Guide to the Papers of Russel Ward, 1908-1994

Summary

Collection number:

MS 7576

Creator:

Russel Ward

Extent:

8.6 metres and (60 boxes + 1 folio item)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Russel Ward, National Library of Australia, MS 7576, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference, with exception of the references in Series 6 which are closed until 2020.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers extend from Ward's childhood until three or four years before his death, with the bulk of them dating from 1950-90. They include an extensive correspondence, business papers, personal documents, newspaper cuttings, photographs, lecture notes, research material, drafts and other papers relating to most of his books and articles, and publications. There are a large number of ballads and bush songs collected when he was writing The Australian Legend. In addition, there are family papers, including letters and manuscripts of his parents, John and Winifred Ward.

The correspondents include Clem Christesen, Douglas Pike, John Robertson, Edgar Waters, Margaret Kiddle, Gregory Blaxell, Peter O'Shaughnessy, Geoffrey Serle and Robin Winks

Biographical Note:

Russel Braddock Ward was born in Adelaide on 9 November 1914, the son of a schoolteacher J.F. Ward and his wife Winifred née Braddock. He was educated at Blackheath College, Charters Towers, Wesley College, Perth and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. He went on to the University of Adelaide in 1933, majoring in English, and graduated with an Honours degree in 1936.

In 1937 James Darling asked Ward to become a teacher at Geelong Grammar School. He gained a Diploma of Education in 1938. Following his marriage to Margaret Ind in 1939, Ward moved to Sydney to teach at Sydney Grammar School. While living in Sydney Ward and his wife joined the Communist Party of Australia. They were active in the Party for several years and in the New Theatre in Sydney, but resigned in 1949. In August 1942 Ward joined the Australian Military Forces. He remained in Australia throughout the War, serving mainly in the Australian Psychology Testing Section. After the War he joined the New South Wales Education Department and taught in several secondary schools. In 1953 he enrolled as a postgraduate student in the Department of History at the Australian National University and he received his doctorate in 1956.

In a notorious case, Ward's appointment to the staff of the University of New South Wales was blocked for political reasons. In 1957 he was appointed a lecturer in History at the University of New England, where he remained for the rest of his career. He was made Associate Professor in 1963 and was Professor of History from 1967 to 1979. He served on the Council of the University from 1960 onwards and was Deputy Chancellor in 1982-89.

Apart from book reviews, Ward's earliest publications were junior secondary school textbooks. His first major book was The Australian Legend, first published in 1958 and appearing in several later editions. It won the Ernest Scott Prize in 1961. Most of his later writings were general Australian histories. He wrote a short history of Australia in 1965, reissued under various titles over the next 28 years, and in 1977 embarked on a three volume history of Australia. A Nation for a Continent was published in 1977 and Finding Australia in 1987, but the third volume was never completed. Together with John Robertson, he edited a three volume selection of documents Such Was Life. He also translated two French works: The New Australia and Socialism Without Doctrine. A Radical Life, an autobiography covering his life up to 1957, was published in 1988.

Ward was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1986.

Russel and Margaret Ward had two children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1967 and in 1970 Ward married Barbara Holloway. They had three children. His companion in his last years was Jeané Upjohn.

Ward died in Texas, Queensland, on 13 August 1995.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The bulk of the papers were purchased from Russel Ward in 1988. Following his death in 1995, a further five cartons of papers were donated by his family.

Arrangement:

The papers were originally in two locations: Ward's office at the University of New England and his home in Armidale. The University papers were well-filed and included several numbered sequences of files. Many of the papers at the home were also in Files, but others were in large bundles or loose. In particular, the papers which came after Ward's death were mostly disordered.

Wherever possible, Ward's files have been kept intact. The papers have been organised by Library staff into 27 series, 13 of which relate to his publications. In many cases, this has meant that files from the University have been brought together with files or loose papers from his home.

Indexed terms

Names:

Russel Ward

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1170351).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Russel Ward, National Library of Australia, MS 7576, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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