The collection comprises personal papers of Harry Hastings Pearce & papers of early twentieth century Australian literary figures collected by Pearce. Pearce's personal papers include family & general correspondence, diaries, family & biographical papers; notebooks, scrapbooks; writings by Pearce including poetry, articles, speeches & pamphlets; subject files, photographs, drawings, articles, publications & other papers. Papers relate to Pearce's lifelong interests in Australian poetry & literature, folklore, book collecting, the rationalist & freethought movements in Australia & N.Z., involvement in organisations including the Henry Lawson Memorial & Literary Society, Bread and Cheese Club, Australian Poetry Lovers' Society & the Folklore Society of Victoria, & his works 'The true John Shaw Neilson' & "On the origins of Waltzing Matilda". The manuscript material collected by Pearce includes correspondence, literary manuscripts, notebooks, scrapbooks & other personal papers of Bernard O'Dowd, E.J. Turner, Henry Lawson, Ethel & G.W. Fielding, John Shaw Neilson, Alfred John Jarvis, Edward Harrington, Marie Pitt, E.J. Brady & others.
Poet, folklore historian and collector. His published works include two collections of poetry, "The song of nature and other poems" (1948) and "Dreams and arrows" (1969) and two volumes on the origins of "Waltzing Matilda".
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