectedtogether from all Australian newspa-pers and pasted into scrapbooks todocument this time of tension for

universities generally. The scrap-books were never thrown out, andeventually were deposited in theArchives, providing a deeply engag-ing media portrait of the period.Films and videos of various eventsand activities on campus, some goingback to the early 1960s, were alsocommissioned by the university, andmany of these are now held by theArchives.

To recall Uniken is to bring tomind the critical significance of uni-versity publications of all kinds.Early annual reports containedappointments and departures of staffdown to mainstream lecturing andother professional levels, vital whenindividual staff records no longerexist. Most major university eventswere carefully chronicled in earlypublications: the opening of newbuildings, the reception of notablevisitors, the establishment of newfaculties or other university entities,and the conferring of honorarydegrees — with speeches in responsereprinted in many cases. Importantly,personal profiles of newly appointed,or retiring senior staff were dutifullyprepared in years past and havebecome vital archival resources aboutthe university and its work.

Recent times have, however, seengreat changes. Centralised universitymedia are now more scaled downwith less funding, and with a more

professional, less inquisitive editorialbrief, while the numbers of maga-zines, newsletters and websites fromthe outlying faculties, schools andother university units grow rapidly.The people involved in the story ofthe university are still discernible,although some may appear more as aflash of passing inspiration in theinformation flood. Only if theseorgans of media retain their signifi-cance to individual readers will theysurvive — on paper or in cyber-space. How it will all proceed is toodifficult for this writer to guess. Butperhaps the time has come for theuniversity to ask itself seriouslyabout what kind of twenty-first cen-tury version of the ‘journal of record’does it wish to create, support andleave as a permanent tracing in time.Hopefully, it will include fair recog-nition of the individual, and the gen-eral contribution to the university ofa broad range of its members.Perhaps also the time has come tocompile a UNSW dictionary of biog-raphy, comprising biographicalsketches of noteworthy UNSW peo-ple from all walks of university life.This is one idea conveyed to theArchives by eminently wise and per-ceptive senior university figures, whocare greatly both for its past andfuture. It is an idea with a great dealto commend it.

The Archives is in the predictivebusiness. It has to ‘know’ and choosewell from the present, so as to pre-serve and re-present these choices tothe future — an increasingly difficultbusiness. It appears to this writerthat, for better or worse, any pastwhich is difficult to know, and isimpersonally presented or fails toexcite people’s interest will, howeverimportant, lose the competitivestruggle to be recognised and valued.The accessible, enlivened past, whichcan connect with the present at thepersonal level, will have the advan-tage. A major key to this survival willbe to ensure that the people of theuniversity — their impact on theuniversity, and how the universityimpacts upon them — continue toremain at the core of the Archives’concerns.

LAURIE DILLON

What have you gotfor us?

We would be interested to hearfrom staff leaving UNSW whohave personal papers or otherrecords relating to their timehere or who could be of help indocumenting some particularaspect of the story of the uni-versity and its people.

Family members of thosewho have been associated withthe university and who haveinherited personal papers, photographs and other memorabilia may also like tocontact us about depositingthem in the Archives.

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Robert Quentin was head andfounding Professor of Drama atUNSW from 1966, although

his association with this universitybegan in 1959 with his appointmentas associate professor in the school ofEnglish and as founding director ofNIDA. He helped establish a univer-sity drama department and dramaticarts institution that attracted stu-dents and enhanced the university’sreputation. He also continued to

contribute in various ways to dra-matic arts in Sydney, combining hisposition as academic with that astheatre entrepreneur.

Born in England, educated atOxford, commissioned in the RoyalNaval Volunteer Reserve duringWorld War II, Robert Quentin firstlived in Sydney for two years(1945–47), where he produced TheImportance of Being Earnest at Bryant’sPlayhouse and directed Eugene

O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra forthe Independent Theatre for (Dame)Doris Fitton, before becoming stagedirector for J.C. Williamson Ltd.After returning to England in 1947,he worked for the Old Vic TheatreCompany, in Bristol and in London,and as a freelance producer until heleft in 1953 for the United States ofAmerica, where he continued to beinvolved with theatre and lecturedon drama at several universities.

