Guide to the Papers of Sydney Tomholt

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MS 5807

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Sydney Tomholt
Title
Papers of Sydney Tomholt
Date Range
1919-1973
Collection Number
MS 5807
Extent
2.8 metres (20 boxes, 3 folio items)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Represented in the papers is a large sequence of draft manuscripts and associated papers relating to Tomholt's chief work, an unfinished trilogy based on the life of Governor Macquarie, in which he was involved in meticulous research for over 20 years. Also filed in the collection are two letters from George Bernard Shaw to Tomholt (dated 1919), and correspondence with a number of Australian writers and intellectuals with whom Tomholt maintained a close association, such as C.K. Bliss, Tom Inglis Moore, R.D. FitzGerald, Hugh McCrae, R.G. Howarth, Nancy Keesing and Rosemary Dobson.

The collection also contains a series of autographed editions, including copies of McCrae's Satyrs and sunlight (1922), Inglis Moore's Emu parade (1941) and Six Australian poets (1942), Dobson's Child with a cockatoo and other poems (1955), FitzGerald's To meet the sun (1929) and Keesing's Imminent summer (1951) and Three men and Sydney (1955), all inscribed to Tomholt, and most containing letters from and notes about their authors.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2958228).

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Sydney Tomholt, National Library of Australia, MS 5807, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Provenance

This collection of papers, which documents the various aspects of Tomholt's writing and business career, was received in twelve instalments - in 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001 - from Maxine Poynton-Baker (formerly Murray-Jones), his longtime friend and companion.

Biographical Note

A respected Australian playright and critic, Sydney Tomholt spent much of his early adult life overseas, firstly as a soldier in France and England during World War I, and then as a businessman and editor in China, Mongolia and the Philippines. After returning to Sydney in 1932 he worked successfully as a radio scriptwriter, at the same time gaining recognition as a serious dramatist, principally as a writer of one-act plays. Despite the acknowledgment Tomholt received, including encouragement from George Bernard Shaw, the deeply psychological themes of his plays proved too adventurous for Australian theatre of the day and were rarely staged.

DateEvent
1884Born 6 January, Fitzroy, Melbourne
early 1900sBegan writing, chiefly one-act plays
1911-15Joined the Gloria (gas) Light Company
1912Married pianist Hilda Merle Cotham, 2 November
1914Moved to Sydney to open office of Gloria Light Company
1915-16Joined AIF and fought as reinforcement to 24th Battalion in France
1916-17Evacuated due to illness and attached to the Pay Corps in London
1919Studied drama at University of London
1921Divorced from first wife
1922-32Editor and businessman in China, including Mongolia, and in Manila for the Pacific Commerical Company, where he met Tom Inglis Moore
1924Financial editor of the China Press and Shanghai Times and married a White Russian refugee, Mary Kouptzova
1933-37Chief dramatic scriptwriter, 2GB Radio, Sydney
1936Publication of Bleak dawn and other plays, a collection of ten one-act plays
1937Production of 'Anoli-the blind', Independent Theatre, Sydney, 6 February
1937Publication of 'Searchlights' in Best Australian one-act plays
1937-44Film, music and drama critic for the Sydney Morning Herald
1940May Hollingworth production of 'The woman Mary' for the Sydney University Dramatic Society, 1 June. The production was revived in December and won first prize in a British Drama League competition
early 1940sProductions of 'Leading lady' and 'Dimmed lights', Sydney
mid 1940sAwarded Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowhips
c.1950-60Managed a literary agency
1974Died Darlinghurst, Sydney, 23 April
DateEvent
1884Born 6 January, Fitzroy, Melbourne
early 1900sBegan writing, chiefly one-act plays
1911-15Joined the Gloria (gas) Light Company
1912Married pianist Hilda Merle Cotham, 2 November
1914Moved to Sydney to open office of Gloria Light Company
1915-16Joined AIF and fought as reinforcement to 24th Battalion in France
1916-17Evacuated due to illness and attached to the Pay Corps in London
1919Studied drama at University of London
1921Divorced from first wife
1922-32Editor and businessman in China, including Mongolia, and in Manila for the Pacific Commerical Company, where he met Tom Inglis Moore
1924Financial editor of the China Press and Shanghai Times and married a White Russian refugee, Mary Kouptzova
1933-37Chief dramatic scriptwriter, 2GB Radio, Sydney
1936Publication of Bleak dawn and other plays, a collection of ten one-act plays
1937Production of 'Anoli-the blind', Independent Theatre, Sydney, 6 February
1937Publication of 'Searchlights' in Best Australian one-act plays
1937-44Film, music and drama critic for the Sydney Morning Herald
1940May Hollingworth production of 'The woman Mary' for the Sydney University Dramatic Society, 1 June. The production was revived in December and won first prize in a British Drama League competition
early 1940sProductions of 'Leading lady' and 'Dimmed lights', Sydney
mid 1940sAwarded Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowhips
c.1950-60Managed a literary agency
1974Died Darlinghurst, Sydney, 23 April

