MS 8046
Papers of John O'Grady (1907-1981)
- Papers
- 1942-86
- 1.68 m (98 folders, 2 small boxes of photographs) One quarter inch
audio tape of Unstrung Bow, as broadcast by ABC radio in 1956, sent to
Oral History
- Family correspondence restricted (Box 1, folders 1-3, 5 and 7)
A summary list of his papers (based on list prepared by John O'Grady
Junior)
Biographical Note Author. O'Grady was a qualified
pharmacist and he had a variety of jobs, including serving with the Army
Medical Service 1942-50 and working in Samoa 1956-1958. O'Grady's first and
best known book is They're a weird mob, written in 1957 under the
pseudonym of Nino Culotta.
Although born in Sydney, he spent much of his childhood on a remote New
England farm and had no formal education until the age of twelve. He qualified
as a pharmacist, but found the profession unsatisfying. In 1936 he began work
as a commercial traveller selling medical goods. During WWII he served with the
army Medical Service. He left the army in 1950 and worked as a pharmacist,
builder's labourer, teacher of pharmacy for the NZ government in Samoa, and a
fisherman. He wrote several books under the name of Nino Culotta. The most
successful being They're a weird mob (1957), which was later made into a
movie. He also wrote 16 books under his own name, as well as short stories and
plays.
Series List
BOX 1 Correspondence (1945-80)
BOX 2-3 Diaries and notebooks
BOX 3-5 Drafts (handwritten)
BOX 6-7 Drafts (typewritten)
BOX 7-8 Stage Plays
BOX 8-9 Other manuscripts
BOX 9-12 Miscellaneous
BOX 1 Correspondence
folder 1-2 Letters to Mary (Molly) Carrol, whom he later
married (1945-47)
folder 3 Letters from Samoa (mainly) covering period before and
after publication of Weird Mob", plus a few cards and
letters from Europe (1956-60)
folder 4 Correspondence with Michael Powell and others
concerning film scripts. Letters from actors.
Hunting chapter deleted from They're a Weird Mob
(1962-64)
folder 5 Letters from his sister Kathleen Casey (1974)
folder 6 Assorted letters, including fan letters, letters
from ABC, letter to Ewart Wade of the Editors
Guild (1957-80)
folder 7 Letters from Barrier Reef and Kingscliff,
mainly concerning research for Gone Troppo, also
includes period of Molly's cancer (1970) (1965-71)
folder 8 Newsday file - notes, letters, contract concerning
column for new paper (1969)
folder 9-10 Correspondence between John O'G. Jnr. and assorted
persons concerning O'Grady work (1960-71)
BOX 2 Diaries and Notebooks
folder 11 Selected exercises for recruits, from P. & R.T.
manual, 1941, with no.1 Amendment, 1942 (notebook)
folder 12 Bahasa Melayu (handwritten course on how to speak
Malay - handwriting and C of A notebook suggests
war years).
folder 13 Nihon-go (handwritten course on how to speak
Japanese in C of A notebook).
folder 14 Record of a voyage in H.M.A.H.S. Manunda
commencing July 5th 1945 (in C. of A. notebook)
folder 15 Voyage of H.M.A.H.S. Manunda to Japan, March 9th to May
19th, 1946 (in C of A notebook)
folder 16 Sydney on the Bush, Mobil Run film script,
Yesterday, Dictionary of Slang, New York World's
fair; includes draft of first scene for
Light me a Lucifer, drafts of Addo and Peto
folder 17 Projects '66-'67; includes ideas for a "Weird Mob"
cartoon strip, New Guinea diary, Vietnam diary
folder 18 "Weird Mob" film treatment, Beatles concert,
N.T. diary, Pokin' around (rewritten and
extended), profit out of Hey Snow - where's Paddy? film,
88 cents in your kirk; includes diary of trip to north
Queensland (back cover of exercise book detached).
folder 19 Notes for Gone Gougin' and The Housekeeper for
Melb Sun; includes diary of two trips to Lightning
Ridge
BOX 3
folder 20 Aussie English 2, notes from north Queensland,
Irish family mottos: includes end of Are you Irish
or normal, second half of Aussie English (binding
on spine is coming away)
folder 21 What did you say your name was? Al Porje, Brampton
diary, play notes, Listen mate, Yesterday: includes first
chapter for Where's yourfeathers?, a thinly disguised
autobiography about the war.
folder 22 Includes The Originals, Integrated Adjective,
Ecumenical, notes for commentary on Cyril Pearl's
book So you want to be an Australian, draft screen
play for They're a weird mob, and editing note for
Gone fishin.