He returned to Sydney in 1955as general manager of the AustralianElizabethan Theatre Trust’s operacompany, which was to be estab-lished in Sydney and to tour thecountry. This ambitious project provided a strong base for local operatic talent. Subsequently, helpedby H.C. Coombs, chairman of theTrust, and (Sir) Philip Baxter, UNSWvice-chancellor, Quentin and theexecutive-director of the Trust, HughHunt, established NIDA to train professional actors and teach stage-skills, with Quentin as its director(1959–63). At the same time he wasappointed associate professor in theschool of English, which was to offerdrama as an academic subject.Drama became a department in1964, and a separate school, withQuentin as professor and its firsthead, in 1966. He was also directorof drama (1964–65) for theAustralian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

Meanwhile, Quentin had helpedto found several professional dramacompanies that transformed Sydney’stheatre scene and encouraged a newgeneration of mainstream theatre. In1963 he and Tom Brown, NIDA’snew director, established the OldTote Theatre Company to specialisein the classics. The Old Tote waslocated in a renovated tin shed (nextto the old totalisator building) in theuniversity’s grounds. Its first produc-tion, Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard,which was directed by Quentin, set anew standard for professional theatre

Robert Quentin (1917–79)Adapted from an entry prepared by Julia Horne for the Australian Dictionary of Biography

Robert Quentin, associate professor in English and foundation Professor of Drama atUNSW, 1959–77, and founding director of NIDA, 1959–63 [CN122/816]

(continued on page 6)

B I O G R A P H I C A L P R O F I L E

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in Sydney. He was involved in the short-lived ‘Three Shilling Theatre’(1963) at the Palace Theatre, wherepatrons could eat their sandwichesduring a forty-minute lunchtime per-formance. In 1966 Quentin and oth-ers established the Jane StreetTheatre, a venue for new Australianplays: H.G. Kippax described itsopening as ‘the theatrical event ofthis Sydney year’.

Quentin believed that theatrewas one of life’s great educators, butunder threat from an entertainmentindustry catering to the ‘lowest com-mon denominators of public taste’.This belief informed many of hisprojects. He held that the academic

study of drama was a means ofacquiring knowledge and taste, andmight help to create an informedaudience; he saw NIDA as a training-school which would provideAustralian dramatic productions withhigh technical standards.

Quentin was associated with anumber of organisations to promoteAustralian theatre. In December1977 he tried to rescue the financesof the Old Tote with his last produc-tion, Alan Ayckbourn’s The NormanConquests, but the company wentinto liquidation in 1978. He retiredfrom UNSW in 1977, aged sixty years.

JULIA HORNE

Compiling biographical entriesraises the questions of whatsources are useful and where tofind them. As a professor andfounding director of NIDA pub-lished sources on aspects ofRobert Quentin’s life did exist: hehad an entry in Who’s Who inAustralia, and Uniken ran a featureon him just before his retirement.Also, his contributions to Sydney’stheatre scene in the 1960s and1970s meant he was importantenough to have had several obitu-aries written about him. Thesearticles provided the bare bones tostart examining his life, especiallyhis career from the age of forty.But there were still a number ofquestions unanswered. What didhe do in England? What did hisparents do? What were theirnames? What was his war service?Why did he go to the USA?When, where and who did hemarry?

His oral history interview,conducted for the NationalLibrary of Australia in 1971, pro-vided a few more answers regard-ing his family and educationalbackground. Official correspon-dence held by the UNSW Archiveswas useful on the circumstancesof his appointment to UNSW,Baxter’s support for him and the

types of academic interests hehoped to pursue during his yearsat UNSW. Also deposited werethe School of Theatre Studies/School of Drama records coveringhis period at UNSW, and fromthese there was evidence of someof his general theatrical activities.But I could not locate any person-al papers about his life in Sydneyat the end of World War II, hisreturn to England, and his time inthe USA. Interviews with closefriends and his second wife addeda personal perspective, and various histories of Australian theatre provided other details.Consultation of war, and births,deaths and marriages recordsenabled dates to be corrected andhis birth-name added: JohnBurnett Quentin (later changed).

I was told that he had keptpersonal papers, and these mayhave included diaries and privatecorrespondence going back topre-war Britain. Although thesewere supposed to have beendeposited, they haven’t come tolight. But just think, if they werelocated in a publicly accessiblearchive, and I’d been able to gainaccess to them. Perhaps then Icould have learnt why he leftEngland and went to live in theUnited States.