Item Descriptions

Class [unnumbered]. Original consignment

Manuscripts of plays and short stories (File 1-3) - Box 1

Manuscripts of 'Macquarie' trilogy (File 4-10) - Box 1

Manuscripts of 'Macquarie' trilogy (File 11-18) - Box 2

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 19-28) - Box 3

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 29-35) - Box 4

News cuttings about 'Macquarie' (File 36) - Box 4

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 37) - Box 4

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 38-43) - Box 5

Appointment diary, 1952 with inserted miscellaneous notes, reviews regarding Bleak dawn and other plays (File 44) - Box 5

Notes on R.D. FitzGerald (File 45) - Box 5

Correspondence, 1936, 1947 (File 46) - Box 5

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 10 July 1978

Biographical data (File 47) - Box 6

ABC talks on the Far East (File 48) - Box 6

Manuscript of 'Terror by telephone' by Murray Bond (File 49) - Box 6

Correspondence and notes relating to A.V.H. Hartendorp (File 50) - Box 6

Correspondence and notes relating to Michael Noonan (File 51) - Box 6

Papers relating to Commonwealth Literary Fund Fellowships, together with Mitchell Library callslips and notes (File 52) - Box 6

100 symbol elements to overcome Babel in reading, writing and thought by C.K. Bliss, c.1949 (File 53) - Box 6

Correspondence and notes relating to C.K. Bliss (File 54) - Box 6

Personal correspondence, 1927-70 (File 55) - Box 6

The Australian national review, v. 3, no. 16, 1 April 1938, including article by R.G. Howarth 'Australian drama : the one-act play' (File 56) - Box 6

Original typescript draft of 'Macquarie and his tours' (File 57) - Box 7

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 58-59) - Box 7

Typescript copy of 'The political persecution of George Suttor' by Murray Bond, together with notes on Captain Bligh (File 60) - Box 7

Typescript copy of 'Stampede', a radio play by Tomholt (File 61) - Box 7

Press cuttings (File 62) - Box 7

Typescripts of 'La Tosca', 'Dearest miracle' and other notes (File 63) - Box 7

Notes relating to 'Macquarie' (File 64) - Box 7

Report on script of 'Forty thousand horsemen' (File 65) - Box 8

Typescript of radio play 'The tragedy of Captain Dreyfus', Section 1 and newspaper clippings (File 66) - Box 8

Typescript of radio play 'The tragedy of Captain Dreyfus', Section 2 (File 67) - Box 8

Typescript of radio play 'The tragedy of Captain Dreyfus', Section 3 (File 68) - Box 8

Typescript of radio play 'The tragedy of Captain Dreyfus', Section 4 (File 69) - Box 8

Typescript radio plays 'The masterpiece', 'The new generation', 'The laughter of Fedor' (File 70) - Box 8

