Menzies Collection

The son of a storekeeper and shire councillor, Sir Robert Gordon Menzies (1894–1978) was born in the small town of Jeparit, Victoria. He was educated at the Humffray Street State School and Grenville College, Ballarat, and won scholarships to Wesley College and the University of Melbourne. He graduated in 1916 and was called to the Bar in 1918. He soon established a reputation as an outstanding barrister, especially when he won the Engineers Case in the High Court in 1920. He became active in the National Party and in 1928 won a seat in the Victorian Legislative Council.

Loke Wan Tho Collection

Dato Loke Wan Tho (1915–1964) was the son of Loke Yew, one of Malaya’s first millionaires and philanthropists. He was born in Kuala Lumpur and educated at the Victorian Institution, Chillon College at Montreaux, Switzerland, King’s College, Cambridge, and the London School of Economics. In 1946 he became Chairman of the Cathay Company, which at the time owned two cinemas in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Within 15 years the company had built up a chain of 60 cinemas, as well as two studios and four hotels.

Latham Collection

Sir John Greig Latham (1877–1964) was born in Melbourne and educated at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne. He taught for two years at the Hamilton Academy and was called to the Bar in 1904. Progress was slow, but by 1914 he was one of the leading barristers in Melbourne, regularly appearing before the Supreme Court and later the High Court. He was a part-time lecturer in philosophy from 1907 to 1910 and a part-time lecturer in law from 1910 to 1920.

Kenafick Collection

Kenneth Joseph Kenafick (1904–1982) was born in Norseman, Western Australia, and was a graduate of the University of Western Australia and Melbourne Teachers’ College. He taught at various high schools, higher elementary schools and correspondence schools in Victoria. As a young man he wrote poetry and a novel, and three volumes of his poems were published by Thomas Lothian in 1935–39 (under the pseudonym James Kennedy).

Jammes Collection

Acquisition

The Jammes Collection (Livres Condamnés) formed part of a collection of books and printed documents assembled by the antiquarian bookseller Paul Jammes (1890-1983) of Paris, which he entitled Le bûcher bibliographique. The material selected was purchased by the Library in 1968. The full collection comprised 916 lots, most of which consisted of single works but some of which were made up of a number of related documents.

Irish Pamphlet Collection

Acquisition

In 1978 the National Library purchased a large collection of Irish pamphlets from the English antiquarian bookseller Chris Kohler. They included 32 bound volumes of pamphlets with the bookplate of William Ruddell Clarke of Trabolgan in County Cork, Ireland. Clarke (1870-1937) inherited Trabolgan, a large Georgian house, and the surrounding estate of 1500 acres from his father in 1911. After his death the estate was purchased by the Irish Land Commission.

Hughes Collection

Of Welsh descent, William Morris Hughes (1862-1952) was born in London. He attended a school in Llandudno in Wales and was a pupil teacher at St Stephen’s School, Westminster. In 1884 he sailed to Queensland as an assisted migrant and for two years he led a roving life in the outback. He moved to Sydney and in 1890 opened a shop in Balmain. In the next two years he became acquainted with young reformers, was active in debating societies, and joined the Balmain Single Tax League, the Socialist League and the Balmain Labor Electoral League.

Holmes Collection

John Dashwood Holmes (1907–1973) was born in Sydney and educated at Christian Brothers College, Waverley, and the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1933 and built up a large practice, especially in constitutional law, commercial law and equity. He lectured in constitutional law at the University of Sydney (1940–50) and wrote a number of textbooks. He was appointed KC in 1948 and in that year was junior counsel for the Commonwealth in the Bank Nationalization Case.

Groom Collection

Sir Littleton Ernest Groom (1867–1936), the son of a convict and politician, was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, and educated at Toowoomba Grammar School and the University of Melbourne. He practised as a barrister and was involved in a range of journalistic, cultural and church activities. In September 1901, following a by-election, he succeeded his father as the Member for Darling Downs in the House of Representatives. Apart from a break in 1929–31, he was to hold the seat until his death in 1936.

French Revolutionary Pamphlet Collection

In his book The French Revolution (1837), Thomas Carlyle termed the period 1789–95 ‘the Age of Pamphlets’. In August 1789 the National Assembly declared that ‘all citizens can speak, write and print freely’ and the whole system of state censorship began to break down. A mania to produce and read pamphlets and periodicals swept across France. The number of printing establishments in Paris tripled in the Revolutionary period, with 55 new shops in the years 1789–90 alone.