Archives — A biographer ’s f r iend

Sue Kennedy, student in ArtEducation, photographed for 97Prospectus UNSW [University photographer 00A31]

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UniversityPhotographer’s

collection in Archives

At the beginning of this yearUniversity Photographer TonyPotter, a familiar face around

the campus for the past twelve years,farewelled UNSW. Tony Potter, whohas taken tens of thousands of uni-versity-related photographs, said thebest part of his job was getting outand seeing what people did in theuniversity. Before his departure, Tonytransferred his huge collection ofphotographs, negatives and trans-parencies to the University Archives— a welcome addition to the exten-sive photographic collection alreadyheld by the Archives.

This latest accession aloneincludes around 37,000 negatives,2500 prints, 700 slides, 600 proof-

sheets and 400 transparencies. Thephotographs mainly cover the period1989–2000, many having appearedin various university publicationsincluding Uniken and GraduateReview. There are also photographstaken for university organisations torecord commemorative events, aswell as numerous portraits of peopleand general campus shots. Tony’scampus photographs were recentlypublished in the February–March2000 issue of the architecture anddesign magazine Monument.

Tony Potter’s collection contains,in effect, his ‘working papers’, sys-tematically documenting UNSW andits people over the 1990s. The uni-versity community can be gratefulthat he has preserved these photo-graphs and had the foresight todeposit this vast collection with theUniversity Archives, thus increasingthe chances of its survival for use by

News

Class photo, Alexander Mackie College,early 1960s [CN988/16]

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present and future generations.The photographs are organised

according to people’s names, facul-ties, departments and broad subjectcategories. They may be viewed inthe University Archives.

St George Inst i tute of Educat ion

With the closure of the St Georgecampus at Oatley at the end of 1998,the University Archives acquired animportant collection of material fromthe St George Institute of Education.This collection includes records of theinstitute’s preceding bodies: Alex-ander Mackie College and AlexanderMackie College of Advanced Education.

These records date back to 1958,when the Alexander Mackie Collegewas established in Paddington ininner-city Sydney. The college wasnamed after a Scottish émigré, princi-pal of Sydney Teachers’ College in1906, and Professor of Education atthe University of Sydney from 1910,and provided training for primaryand high school teachers in art,music, science and social science. Asstudent numbers grew, classes cameto be conducted at five different sitesin Sydney. The reorganisation of terti-ary education in the 1970sled to several changes atwhat was now called theAlexander Mackie College ofAdvanced Education, includ-ing the development ofaward courses in visual artsand art education, fromwhich the current College ofFine Arts emerged. Greaterstudent numbers and diversi-ty of courses prompted theestablishment of the Oatleycampus in 1981.

The records cover awide range of items provid-ing insight into many differ-ent aspects of educationtraining in New South Walesfrom the 1950s to the 1990sand include practical teach-ing reports (1965–77),choral concert programs(1959–69), athletic andswimming carnival pro-grams, course outlines aswell as minutes of meetings

of college-related bodies.Publications include calendars/hand-books, annual reports, yearbooks,and student magazines. There is alsoa large collection of photographsincluding those of classes (1958–73),graduations and staff, as well as cam-pus views. The collection also con-tains material prepared for ‘St George2000’, the institute’s response to the‘UNSW Options 2000’ proposals forthe future of the Oatley campus.

There are gaps. The college onlyappointed an archivist in 1986, bywhich time a number of records hadalready been lost. Cramped facilitiesin the early years and the later dis-persal of facilities over several sitesprobably contributed to these losses.Nonetheless, the collection is exten-sive and contains a variety of materialcovering the second half of the twen-tieth century. A guide has been pre-pared and will soon be available onthe Archives web-page. Access condi-tions to the collection may apply.

Mass Observation

Dorothy Sheridan, archivist of theMass-Observation Archive at theUniversity of Sussex, presented aninteresting seminar over afternoon

tea with historians and archivists,hosted by the University Archives.She provided an account of the Mass-Observation Archive, its history and some of its current activities.

‘Between 1937 and the early1950s, hundreds of ordinary peoplein Britain took part in the work of a social research organisation calledMass-Observation. People from allover the country were invited torecord their everyday lives and tosend what they wrote to Mass-Observation’s offices in London.Some of the volunteers chose to keep a diary, others responded toopen-ended monthly questionnairessent to them by Mass-Observation.They were encouraged to write freely about their experiences and opinions on a wide variety of subjects’, Dorothy Sheridanexplained.

The papers assembled, a number of research reports and publications followed, including abest-seller, Nella Last’s War: AMother’s Diary 1939–45, an engagingaccount of one woman’s life inwartime Britain.