Film and drama reviews for the ABC and Sydney Morning Herald (File 71) - Box 8

Cuttings of film and play reviews (File 72) - Box 8

Typescript of 'The Lama from Tibet' by Murray Bond (File 73-75) - Box 9

National geographic magazine, July 1931 (File 76) - Box 9

Photographs (File 77) - Box 9

Miscellaneous printed material (File 78) - Box 9

Typescripts of article 'The Panchen Lama' (an account of Tomholt's private audience with the Panchen Lama VI (1883-1937), spiritual leader of the Mongols and Tibetans) with photograph and clippings, together with typescript of 'The Lama from Tibet' by Murray Bond (File 79) - Box 9

Film and drama reviews by Tomholt (File 80) - Box 9

Review of 'Bleak dawn', miscellaneous correspondence and cuttings, typescript article 'Eastward-ho to the bells of Spanish romance' (File 81) - Box 9

Press cuttings (File 82) - Box 9

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 29 September 1978

Correspondence, manuscripts, cuttings relating to China, 1928-71 (File 83) - Box 10

Miscellaneous issues of Philippine magazine (File 84) - Box 10

Philippine magazine, June 1932 and clippings regarding riots against foreigners in Shanghai, 1927 (File 85) - Box 10

Manuscripts of plays (File 86-87) - Box 10

'Articles, notes and paragraphs, some to work into an article' (File 88) - Box 10

Typescript play by Professor Henry Brosë and Ekkehard Beinssen (File 89) - Box 10

ABC film reviews by Tomholt (File 90-92) - Box 10

Correspondence with Tom Inglis Moore, 1949-50, together with photograph of Moore and printed material (File 93) - Box 10

Programs and notes on plays, and papers on Ignac Freedman and Roy Agnew (File 94) - Box 10

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 20 December 1982

Photograph of Tom Inglis Moore (File 95) - Box 11

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 3 February 1983

Private correspondence regarding OBE awards for Doris Fitton and Elsa Chauvel, and assistance for Kathleen Agnew, daughter of Justice O'Connor, including letters of Robert Menzies and Sir Robert Garran (File 96) - Box 11

Miscellaneous notes, correspondence and reviews (File 97) - Box 11

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 14 March 1984

Correspondence, 1929-57 (File 98) - Box 11

Correspondence, 1958-78 (File 99) - Box 11

Miscellaneous printed material102 Newspaper clippings regarding William Dobell and Sidney Nolan (File 100-101) - Box 11

Personal documents, including army discharge certificate, copy of death certificate, accounts information and silk scarf used in 'The Lama from Tibet' (File 103) - Box 11

Photographs (File 104-105) - Box 12

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received December 1994

Satyrs and sunlight : being the collected poetry of Hugh McCrae, with rhyming inscription to Tomholt from McCrae (File 106) - Box 12

Correspondence, 1957-62; photograph of Hugh McCrae, c.1940s; miscellaneous clippings (File 107) - Box 12

Photographs of Philippine churches before the American occupation (File 108) - Folio 1

Clippings book containing articles by Wally Crouch, 1956-58, including a long sequence of despatches written from South Africa (File 109) - Folio 1

Large notebooks with handwritten notes by Tomholt (File 110) - Folio 1

Class [unnumbered]. Consignments received 28 August and 15 November 1995

Cards of friends and business acquaintances, Shanghai (File 111) - Box 13

Correspondence, 1922-62 (File 112) - Box 13

Correspondence, 1926-70 (File 113-115) - Box 13

Clippings and correspondence of R.D. FitzGerald and family (File 116) - Box 13

Correspondence of Hugh McCrae (c.1945), Tom Inglis Moore (1945-64) and R.G. Howarth (1964-68) (File 117) - Box 13

Annotated draft typescript of 'Governor Macquarie', Act 3, together with bound typescript of 'Roadside' by R.D. FitzGerald (File 118) - Box 13

