| Summary |
The papers have been arranged into 11 series, including: 1. Writings of Norman Ellison: drafts, research material for Flying Matilda, Aces and kings, and Fangs of the sea. 2. Correspondence, 1925-1971: mostly business. The major correspondents are Hudson Fysh, Fergus McMaster, Sir Donald Hardman and Bill Bostock. 3. Charles Kingsford-Smith: correspondence (including Kingsford-Smith's letters to his parents and sister), typescripts by Ellison, cuttings, and photographs, script for film "Smithy", press clippings, photographs, and a fuel guage from "Lady Southern Cross". 4. Butler Air Transport: comprises papers relating to C.A. Butler and Butler Air Transport. 5. Biographies: clippings, photographs and other papers relating to aviation personalities, including L.S. Bailey, Sir Gordon Taylor and Bert Hinkler. 6. Subjects: clippings, photographs and other papers relating to aviation subjects including aircraft, airports, QANTAS and RAAF.
The Acc07/184 instalment includes correspondence, handwritten notes, press cuttings, photographs and negatives, and souvenir ephemera relating to early Australian aviation.
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| Biography/History |
Aviation journalist and author. Norman Ellison was born in 1896 and lived in Sydney most of his life. He was a journalist and writer, and after his service in World War I he became interested in aviation. His career included working for daily newspapers, such as the Telegraph, the Daily Mirror and the Guardian, contributing articles to aviation journals and working for ABC Radio. He was well known and highly respected in the aviation world, often being referred to as "Australia's leading aviation writer". In 1950 he was a partner in a failed attempt to start a helicopter company in Sydney. He was also an active committee member of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women. Ellison authored and co-authored a number of books, mostly on the subject of aviation, including, Fangs of the sea (1939, which was a book about sharks), Aces and kings (1935), Daredevils of the skies (1940), Flying Matilda: early days in Australian aviation (1957), and, British gliders and sailplanes, 1922-1970 (1971). Ellison died in 1971 at the age of 75.
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