‘The papers are now stored atthe University of Sussex where they

can be read and used byscholars and students inthis period of British histo-ry’, she explained.

‘Since 1981, a new project initiated by theArchive has set out onceagain to involve people in the recording of everyday life. Over 2800people have taken part,with a current group ofaround 400–500 people.’For more information on Mass-Observation, consult the Archive’s website at <www.sussex.ac.uk/library/ massobs>.

The afternoon tea provided an opportunityfor archivists and histori-ans from Sydney-basedinstitutions to gather and

discuss the historical andarchival value of survey-based questionnaires.

Dorothy Sheridan, archivist of the Mass-Observation Archive,University of Sussex, with its publications [00A111/3]

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Call ing 1970s alumni

The Oral History Program is tosurvey student experience ofthe 1970s, thanks to a gener-

ous donation by UNSW law alumnusMr Peter Noble, which has made thispossible.

Previous surveys have examinedstudent experience at UNSW in the1950s and 1960s. The completedquestionnaires from those surveys arenow a valuable archival source forstudent life and life in Australia inthose years. The 1970s survey con-sists of an in-depth questionnaire tohelp alumni construct memoirs oftheir student life. Anyone who was aUNSW student in the 1970s is invit-ed to participate. There is also a spe-cial questionnaire for those who wereoverseas students.

If you would like to help theArchives document this importantdecade, please provide Dr JuliaHorne (contact details on the backpage of Origins) with your name andpostal address and you will be for-warded a questionnaire.

Introductory oral history workshops

Julia Horne, co-ordinator of the OralHistory Program in the UNSW Archives,will conduct two introductory weekendworkshops on oral history in March2001: ‘Interviewing people abouttheir lives’ (3 March) and ‘Producingoral histories’ (17 March). They are anopportunity to learn the subtleties ofinterview techniques, and how memo-ry works. You will also find out howto transcribe and edit an interviewand present it as a finished product.

Contact UNSW Professional formore details about the workshops —

ph: 9385 2726 or email: <unswprofessional@unsw.edu.au>.The full UNSW Professional SummerSchool program is online at <unswprofessional.arts.unsw.edu.au/>

Oral history inSingapore and Malaysia

Staff at the Oral History Programhave interviewed approximatelytwenty overseas alumni fromSingapore and Malaysia about theirstudent experience in Australia in the1950s and 1960s. These are valuabledocuments about Asian perspectivesof postwar Australia, and reveal inter-esting aspects of Australian-Asianrelations in that period. Some of thein-depth interviews are now availablein the Archives, subject to accessconditions. A few of the photographsdonated by the alumni are featured inthis issue of Origins.

A nat ional directory of oral history

A new, electronic directory toAustralian oral history collections isnow available online. Maintained bythe National Library of Australia, thisdirectory provides details of privateand public oral history collectionsthroughout Australia. It is searchableby subject category, name of collec-tion and date/decade of recording. Goto <www.nla.gov.au/ohdir/> online,for more information.

This is a selection of records receivedby the University Archives fromAugust 1999 to October 2000.

The Archives extends its specialthanks to all depositors. We arealways interested in receiving docu-mentary, visual or other materialrelating to the university and itsmembers.

Access enquiries to the collectionare invited. In some instances accessis restricted or special conditionsapply.

Personal papers/items/oralhistory interviewsBasden, K.S. Photographs of staff and

students, Mining Engineering andApplied Geology, 1950s. [99A105]

Bearman, R.J. Personal papers relatingto his employment as foundationProfessor of Chemistry at the RoyalMilitary College and ADFA and thedevelopment of the department in itsearly years. [00A118]

Broadbent, D. Photographs of RadioUniversity, 1961 & late-60s. [99A118]

Bush, Pat. Library card, ca.1960s/1970s. [00A74]

Chand, Fateh. Photographs of studentlife in Australia. [00A9]

Chand, Fateh. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumnus. [OH119]

Choo Peak Mee. Photographs of studentlife in Australia, 1960s. [00A8]

Choo Peak Mee. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumna. [OH113]

Chua Yong Hai. Oral history interview

Oral Histor y in the Archives

Grace Yong and Choo Peak Mee outsidethe Salvation Army Hostel in Stanmore,1961. In the early 1960s a number ofoverseas students stayed in the Hostel,which was nicknamed the Young Women’sHostel. [Choo Peak Mee 00A8/4]