Published articles by Sydney Tomholt: 'Davies of Woonsung' (1926) and 'Impressions of Australia' (1935) (File 119) - Box 14

Clipping about Ezra Pound; typescript of 'Look back in anger' by John Osborne; unposted draft letter to The Observer (London) regarding 'The shifting heart' (File 120) - Box 14

Clippings, including large sequence of articles and reviews concerning Voss by Patrick White (File 121) - Box 14

Theatre programs and printed notes on the British Poetry Association (File 122) - Box 14

Framed sketch of Peter Hopegood by Hugh McCrae (File 123) - Box 14

Cronulla ; 'queen' of surfing beaches, c.1930; The Australian author, Authors Week 1935; Hermes, Trinity 1941; Angry penguins broadsheet, no. 4, 1946; Shakespeare's Tempest : a public lecture by R.G. Howarth, 1947; Exhibition of sculpture and drawings by Henry Moore, 1947 (File 124) - Box 14

Literature of the theatre : Marlowe to Shirley, 1953; Southerly, no. 3, 1955; Sydney University Library report on the collections, 1959-60; China reconstructs, v. 8, no. 5, May 1959; Overland, no. 25, Summer 1962-63; Macbeth : a lecture before the Sydney Branch of the English Association, 1964 (File 125) - Box 14

Tom Inglis Moore. Emu parade, 1941. Inscribed to Tomholt with two letters from Moore to Tomholt (1949), cuttings and reviews (1942-58) and obituaries (1978) inserted (File 126) - Folio 2

Rosemary Dobson. Child with a cockatoo and other poems, 1955. Letter from Tomholt to Dobson (1956) and cuttings of poems and reviews of poems by Dobson (1956-65) inserted (File 127) - Folio 2

Nancy Keesing. Imminent summer, 1951. Inscribed to Tomholt with letter from Keesing to Tomholt (1951) and cuttings of poems and reviews (1951-60) inserted (File 128) - Folio 2

R.D. FitzGerald. To meet the sun, 1929. With long inscription to Tomholt (File 129) - Folio 2

William Moore and Tom Inglis Moore (eds). Best Australian one-act plays, 1937 (File 130) - Folio 2

Inscribed by Inglis Moore with letter from F. Wilshire to Tomholt (no date), together with an invitation to a reception for H.G. Wells inserted

Nancy Keesing. Three men and Sydney, 1955. Inscribed to Tomholt with ten letters from Keesing to Tomholt or his companion Maxine (1952-56), cuttings of poems and reviews (1952-67) and typescript of poem 'Children' signed by Keesing inserted (File 131) - Folio 3

Tom Inglis Moore. Six Australian poets, 1942. Inscribed by Moore and annotated by Tomholt with three letters from Moore to Tomholt (1958-60) and book reviews and cutting of article by Moore (1957) inserted (File 132) - Folio 3

A letter from George Bernard Shaw to J.C. Williamson, 1955. With two letters from Shaw to Tomholt (1919), letter from Walter Stone to Tomholt (1955) and cuttings about Shaw and Adelphi Terrace (1955-56) inserted (File 133) - Folio 3

Bound roneoed copy of 'Ovid, the art of love', translated by J.A. Meagher, annotated by Tomholt with four letters and telegrams from Meagher to Tomholt (1956-62), reviews and other clippings concerning translations of Ovid, together with an invitation to talk by Meagher on Ireland, Aisling Society of Sydney (1957) inserted (File 134) - Folio 3

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received May 1996

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1935-69 (File 135) - Box 15

Business cards, concert programmes, invitations, invoices, leaflets and notes (File 136) - Box 15

Notes relating to the 'Macquarie' trilogy (File 137) - Box 15

Typescript copies of a radio play 'The crystal palace', 1949 and an article 'The empire England tossed away: Britain's eighteenth century conquest of the Phillippines' (File 138) - Box 15

Newscuttings including cuttings relating to Bernard Shaw, R.G. FitzGerald and Australian bush ballads (File 139) - Box 15

