Guide to the Papers of Dame Joan Hammond
MS 8648, MS Acc97.111
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Joan Hammond
- Title
- Papers of Dame Joan Hammond
- Date Range
- 1928-1994
- Collection Number
- MS 8648, MS Acc97.111
- Extent
- 4.60 metres (21 folders, 5 folio boxes)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The collection comprises biographical notes, correspondence, programs, published scores, press cuttings, scrapbooks, photographs, diaries, speeches and writings. These relate mainly to Dame Joan's career as an opera singer and later as a teacher but also to her schooldays at PLC Pymble, Sydney (now Pymble Ladies' College), her achievements in golf, and the Ash Wednesday bush fire in 1983. The bulk of the papers relate to the period from 1983 to 1993 as much of Dame Joan's material was destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bush fires.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1653682).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Dame Joan Hammond, National Library of Australia, [call number, box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The papers were donated to the Library by Dame Joan Hammond and her family in 1994 in two consignments. The first consignment consisted of papers from Dame Joan's Melbourne home and the second of papers from her weekend home at Flinders.
Finding Aid Source(s)
Please note: This finding aid may comprise or contain descriptive information provided by donors, researchers and/or volunteers.
Collection Retrieval Advice
Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there may be multiple Box 1s). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.
Biographical Note
Dame Joan Hammond was born in Christchurch, New Zealand on 24 May 1912. Her family moved to Sydney when she was very young. She attended the Presbyterian Ladies College, Pymble from 1924 to 1928. She began her musical career as a violinist spending three years with the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1936 she went to Vienna where she studied with the Vienna Boys Choir. She made her operatic debut in London in 1938. In 1939 she opened the first night at The Prom s at the Royal Albert Hall. During World War II she made many recordings and gave concerts for the troops. After the war she toured throughout the world and was guest artist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; the Liceo, Barcelona; the Netherlands Opera; the New York City Centre; the Vienna State Opera; the Bolshoi, Moscow; and the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. She was awarded the Sir Charles Stanley Award by the Worshipful Company of Musicians, London as outstanding musician of the Year, 1970; the Coronation Medal 1953; OBE 1953; CBE 1963; CMG 1972; DBE 1974; Hon. Mus. D. (W.A.) 1979.
Item Descriptions
Class MS 8648. Original consignment
Comprises diaries, correspondence, biographical notes, concert programs, scrapbooks, press cuttings, photographs, music scores, teaching material for the Victorian College of the Arts, speeches and other papers. The papers relate mainly to Dame Joan's career as an opera singer and teacher, but also cover such topics as Presbyterian Ladies' College, Pymble, the loss of Dame Joan's house in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, the Australian Opera, Victoria State Opera, golf, and Dame Joan's friendship with Lolita Marriott.
Contained in 19 boxes, 2 fol. boxes.
Class [unnumbered]. Original consignment
Series 2A. CORRESPONDENCE, 1983-93 - Correspondence kept in Dame Joan's Melbourne home, 1983-93
Arranged alphabetically. Outwards Files 1 to 7, inwards Files 8 to 29.
Series 2B. CORRESPONDENCE, 1983-93 -Correspondence kept in Dame Joan's Flinders Home, 1983-1994
This correspondence was kept by Dame Joan in five expanding files. The material has been maintained in alphabetical order in five separate groupings to reflect this original order. Correspondence in Files 45 to 48 was loose and has been arranged according to the identity of the sender. Correspondence and other material relating to the Victorian School of Art and the Australian Opera has been extracted and included in series 13.
Series 5. PRESS CUTTINGS AND SCRAPBOOKS, 1930s-1992
Press cuttings, articles and publicity sheets from the 1930s to 1990s and six scrapbooks, mostly relating to Dame Joan's life and career. One scrapbook entitled '1931 - Joan Hammond' contains original press cuttings and programs from 1931 to 1939. Four of the remaining five scrapbooks are made up of photocopies of press cuttings. There is one file of miscellaneous cuttings.
Series 8. PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS AND OBJECTS
Included are a framed oil portrait of Dame Joan which was copied from a photograph reproduced on the dust-jacket of her autobiography , an original costume design, an acrylic on cardboard and one object, a trophy engraved 'Greatest patience - 1984-87 - Dame Joan Hammond'. These items have been transferred to the Library's Pictorial Section.
Class [unnumbered]. Second consignment
Series 10. DIARIES, 1983-92
Dame Joan kept two diaries for each year over the period 1983-90. These are personal diaries embossed with her name and diaries presumably used by her in her work at the Victorian School of the Arts. Also included in this series is a trip diary which records details of her travel to London, Vienna and Paris in 1985 and 1986.
Series 11. QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOK
Dame Joan for many years recorded questions asked of her regarding singing and her answers. When writing a follow up book to her autobiography A Voice, A Life she formulated the idea of incorporating these questions and answers into a book.
Series 12. TEACHING, 1983-93
Dame Joan was head of Vocal Studies at the Victorian College of the Arts from 1975 to 1989 and part-time teacher and vocal consultant from 1990 to 1993. In 1985 she was invited by the University of Adelaide to be acting Special Artistic Adviser for workshop productions of the University Opera School.
Correspondence between Dame Joan and the Victorian College of the Arts, memos, exam papers, 1983-93 (File 1) - Box 13
Correspondence with students and prospective students, student references, faculty memos and correspondence, 1988-90 (File 2) - Box 13
Series 13. AUSTRALIAN OPERA AND VICTORIA STATE OPERA, 1983-93
Joan Hammond was Artistic Director of the Victoria State Opera from 1971 to 1976 and an honorary life member of both the Australian and Victorian State Opera. In 1986 the Victorian Opera Foundation created the Dame Joan Hammond Award to honour her contribution to opera. In 1983 she became a member of the Australian Opera National Council.
Correspondence between Dame Joan and the Victorian State Opera and copies of correspondence between the Victorian State Opera and the Australian Opera, Program of Endowment Dinner 1992, minutes of directors meeting 1983 and brochures for the Gala Dinner The Joan Hammond Award 1986 and 1987 (File 1) - Box 14
Letter from Dame Joan to the Victorian Opera Foundation, agenda of annual general meeting, 1991 and 1992 (File 2) - Box 14
Series 15. GOLF, 1991-93
Dame Joan won the Junior Golf Championship of New South Wales when still a schoolgirl. She subsequently won the NSW Golf Championship in 1932, 1934 and 1935 and was runner-up in the Australian Championship in 1933.
Series 16. LOLITA MARRIOTT, 1993
Dame Joan met Lolita Marriott in 1932. They had a common interest in golf and became firm friends. After Dame Joan returned from overseas in 1946 Lolita became her constant companion accompanying her on her travels and to all her performances and assisting her in many ways. Lolita Marriott died in 1993.