Recent accessions

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about student life and Australia in the1960s. Singapore alumnus. [OH125]

Cranmer, V. Group photograph of staffof Applied Chemistry at Ultimo,1954. [00A87]

Evers, Moira P. Photographs of UNSWcampus, ca. 1959. [00A62]

Fong Voon Seng. CD-R with photo-graph files of photos of Fong’s experi-ence in Australia, 1960s. [00A112]

Fong Voon Seng. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumnus. [OH118]

Gan Chin Kew. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumnus. [OH115]

Gissing, P. Sir Philip Baxter, Engineer:The Fabric of a Conservative Style ofThought. PhD thesis, UNSW 1999.[99A149]

Heseltine, H. Student poetry presentedto Heseltine by students partaking in astudent lunchtime workshop on writ-ing poetry, ca. 1972. 13pp. [99A129]

Hindmarsh, Mary. H.N. Barber,Botanists’ Miscellany 1949–63,unpubl. memoir 1963. [00A69]

Ho Fee Chin. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumna. [OH120]

Ho Lung Tat, John. Oral history inter-view about student life and Australiain the 1950s. Malaysian alumnus.[OH121]

Hora, H. Copies of articles relating tothe Department of TheoreticalPhysics, Professor Dirac and Hora’scontribution in the field of laser parti-cle beams, 1977–99. [00A46]

Horne, Julia. Photographs of intervie-wees who participated in the survey

of overseas students in the 1950s and1960s. Malaysia, November 1999[00A109]; Singapore, July 2000[00A110]

Kingston, Beverley. Faculty of Arts andSocial Sciences badge. [00A34]

Kirby, M. Copy of the review of K.Dutton’s book Auchmuty the Life ofJames Johnston Auchmuty BoombanaPublications 2000, presented by theHon. Justice Michael Kirby on theoccasion of the launch of the book,June 2000. [00A108]

Koch, L. Personal papers, 1935,1948–64. [99A139, 00A56, 00A90]

Koh, Jimmy. Photographs of student lifein Australia, 1960s. [00A107]

Koh, Jimmy. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Singapore alumnus. [OH130]

Koh Eng Hooi, David Dato’. Banner ofthe University of New South WalesAlumni Association, MalaysianChapter, late 1990s. [00A113]

Koh Eng Hooi, David Dato’. Oral histo-ry interview about student life andAustralia in the 1960s. Malaysianalumnus. [OH117]

Lam, Mei. Personal photographs ofLam’s experience in Australia, 1960s.[00A106]

Lam, Mei. Oral history interview aboutstudent life and Australia in the1960s. Singapore alumna. [OH129]

Lee, Brian. Oral history interview aboutstudent life and Australia in the1960s. Singapore alumnus. [OH131]

Lee, Eddie. Oral history interview aboutstudent life and Australia in the1960s. Singapore alumnus. [OH128]

Lee Wan Hoi. Oral history interview

Basser freshman at Coogee Beach, early1960s. Under a college ritual freshmenwere sent to Coogee Beach to invite girlsto the Basser Ball. This photograph wastaken by UNSW alumnus Jimmy Koh,interviewed for the Oral History Programin 2000. [J. Koh 00A107]

Maths 1, UNSW, 1960. Students includedOmar bin Ibrahim, Fateh Chand, ChongFoo Shin, Helen Lee, Marilyn Warne,Diana Peet. [F. Chand 00A9/2]

Staff, school of Applied Chemistry, NSW University of Technology, 1954. Thirty-two staff members were absent from this photograph. [00A87]

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about student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumnus. [OH116]

Leo, Andra. Oral history interviewabout student life in the 1960s.[OH126]

Long Foo Yee, Fred. Oral history inter-view about student life and Australiain the 1960s. Singapore alumnus.[OH132]

McKenzie, Marie. Colour slides ofUNSW campus taken in 1979 as partof a film production subject under-taken in the then School of Drama.[00A120]

Martin, H. Poster of the ChemicalSociety, New South Wales Universityof Technology, advertising a lecture byProfessor Alexander, early 1950s.[L.W.O. Martin 99A123]

Myers, R.H. T-shirt and Dragon figurepresented to Myers at the time of hisknighthood, 1981. [99A106]

Ngiam Tong Yuen. Oral history inter-view about student life and Australiain the 1960s. Singapore alumnus.[OH127]

Niland, J. OZ Magazine, no.35, Jan.1967. [00A40]

