Summary |
MS 8534 comprises: 1. Photocopies of letters, photographs, news cuttings and pamphlets, 1832-1892, which relate to Honor Thwaites' ancestors Hastie and Alexander Dennis of Colac, Victoria, and Andrew and Celia Scott of Buninyong, near Ballarat. Also included in these two folders of family history are some photocopies of correspondence and genealogy charts, 1971-1992, relating to Honor Thwaites' ancestors. 2. Correspondence, news cuttings, leaflets, accounts and other papers, 1977-1992, which document the work of the Thwaites in ensuring the creation and preservation of the Remembrance Nature Park on the slopes of Mount Ainslie, Canberra. 3. Disc with the title "Memoirs-Honor Thwaites". 4. Musical scores of Michael Thwaites' poems: "Easter hymn" by George Fraser, 1947 (published score) and "Colours" by Terence A. Williams, 1944 (manuscript score) (1 box).
The Acc06.126 instalment consists of papers accumulated by Michael Thwaites during the course of his life and career. There is correspondence, poetry manuscripts and notes, lecture notes, financial records, cuttings and biographical material. Also included are diaries and correspondence of his wife Honor Thwaites and papers relating to the establishment of the Remembrance Nature Park (70 boxes).
The Acc09.71 instalment comprises correspondence, mostly from 1993, notes and notebooks, three microcassettes and papers relating to Michael Thwaites' funeral and memorial service (2 boxes).
The Acc13.060 instalment comprises a collection of notebooks, notes and drafts of writings by Michael Thwaites, loose personal correspondence, an album of postcards and two sketchbooks (1 box).
The Acc20.002 instalment comprises an edited and corrected transcript of Honor Thwaites memoir by M.R. Thwaites (before 2005), P.R.W. Thwaites and R.N.Thwaites (2019). Original transcript of memoir held at MS 8534, series 3 file 1 (1 folder).
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Biography/History |
Michael Thwaites was a poet and head of counter-espionage in the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), 1951-1970. He and his wife Honor founded the Friends of Remembrance Nature Park in Canberra. Michael Thwaites was born in Brisbane, educated in Australia and at the University of Oxford, where he won the Newdigate Medal and King's Gold Medal for Poetry. During World War II he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. His Atlantic odyssey, published in 1999, is an account of Thwaites' war service on an anti-submarine escort trawler. Between 1950 and 1970 Thwaites worked for ASIO and in 1954 he played a leading role in the defection of the Soviet diplomat Vladimir Petrov to Australia. Thwaites' best-known poetry includes, ''The Jervis Bay", "The prophetic hour", and "Message to my grandson". With his wife Honor, he wrote the patriotic hymn "For Australia", to a tune by Henry Purcell.
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Notes |
Manuscript reference no.: MS 8534, MS Acc06.126, MS Acc09.71, MS Acc13.060, MS Acc20.002.
Associated materials: Space window (for my daughter), 19-- MS 2480.
Some photocopies.
MS Acc06.126 copy Also available online https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-290715248
Digital content preserved (MS 8534)
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