Miscellaneous newscuttings (File 140) - Box 15

Published articles by Sydney Tomholt: 'Impressions of Australia' (1935); 'Night on the Gobi Desert' (1936); 'Searchlights' (1937); 'Compulsory games and physical training' (1937); 'Defence: Australia builds up her forces' (1939); 'Australia's expeditionary forces' (1940); and 'The Repertory Theatre in Sydney' (1941) (File 141) - Box 16

Southerly, no 1, 1961 including an article on Sydney Tomholt titled 'A note on Tommy' by R. G. Howarth (File 142) - Box 16

Notes for five seminars on Australian drama given by T. Inglis Moore who was appointed Commonwealth Government Lecturer in Australian Literature for 1946 at the University of Queensland. Synopsis of a lecture given at Canberra University College titled 'The novel: life on the land, social life. Notes titled 'The poet and the image' (File 143) - Box 16

Plays by Dulcie Deamer: 'In the soul of a man'; 'In the heart of a woman'; 'In the mind of a child and Easter' (File 144) - Box 16

Copies of A literary miscellany, 1958, 1959 produced by members of the staff and students of the University of Cape Town. The copies were sent by R.G. Howarth who was Professor of English Literature in the University of Cape Town at this time (File 145) - Box 16

Miscellaneous printed material (File 146-148) - Box 17

Photographic negatives taken in China and Mongolia (File 149-150) - Box 17

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 1 June 2000

Portrait photograph of Tomholt, c. 1960 (File 151) - Box 17

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 31 July 2000

Papers, 1922-73, including letter and signed copy of Kookaburras and satyrs from Walter Stone; portrait and family photographs, including Tomholt with Hilda Moore (eldest sister of Tom Inglis Moore) (File 152) - Box 18

Papers, 1944-65, including research material relating to the history of The Arts Council of Australia; portrait photograph; pencil portraits by G. Litchfield (File 153) - Box 18

Class [unnumbered]. Consignment received 3 August 2001

Gilmore, Mary. Old days, old ways (1934), with inscription by Gilmore and cutting inserted (File 154) - Box 18

FitzGerald, Robert D. The greater Apollo : seven metaphysical songs [194-?], with handwritten corrections by FitzGerald (File 155) - Box 18

FitzGerald, Robert D. The night's orbit (1953), with notes inserted (File 156) - Box 18

Pennington, Richard. Christopher Brennan: some recollections (1970), with four letters by R.G. Howarth (1955-59) and cuttings inserted (File 157) - Box 18

Rees, Leslie. Towards an Australian drama (1953), with letters by Rees and notes inserted (File 158) - Box 18

Printed poems and studies by R.G. Howarth, 1963-68 (File 159) - Box 19

FitzGerald, Robert D. (ed.) The letters of Hugh McCrae (1970), with letter from FitzGerald (1973) and typescript satirical poem (File 160) - Box 19

Printed poems of R.G. Howarth (1967-71), together with issues of The bulletin of the English Association, South African Branch (1958, 1960) (File 161) - Box 19

Tomholt, Sydney. Bleak dawn (1936), with notes and cuttings inserted (File 162) - Box 19

Rowbotham, David. Ploughman and poet (1954), with draft poem and note by Rowbotham and other items inserted (File 163) - Box 19

Moore, Tom Inglis. Adagio in blue (1938), with letter by Moore (1955) and clippings inserted (File 164) - Box 20

Moore, Tom Inglis (ed.). Selected poems of Henry Kendall (1957), with letter from Moore (1958) and cutting inserted (File 165) - Box 20

McDonald, A.H. (ed.) Trusteeship in the Pacific (1949) (File 166) - Box 20

FitzGerald, Robert D. Southmost twelve (1962), with note by Tomholt (1965) and cutting inserted (File 167) - Box 20

Meagher, J.A (trans.). Ovid : the art of love (1953) (File 168) - Box 20


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