MS 277 Papers of Sir John Kirwan
Summary
| Creator: |
Kirwan, John, Sir, 1869-1949 |
| Title: |
Papers of Sir John Kirwan |
| Date range: |
1899-1935 |
| Reference number: |
MS 277 |
| Extent: |
16cm (8 folders) + 1 folio |
Administrative Information
Access
Available for reference
Provenance
The papers were received in 1951 as part of a co-operative agreement
with the Public Library of Western Australia. Negotiations for the
acquisition of his papers had taken place with Sir John Kirwan by both
institutions, and after his death in 1949 it was decided to divide his papers,
those of Federal importance being held in the National Library, with
photocopies in Western Australia, those of local interest within the Public
Library of Western Australia. The original Separate to
Federate letters are in the Western Australian collection, with
photographic copies in Canberra.
Scope and Content
The papers include personal correspondence,
manuscripts of Kirwans books and articles, publications, invitations,
newspaper clippings and photographs. Of special interest is the
correspondence dealing with the conflict in Western Australia concerning
federation and the Western Australian secession movement. Correspondents
include Sir Isaac Isaacs, W.M. Hughes, Andrew Fisher, Sir Joseph Cook, Sir John
Quick, Alfred Deakin, Lord Hopetoun, Sir Earle Page, C.C. Kingston, Sir George
Pearce, Sir George Reid, Sir Walter James, Sir Charles Dilke, George Leake,
H.B. Higgins, S.M. Bruce, E.J. Harding, Malcolm MacDonald, James MacCallum
Smith, J.J. Astor, Lord De La Warr, Sir Arthur Pearson, Lord Novar, Lord
Salisbury and Sir Austin Chamberlain.
Biographical Note
John Waters Kirwan was born in Liverpool, England, on 2 December
1869. He worked as a writer in Dublin and London before his arrival in
Australia in 1890. In Australia he tried work as a journalist in various
cities before settling on the Western Australian goldfields at Kalgoorlie,
where he was made editor-in-chief of the daily Kalgoorlie Miner and
weekly Western Argus, a position he held from 1895 until 1926.
After taking a leading part in advocating that Western Australia join
the Commonwealth, Kirwan was elected to represent Kalgoorlie in the House of
Representatives of the first Federal Parliament. He was deputy Chairman
of Committees, but was defeated at the 1903 election. In 1908 he was
elected to the Legislative Council of Western Australia where he sat until
1946, being its President from 1926 to 1946. He represented Western
Australia at Imperial Press Conferences in London (1909), Ottawa (1920),
Melbourne (1925), and Rome (1933). The author of many articles on the
history of Western Australia, he published several books including An empty
land: pioneers and pioneering in Australia (1934) and My Lifes
adventures (1936). He was knighted in 1930.
Kirwan died at Subiaco, W.A. on 9 September 1949.
Series List
Series Title
1
Correspondence, 1899-1939
2
Publications
3
Manuscripts of books and articles
4 Other
papers
Series Description
Series 1. Correspondence, 1899-1939
This series contains letters written between
1899 and 1939. Most of them are from the early years of the century,
dealing particularly with the issue of federation, goldfield agitation in
favour of federation, and its relation to the building of the transcontinental
railway. Later letters deal with matters of journalism, with
Kirwans attendance at Imperial Press Conferences and with his published
material.
Items 1-194
Series 2. Publications
These publications are written by, or collected by, Kirwan. They
include details of the visit in 1902 of parliamentarians to the proposed sites
for a national capital, the celebrations of the Western Australian goldfields
and also Kirwans own works on the Imperial Press Conferences and on the
history of the Western Australian Legislative Council.
Items 1-13
Series 3. Manuscripts of books and
articles
The manuscripts demonstrate Kirwans
interest in Western Australian history. They discuss the early years of
the colony, the history of Kalgoorlie and of the Kalgoorlie Miner, and
the movement for federation in Western Australia. In addition there is an
article comparing the British with the Australian Parliament and another
concerned with the imperial parliamentary conferences.
Items 1-211
Series 4. Other papers
The series comprises photographs (items 1-19),
invitations (items 20-41) and newspaper clippings (items 42-78). The
committee and petition of the separation for federation movement of
1899 are represented among the photographs. There are several pictures of
Kalgoorlie. Both official and unofficial photographs taken at the
Imperial Press Conference in Ottawa in 1919 are included, as are those of the
delegates to the International Parliamentary Commercial Conferences in Prague
(1931) and Rome (1933).
Name Index To Correspondence
All correspondence in the Papers has been
indexed, the numbers below being underlined to indicate authorship,
non-underlining indicating receipt of a letter.
AMERY, Leopold S. 169
ASTOR, John Jacob 177, 179
AUSTIN, Alfred 97-8
BLONET, Paul 108-108a
BRADDON, Sir Henry 18
BRITTAIN, Sir Harry
170, 172
BRUCE, Stanley Melbourne, 1st
Viscount 180-1
BURNHAM, Harry Lawson, 2nd
Baron 163-4
CHAMBERLAIN, Sir Austen
131
COOK, Sir Joseph 128
CREIGHTON, L. 99-100
DE LA WARR, Herbrand, 9th Earl 191
DEAKIN, Alfred 19-22,
82-83, 130, 154, 160, 193
DEANE, Percival Edgar
167
DILKE, Sir Charles
W. 70-72, 96
FAIRFAX, Albert Kirby, 12th
Baron 190
FISHER, Andrew 124, 159
GLYNN, Patrick McMahon 88-91
GREEN, N.R. 105
HARDING, Sir Edward John
183-4, 185-6, 187
HIGGINS, Henry B. 157
HOGAN, J.F. 73-76,
77-81, 84-87
HOLBROOK, Arthur R. 182
HOPETOUN, John Adrian, 7th
Earl 123, 125
HUGHES, William Morris 173
ISAACS, Sir
Isaac 158
JAMES, Sir Walter Hartwell
26-28, 29-30, 31-33, 54-57
KINGSTON, Charles C. 23-25,
67-69, 109, 132-135, 136-148, 149-150,
151, 152, 153, 155
KIRWAN, Sir
John 119-121
LABOUCHERE, Henry 101-2
LEAKE, George 34-37,
38-48, 49-53, 59-66, 92-95, 110-112,
113, 114-117
MacDONALD, Malcolm 189
McGRATH, Sir
Patrick 174
McMILLAN, Sir
William 126, 127
McMILLAN, W. 129
MANN, C. 88-91
NOVAR, Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson,
1st Viscount 171
PAGE, Sir Earle
G. 176
PEARCE, Sir
George 168, 175, 192
PEARSON,
Arthur 165-6
POYER, Charles,
Rev 103
QUICK, Sir
John 118, 119-121, 122
RAE, S.G. 58
REID, Sir
George 16-17, 161, 162, 194-5
SALISBURY, James Edward, 4th
Marquess 178
SMITH, Bruce 156
SMITH, James 188
VOSPER, F.C.B. 1-15
1971. Last updated August 2002. |