Noble, Peter. Oral history interviewabout being a law student in the1970s. [OH124]

O’Farrell, P. Personal papers. [99A150]Orlovich, P. Correspondence and papers

relating to Orlovich’s time at UNSW’sSchool of Librarianship/ Library andArchive Studies, 1974–98. [00A59]

Oxley, P.L.B. Personal papers relating toOxley’s career as academic adminis-trator, teacher and senior researcher,1964–99. [00A1]

Phung, June. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumna. [OH122]

Reuter, F.H. Personal photographs, biog-raphical data and notebooks,1943–99. [99A124, 00A50]

Ritchie, Joan. Oral history interviewwith former senior lecturer in GeneralStudies. [OH123]

Sowey, E. Computing ServicesNewsletter, 1975–92; FacultyCorporate Plans, 1990s. [V201, V642]

Swinbourne, E. Biographical profile ofL.W.O. Martin prepared by Dr D.Lark and Dr E. Swinbourne, 1999.[99A138]

Tan Siak Tee. Oral history interviewabout student life and Australia in the1960s. Malaysian alumnus. [OH114]

Waring, J. Photocopy of a Mechanical

Engineering Graduation photo, April1956. [A.H. Willis 00A85]

Whiffen, N. Copy of Whiffen’sAustralian Dictionary of Biographyentry on R.K. Murphy. [00A67]

Student- or alumni-relatedAlumni Association. Alumni News. The

newsletter of the UNSW AlumniAssociation, April & September 2000.[V791]

Alumni Association. Letter from MrE.H. Stockton recollecting his associa-tion with UNSW, 2000. [00A47]

Sports Association. Association files remembers, club files and reports,1971–98. [99A128]

Student activities. Printed items relatingto the International House ResidentsSociety, Union of the VietnameseStudents in Australia, StudentsEastern Cultural Association, andUNSW Union, 1970s. [Isabella Trahn00A28]

Students Union. Autographed programof ‘Bottoms Up’, 1958 Revue. [JimColman 00A63]

UNSW alumni memories. Alumni recol-lect their funniest, most moving ormemorable experience at UNSW,2000. [00A49]

UNSW Baseball/Softball Club. Clubfiles, reports, photographs, shirts andAustralian University Games medals,1990s. [00A117]

Vice-Chancellor’s Office. 50th Annivers-ary: Recognition of UNSW studentleaders, 1999. [99A140, 99A141]

Governance and administrationDeputy Vice-Chancellor’s Office. Files

relating to the closure of St Georgecampus, 1996–98. [99A115]

Division of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor.Associate Professor Jane Morrison.Reports, office files, Institute of

Administration tie and mug, photo-graph of the ‘Jockey’s House’,1986–89. [00A23, 00A27]

Facilities Department. Aerial maps ofDavid Phillips Field, UNSWKensington and Randwick campus.[00A32]; Brass plaque of universityarms, formerly hung in CouncilChambers. [00A94]

Policy Management Unit. RecordsAdministration. CentralAdministration files. [99A107,00A64, 00A68, 00A92]

Publishing and Printing Services. TonyPotter, University Photographer.Council members photographed atthe site of the Council’s first meeting(6/7/1949), in the then ExecutiveCouncil Chamber, Chief Secretary’sBuilding, Bridge-Macquarie Streets,and 50 years to the day afterwards.[99A99]

Publishing and Printing Services. TonyPotter, University Photographer.UNSW Photograph collection: photo-graphs, transparencies and negativesof UNSW people and events,1960s–2000. [00A31, 00A33]

Registrar. Papers relating to the UnijobsSteering and Evaluation Committee,1999–2000. [00A43]

Secretariat. Faculty and Board agendas,minutes and papers. BuiltEnvironment, College of Fine Arts,AGSM, Applied Science, Arts andSocial Sciences, Commerce andEconomics, Engineering, Medicine,Science, 1993–98. [various accessions]

Secretariat. Professorial Board, AcademicBoard and respective Committees.Agendas, minutes, papers. 1982–98.[00A92]

Student Administration Department.UNSW Examination Papers, 1997,1998. [V114]

Student Administration Department.

