Esme Biddulph presenting from Edwin Sawtell's notes about Michael Sawtell, social activist, poet, drover and bushman in the Esme Biddulph MS 3742 collection [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 6938004
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Biddulph, Esme, speaker
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research; written permission required for public use during the lifetime of the interviewer.
- Description:
-
- [1971?]
- 1 sound tape reel (ca. 6 min.) : analog, 1 7/8 ips, half track, mono. ; 7 in.
- Biography/History:
-
Michael Sawtell was born in Adelaide on Oct. 20, 1883, the son of a successful scientific instrument maker. Educated at St. Peter's College his parents intended he would go to university and follow a professional career but at age 17, he went to work for the cattle king, Sir Sidney Kidman, as a drover where he continued his reading of the classical writers. During this time he came into close contact with the Aborigines and learnt much about their way of life, folklore and tribal rites. He left Kidman in 1904 and went to the Northern Territory where he tried buffalo shooting, tin mining and some droving for Darwin wholesale butcher Bill Laurie. He settled in the town of Borroloola whose police station contained a private library of 3,000 books, sometimes referred to as "the University of the Northern Territory" and freely lent to members of the town. In 1908 he leased 16,000 hectares of land in the unexplored Obagooma country in Western Australia and drove there 50 head of cattle from Darwin.
- Notes:
- Digital master available National Library of Australia;
- Related Material:
- Papers of Esme Biddulph, 1971-1972; located at; National Library of Australia Manuscript collection MS 3742.
- Subject:
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2041 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 1971
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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