Zwalf Collection

Meyer (Max) Zwalf (1901–1954) was born in Amsterdam and was involved in politics from an early age. He was an official of the Amsterdam social democratic youth organisation and later worked with the Marxist Rudolf Kuyper in a private institute for higher education. From 1923 to 1930 he was librarian and archivist of the Association of Social Democratic City and County Councillors. In 1931 he was recruited by Edo Fimmen, the secretary of the International Transport Workers Federation, to be the research and publications officer of the Federation. He held the position until his death.

York Collection

Barry York (b. 1951) was born in London, the son of a Maltese airman and his English wife. His family migrated to Melbourne in 1954 and he grew up in Brunswick. He attended La Trobe University, where he was deeply involved in student politics. In 1971, following a blockade of a University Council meeting, he was one of eight students who were excluded from the University. In the following year, he and two other students were gaoled in Pentridge Gaol for several weeks for contempt of court. The University successfully applied for their release and York then completed his Arts degree.

Wang Collection

Sing-wu Wang (1920–2004), also known as Sidney Wang, was born in Wenling, China, and was a graduate of the National Zhejiang University. In 1945 he joined the National Central Library as the head of cataloguing and helped to reopen and rebuild the library after years of war. In 1948–49 he was involved in moving rare books and artworks to Taiwan. He was librarian at the Yang-Min Shan Institute and in 1955 he was appointed director of the Taiwan Provincial Library in Taipei. In 1959–60 he went to the United States on study leave, where he was based at the Cleveland Public Library.

Villanueva Collection

Acquisition

The Villanueva Collection was purchased by the Library in 1969 through the Manila booksellers and publishers MCS Enterprises. The owner was the widow of José M. Villanueva, an attorney of Tabaco, Albay, in the Philippines.

Russian Socialist Collection

The Russian populist movement, inspired by the writings of Alexander Herzen, emerged in the years immediately following the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. The populists believed that the peasant commune was the germ of the future socialist society and that Russia should follow its own path, avoiding the evils of capitalism. In 1876 populists formed Russia’s first revolutionary party, Zemlia I Volia (Land and Liberty), which called for all land to the peasants, self-determination for all parts of the Russian empire, self-government for the communes, and the overthrow of the Tsar.

Ross Collection

Lloyd Maxwell Ross (1901–1987) was born in Brisbane, the son of the socialist journalist R.S. Ross (1873–1931). He was educated at Melbourne High School, the University of Melbourne and later at the University of New Zealand, where he gained a doctorate. In 1925 he was appointed a tutor in adult education at the Workers Educational Association at Dunedin. He returned to Australia in 1933 and worked for the Workers Educational Association in Newcastle, before taking up the post of Assistant Director of Tutorial Classes at Sydney University.

Riley Collection

Frederick John Riley (1886–1970) was born at Stirling, South Australia, and attended the Hindmarsh State School. He left school at the age of 12 and worked as a labourer in several states. His father had been a trade unionist and Australian Labor Party activist and Riley took part in many socialist and anti-conscriptionist meetings and demonstrations. In 1916 he became secretary of the Victorian council of the Australian Peace Alliance and was founding member of the Y Club, a Melbourne discussion group of socialists and rationalists.

Oxford and Cambridge Club Pamphlet Collection

The Oxford and Cambridge Club was established in 1830, following a meeting at which Lord Palmerston presided. It originally occupied premises in St James’ Square and in 1837 moved into a building in Pall Mall, which had been designed by Sir Robert Smirke. It continues to occupy this building. For well over a century, membership was limited to men who were members and former members of the universities of Oxford or Cambridge. In 1971 it was decided that graduates of any university could be members and in 1996 women were finally admitted as full members.

Okamura Collection

Acquisition

The Okamura Collection was purchased by the Library in 1949 through the Australian Mission in Tokyo. Nothing is known about Okamura except that he was a resident of Osaka who for 20 years had been collecting English-language publications about Japan. Apart from a collection of books left behind by the Japanese Mission in Canberra in 1941, the Okamura Collection was the first Japanese formed collection to be acquired by the Library.

Munro Ferguson Collection

Sir Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson (1860–1934) was born at Raith House, Fife, Scotland. His father was the Member of Parliament for Kircaldy and owned extensive landholdings, including coal mines. Ferguson was educated privately and, after attending Sandhurst, served in the Grenadier Guards from 1879 to 1884. In 1884 he was elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal. He was defeated in 1885, but returned in 1886 and held the seat of Keith Burghs until 1914.