Hardy, Clarence. Atomic Rise And Fall:The Australian Atomic EnergyCommission 1953–1987, Glen HavenPublishing, Peakhurst NSW, 1999.274pp. [99A109]

Horne, Donald. Into The Open: memoirs1958–1999, Harper Collins Publishers,Sydney 2000. 358pp. — includeschapters on life at UNSW. [00A122]

Hymans, J.E.C. ‘Isotopes and Identity:

Australia and The Nuclear WeaponsOption, 1949–99’, The NonproliferationReview Spring 2000, vol.7, no.1.[00A60]

Woods, Leslie C. Against The Tide. AnAutobiographical Account Of AProfessional Outsider, Institute of PhysicsPublishing, Bristol and Philadelphia,2000. 319pp. — includes chapter onlife at UNSW. [00A121]

Special interest and histor ical accounts

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Protocol Office. Graduation Booklets,1998, 1999. [V3]

University Council. Committees ofCouncil agendas, minutes and papers,1999. [multiple accessions]

UNSW Art Curator. Correspondenceand photographs about the SanggawaVisual Artists Collective’s visit toSydney and the design and executionof their mural, Paloob Sa Labas, forUNSW campus, 1995. [00A44]

UNSW Working Parties. Papers, reports,etc. [various accessions]

Vice-Chancellor’s Office. Office files,1993–97. [00A25, 00A26]; Papersdocumenting developmental stepsleading to the building of TheScientia, 1995. [00A61]; Photographs,Universitas 21 - Fudan University,Shanghai, April 2000. [00A65]

UNSW public affairs/ mediaAsia lectures given to the Asia–Australia

Institute by the Rt Hon. P.J. Keating,1996, 1998. [99A116]

Division of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor(Academic Affairs). Four videos relating to ADFA (3) andto the Australian awards for universityteaching, 1991–96. [00A115]

Division of Information Services. Officeof the Director. Framed reconciliation statement made at the UNSW Reconciliation Gathering,9 September 1999. Signed by theChancellor, Dr John Yu, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Niland, andAunty Jean Carter. [00A83]

Equal Employment Opportunity Unit.Awareness campaign badges re homo-phobia and racism, 1990s. [00A4]

Media and Education TechnologySupport Unit. Videotapes: 1999Foundation Day and UNSW 50thAnniversary Celebrations, 1999.[99A147]

Public Affairs and Development.Address by Sir William Deane,Governor-General, at the opening of The Scientia, 3 September 1999.[99A142]

Public Affairs and Development. Filesand printed items relating to eventsorganised by PAD. [99A146, 00A119]

Public Affairs and Development. Pressreleases, Media Monitor news cut-tings. 1998, 1999. [99A108, 00A45]

Public Affairs and Development. T-shirtsproduced for promotional purposessuch as for Open Day and for sale

through UNSW Union shop. [00A24]UNSW Image project. PR video

providing an overview of UNSW andhighlighting select collaborativeresearch projects, 1995. [00A80]

Faculties, schools and unitsCentre for Olympic Studies. Geoff

Dowsley Collection. Draft on historyof swimming and research files. Heldby Archives on behalf of the Centre.[99A145]

Centre for Olympic Studies. Items relat-ing to 1996 Olympic Games submis-sion by Sydney, ca. 1988. Held byArchives on behalf of the Centre.[99A111, 99A144]

Food Technology. Framed photographof Bushman’s contingent encamped atKensington, 1900. [00A55]

Information, Library and ArchiveStudies/ Librarianship. Administrativefiles 1960–97. [99A112]

Information, Library and ArchivesStudies. Files and projects relating tothe Bibliographic Information onSouth-East Asia (BISA) project,1977–90. [00A78]

Library. Photographs taken at libraryfunctions and 50th anniversary cele-brations, 1970s–1999. [00A6, 00A7,00A29]

Materials Science and Engineering.School reports, and course notes andpapers for ‘Industrial coatings for cor-rosion control’, 1982–98. [00A2,00A5]

Media and Education TechnologySupport Unit. Lecture tapes,1970–85. [99A125]

Medicine. Administrative files, 1960s –late 1990s. [99A121]

Medicine. School photographs,1987–91, 1992–93. [99A114, 00A54]

Other university organisationsFriends of the Library. Posters and

leaflets, 1990–94. [99A130]

General publications, printed itemsAlexander Mackie College. College

Calendars and Handbooks 1959–79.[99A113]

Newsletters, reports. Selected itemsfrom the Institute of Administration,Unisearch, Opunka, 1967–91. [H.Harant 99A119]

UNSW publications, annual reports.[00A57]

UNSW Calendar and Handbooks,2000.

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AddressUniversity Archives

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