Petherick Collection

Joseph Hall, Mundus alter et idem (London: 1605), annotated by E.A. Petherick as being the first printed work on Terra Australis
Petherick Collection

Edward Augustus Petherick (1847-1917) emigrated from England to Australia with his family at the age of six. Entering the book trade in the employment of George Robertson, bookseller and publisher of Melbourne, in 1875 Petherick was sent to London as a buyer. In addition to his work for Robertson, Petherick was privately engaged in compiling a bibliography of Australian and Pacific material. With his contacts in the book trade Petherick soon began collecting.

In 1887 Petherick set up the Colonial Booksellers' Agency in London but in 1894 the company was bankrupted. Assistance from family and friends, however, enabled Petherick to preserve his extensive private collection.

During the next 17 years Petherick tried to interest the Commonwealth of Australia in buying his collection. While never in doubt about the significance of the Petherick Collection, the Commonwealth found itself in a difficult position. Petherick had made it a condition that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library employ him to continue his monumental bibliography. Aged in his early sixties, Petherick was considered too old to be employed by the Australian Public Service. Finally, in 1911 the Commonwealth Government passed the Petherick Act, enabling the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library to employ Petherick as Archivist for an annuity of £500.

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