National Library of Australia - Gateways

ISSN ISSN 1443-0568 | no. 65 | October 2003


Telling Australia’s Stories

The Diaries of Donald Friend, Volume 2 ,- cover Daisy in Exile: The Diary of an Australian Schoolgirl in France 1887–1889 - cover Birds: Poems by Judith Wright - cover

Since its establishment in 1901, the National Library has collected papers, letters and journals, manuscripts, oral histories, books, magazines, newspapers, pictures, maps, films, videos, Australian websites and online publications. Together, these collections tell our story as a nation, as well as the myriad of individual stories that comprise our history.

A Woman of Courage: The Journal of Rose de Freycinet on her Voyage Around the World - cover

Recorded in many media and stored on shelves, in boxes, on audio tapes, and glass plate negatives, these personal stories are at the heart of the National Library’s Collection and its publishing program. Established in the early 1970s by Alec Bolton, the publishing program reveals the stories and images of Australia, and of the National Library itself, through the publication of books, cards and bookplates, library guides, and promotional material that assist the Library’s many users to access the Collection.

During October and early November, the Library will be releasing five new books ranging from diaries to poetry and building art.

Leading the list, and published under the auspices of the Morris West Trust Fund, is The Diaries of Donald Friend, Volume 2 (RRP $59.95). Edited by Paul Hetherington, this volume of the extraordinary life of Australian artist Donald Friend, covering the period January 1944 to March 1949, speaks about art, love, friendship, travel and much more.

Two other diaries, edited by Marc Serge Rivière, reveal the lives of women in the 19th century. Daisy in Exile: The Diary of an Australian Schoolgirl in France 1887–1889 (RRP $29.95) is a charming, spirited and at times sad account of the teenage life of Margaret Isabel White, known as Daisy. A member of the large Australian grazing family that included the author Patrick White, Daisy was sent to school at Fontainbleu, outside Paris, almost as far from country Australia—spiritually and geographically—as a schoolgirl can get. To coincide with this new publication, the Library is republishing Rivière’s popular, earlier publication, A Woman of Courage: The Journal of Rose de Freycinet on her Voyage around the World 1817–1820 (RRP $34.95).

A Different View: The National Library and Its Building Art - cover

Lovers of Australian poetry and birds will welcome a new edition of Judith Wright’s Birds (RRP $24.95). Now, in this new edition commemorating 25 years since the poems were last published in a single collection, these works appear with six additional poems and a personal introduction by the poet’s daughter Meredith McKinney, for whom some of the poems were written. The poems are complemented by full-colour illustrations drawn from the National Library’s Pictures Collection, featuring the work of artists such as John Lewin, Lionel Lindsay, Lilian Medland, William T. Cooper and Betty Temple Watts. Birds is both a celebration of Judith Wright (1915–2000) as writer and passionate environmentalist, and of the centrality of birds in the poet’s imagination.

Finally, the National Library reveals the beauty of the building that is the principal storehouse of Australia’s documentary heritage in A Different View: The National Library and Its Building Art (RRP $24.95). In this new publication, the Library is revealed as an architectural icon, home to artworks such as Leonard French’s jewel-like windows, Tom Bass’s Library Lintel Sculpture and works by Mathieu Mategot, Henry Moore, Alice Kettle and Arthur Robb.

The Library’s books and merchandise are available from booksellers and other specialist retailers nationally. Alternatively, you can order directly from the National Library by phoning 1800 800 100.
—Kathryn Favelle

| Contents list for this issue of Gateways |


Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: mbrooks@nla.gov.au