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Papers of Judith Wright, 1944-2000 [manuscript]
Bib ID 1905928
Format ManuscriptManuscript
Author Wright, Judith, 1915-2000
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Finding aid
Access Conditions Part available for research; part requires permission for research. Not for loan. 
Description [1944-2000] 
15.75 m. (105 boxes) + 1 fol. box + 2 oversized items. 
Summary

The papers comprise literary manuscripts, correspondence, research material, newspaper cuttings, subject files, financial records and other papers. A significant proportion relates to conservation and Aboriginal concerns, with extensive files on the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, the Australian Conservation Foundation and other organisations. Literary material includes requests for use of Wright's poems and drafts of her books Because I was invited, The coral battleground, The generations of men, Charles Harpur, The cry for the dead and We call for a treaty and of her autobiography, Half a lifetime. Correspondents include A.W. Sheppard, Rosemary Dobson, Barbara Blackman, Dorothy Green, Kevin Gilbert, Roberta Sykes, David Brooks, Ian Hudson, Thistle Stead, Stefanie Bennett, Julian Croft, John Reed, Roger McDonald, Henry Reynolds, Kathleen McArthur and Len Webb. Wright's close family relationships are represented by a substantial correspondence between Wright and her husband, J.P. (Jack) McKinney, and with her daughter, Meredith McKinney.

Biography/History Poet, essayist, conservationist and campaigner for Aboriginal rights. Wright was 25 when her first poem was published and her first collection of verse, The moving image, was published in 1946. She went on to publish many other works including poetry, a biography of her pioneering family, children's books and her autobiography. Wright was awarded Commonwealth Literary Fund Fellowships in 1949 and 1962, a Creative Arts Fellowship (ANU) in 1974, a Senior Anzac Fellowship in 1976 and a three-year Australia Council Literature Board Senior Writers Fellowship in 1977. She has also received a number of awards for her writing, including the Grace Leven Poetry Prize (1949), Encyclopaedia Britannica Prize (1963), Christopher Brennan Award, Fellowship of Australian Writers (1974), Robert Frost Memorial Award, Fellowship of Australian Writers (1976), Alice Award, Society of Women Writers of Australia (1980), NSW Premier's Special Award for Poetry (1991) and the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry (1991). Wright was actively involved with issues relating to conservation, wildlife preservation and Aboriginal rights. These interests were reflected in her poetry and writings, which included her book, The cry for the dead (1981), about the treatment of Aborigines by settlers in Queensland from the 1840s to the 1920s. Organisations with which Wright was involved include: Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland - founding member and President, 1962-1976; Australian Society of Authors - foundation council member, 1963; Australian Conservation Foundation - council member, 1964-1972. Made an honorary life member in 1980 Committee of Enquiry into the National Estate - committee member; 1973-1974 Australian National University - council member (1975-1979) and the first woman to be appointed to the council as the Governor-General's nominee; Aboriginal Treaty Committee - Secretary, 1979-1983. 
Notes

Manuscript reference no.: MS 5781.

Selected items are also available in electronic format via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms5781

Cited In

Guide to collections of manuscripts relating to Australia ; E777.

Subjects Wright, Judith, - 1915-2000 - Archives.  |  Wright, Judith, - 1915-2000 - Correspondence.  |  Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.  |  Australian Conservation Foundation.  |  Women poets, Australian - 20th century - Archives.  |  Environmentalists - Australia - Archives.
Occupation Conservationists.  |  Poets.  |  Authors.  |  Environmentalists.
Terms of Use Part not to be reproduced.  Copying of Judith Wright's copyright material permitted for research purposes; copying of M. McKinney's copyright material: part permitted to be copied for research purposes; part not permitted to be copied for research purposes. 
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MS 5781 Manual Request only from Manuscript Reading Room, 2nd Floor
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MS Acc08/78
Note: Includes six folders and packets of corresponde... more
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Unprocessed instalment
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