folder 23 Weird Mob film (diary of the making of the film)
Drafts (handwritten)
folder 24 They're a Weird mob (presumed first draft, handwritten in
minute book)
folder 25-26 They're a weird mob (handwritten, loose leaf, as
sent from Samoa, with handwritten pages deleted
from original manuscript)
folder 27-28 Cop this lot (handwritten in two notebooks)
BOX 4
folder 29-30 Gone fishin' (original title-Scaled and gutted)
folder 31 Always dreamin' or Saddle a white horse (draft of
Gone Troppo)
folder 32-33 No kava for Johnny
folder 34-35 The things they do to you
folder 36 Gone gougin'
BOX 5
folder 37 Aussie Etiket, Smoky Joe
folder 38 Dog house cook book, columns for Melbourne Age
(Newsday)
folder 39 Essays (so sue me)
folder 40 Aussie Grog (draft of Your shout, mate).
folder 41 There was a time (draft of There was a kid)
folder 42 Notes for Down Under Topside
folder 43 Down under to topside
folder 44 Irish stew
BOX 6
Drafts (typewritten) : O'Grady typed all his manuscripts
himself
folder 45-46 Gone troppo
folder 47-48 Are you Irish or normal (with handwritten
corrections)
folder 49-50 Are you Irish or normal (publishers paste-up)
folder 51-52 Are you Irish or normal (editors copy)
folder 53 Gone gougin'
folder 54 Aussie etiket
BOX 7
folder 55-56 Your shout, mate (much of this is handwritten)
folder 57 So sue me and other pieces
folder 58 Survival in the doghouse
folder 59-60 Down under to topside
Stage Plays (most were written while he was
running the Sydney Repertory Theatre)
folder 61 They're a weird mob (referred to in Samoan letters
but never produced, handwritten loose-leaf pages,
cardboard front and back covers detached)
folder 62 Handwritten drafts of Mr Slattersby, Green Olives,
Unstrung Bow and Joseph of Arimathaea (written in
war-time Italian medical records book)
BOX 8
folder 63 Mr Slattersley (three typed copies)
folder 64 Green Olives (two typed copies)
folder 65 The Valley (two typed copies)
Unstrung Bow
Joseph of Arimathaea
Other manuscripts:
folder 66 There was a student (was to be second volume of his
autobiography but his health was failing fast)
folder 67 Thieme Book, referred to in Samoan letters,
written immediately after They're a weird mob but
before publication, never published, written in a
1957 diary
folder 68 There was a ship (unfinished section of his
autobiography)
folder 69 There was a ship (two typed copies)
folder 70 Come the revolution, The machine that went onka
(two episodes of proposed radio serial for
children, never submitted), Egoectomy, Uncle
Fred's Christmas for Coast to Coast, 8th Mobil
Economy Run diary and commentary for film.
BOX 9
folder 71-72 Assorted essays
folder 73 "Weird Mob" tour of Vietnam, and
"Light me a Lucifer" manuscript, TV play produced
by ABC TV, December 1962
folder 74-76 Short pieces - mainly columns but variously
reproduced
folder 77 Verse
folder 78 Idiomatic version of Julius Cesare - incomplete
(handwritten, cover of notebook detached)
folder 79 'Specially on Sundays' - a comedy drama for
television
Miscellaneous:
folder 80 Screenplay for Weird Mob by Richard Imrie (with
handwritten notes)
BOX 10
folder 81 They're a weird mob screenplay by Richard Imrie
(with handwritten notes)
folder 82 They're a weird mob screenplay by Richard Imrie
folder 83 On the beach (screenplay by John Paxton; given to
O'Grady while discussing Peck version of Weird Mob
as film)
folder 84 Erzahtechnik and sociale probleme in Nino
Culotta's Romanen (thesis with letters by
Friederike Stiegler)
folder 85 File entitled "No kava for Johnny", includes press
clippings, promotional material, copy of
Australian writer and Dramatist, spring edition
folder 86-87 Two account books 1960-82, with letters
folder 88-89 Royalty statements (1959-70)
BOX 11
folder 90 2 notebooks: listing gifts of money to family,
and with itinerary for southern tour, expenses for
trip to N.T. and QLD.
folder 91-93 File entitled "Cop this lot", includes contracts
and royalty statements 1957-76
folder 94 Oatley house building contract 1959,
copy of will
folder 95 File entitled "Film notes They're a weird mob et
al, includes assorted papers, including copy of Il
progresso, December 25 1965
folder 96 Quadrant, winter 1958
Script, screen and saac, Vol. 1, no. 6, 1968
ABTA Bulletin, January 22, 1966
folder 97 Australasian Post, May 13 1965, June 17 1965
folder 98 Gone fishin was researched on the George's River
when he went professional fishing with local man
Kenny Denis (photographs)
BOX 12
Box of black and white photographs, labelled
"Pictorial record - Tokelau Islands",
probably 1958, with negatives
Box of unidentified black and white photographs
of Western Samoa, with negatives
Quarter inch audio tape of
Unstrung Bow as broadcast by ABC
radio in 1956. Sent to Oral History.
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