MS 9104
Papers of Allan Aldous



Scope and Content Note

  • Papers 1946-1993
  • 76 cm (5.5 boxes)
  • Available for access

The papers were donated by Allan Aldous on 1 April 1997. They represent a small but varied collection of his personal and professional writing. The personal writing includes the unpublished autobiography completed in 1987 and a long series of wartime letters written to his wife, Jean, from London (1940-44).

The professional writing includes a selection of Radio Australia playscripts from two series, The Storyteller and The Australian Tradition; a series of discussion group book notes prepared for the Council of Adult Education in Victoria, and material relating to son et lumière presentations in Perth and Melbourne (1966-1970).

The collection also contains letters to Aldous from a wide range of correspondents, including Margaret Crosland, Charles Hadfield, James Parish and Nevil Shute Norway.

Biographical note

Author and playwright, Aldous was born in Leederville, Perth in 1911. In 1935 he won the Perth Repertory Club's one-act play competition with Enter the author. In England, three of his radio plays were produced by the BBC, of which the best known is Game as Ned Kelly (1939).

During the Second World War he served with the A.I.F. in London and later with Army Education in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Building on his experience in the Army Education Service, in the post-war period Aldous was closely involved in the early years of the Council of Adult Education in Victoria, giving lectures and preparing discussion group book notes.

Aldous was a prolific writer of children's fiction. His children's writings include the McGowan series of five novels, beginning with McGowan climbs a mountain (1945), as well as other novels such as Quitters can't win (1946) and Doctor with wings (1960). As a playwright he wrote many radio plays, particularly for Radio Australia, and produced the first, authentic son et lumière production, 'Western gateway', for the 1966 Festival of Perth, followed by 'Cook of the Endeavour' for the 1970 Cook bicentenary celebrations.

Series List

1 Autobiographical papers

2 Letters to Jean Aldous, 1940 - 1944

3 Correspondence, 1943 - 1967

4 Radio Australia playscripts, c.1969 - 1970

5 Council of Adult Education, Victoria, 1948 - 1957

6 Son et lumière productions, 1966 - 1970

7 Unpublished manuscript, The land beyond the skyscrapers.

8 Family history

9 Personal papers, 1933 - 1988

10 Miscellaneous


Series Descriptions

SERIES 1: Autobiographical papers
SERIES 2: Letters to Jean Aldous, 1940 - 1944.
SERIES 3: Correspondence, 1943 - 1967
SERIES 4: Radio Australia playscripts, c.1969 - 1970
SERIES 5: Council of Adult Education, Victoria, 1948 - 1957
SERIES 6: Son et lumière productions, 1966 - 1970
SERIES 7: Unpublished manuscript, The land beyond the skyscrapers.
SERIES 8: Family history
SERIES 9: Personal papers, 1933 - 1988
SERIES 10: Miscellaneous


SERIES 1: Autobiographical papers

Aldous' unpublished autobiography was completed in 1987 and titled, Jigsaw - an autobiography of sorts. The series also contains several earlier autobiographical pieces.

Folder

1 Unpublished autobiography entitled Jigsaw - an autobiography of sorts.

2 Earlier draft autobiography; three short autobiographical pieces

SERIES 2: Letters to Jean Aldous, 1940 - 1944.

The majority of this correspondence is written in diary form to his wife, Jean, recording Aldous' daily activities in London from the time his wife and daughter returned to Australia in July 1940. While in England, Aldous enlisted in the A.I.F. The correspondence concludes in September, 1944, when Aldous returned to Australia, prior to serving in New Guinea, India and Bougainville.

Folder

1-4 Correspondence with wife, Jean, 1940-43

5 Correspondence with wife, Jean, June 1943 - September 1944 by airgraph.

SERIES 3: Correspondence, 1943 - 1967

This series of general correspondence begins around the time Aldous left London for Australia in 1944 and continues till 1967. The major correspondents are Margaret Crosland, Charles Hadfield and Peter Jones.

Folder

1 Correspondence, 1943-56
with Margaret Crosland (author) 1944-48; Charles Hadfield (author) 1943-54; and Peter Jones (actor and playwright) 1944-56.

2 Correspondence 1946-67
with George Kerr, Lionel Lee, James Parish (playwright), Tom Ronan, Leontine Sagan (producer), Nevil Shute Norway (author), George Simpson, Ursula Winant (literary agent) and Tara Barry (actress).

3 Correspondence 1946-67
including Charles Court, Douglas Glass, Vivien Leigh and Sir Harold White.

4 Correspondence, cards, invitations and ephemera.

SERIES 4: Radio Australia playscripts, c.1969 - 1970

The series contains many of Aldous' production scripts for two series of plays broadcast on Radio Australia. The first series, Storyteller, was broadcast on short wave and replayed from transcription tapes in a number of countries. The second series, The Australian Tradition, consisted on 27 minute dramatised features, each dealing with some event or personality from Australia's past. Again, these were broadcast on short wave and replayed on 16 overseas radio organisations. As Aldous recollects, in the United States Storyteller had an estimated 3.2 million listeners each week and The Australian Tradition had 9 million listeners.

The Storyteller, volume 1

No sense of direction

My friend, Demetrius

House on the plain

The secret world of Andy McCrae

The ghost of Lady Castelvane

Money maketh

Horns or halo?

The crime clairvoyant

The bowler hat

The limit

Where these's a will

All you need is a bit of capital

The dream house

Uncle Paddy, M.P.

Uncle Paddy and the champ

The mystery of the mysteries

When you've lived as long as I have

Chance happening

The unbridged years

The bridge

That Christmas at Saltbush Plains

Charity begins at home

Pools for the scooping

You can't tell a book by its jacket

The Storyteller, volume 2: 1969-70

Series III The live ghost

Series II The end

Alter ego

Series III Hi-jack!

The frozen truth

Murder must have a motive

His reverence, the con man

Series II (Titles and synopses)

I only do it for the money

Don't talk to me about flying saucers

Hazardous freedom

The golden girdle

Withdrawal

(Radio Australia program guide no.36)

Never speak to strangers

Deadly tongues

The moon to play with

Dirt cheap

Stop, thief!

Money is such a comfort

A matter of mind

Golf widow

The Storyteller, additional scripts Series II (Synopses)

Series II The little green men did it

The Walter Mitty in me

No compromise

If it won't go it won't go

Hit and run

Chick-chick-chick-chick-chicken

An ugly work, blackmail

The Storyteller, volume 3

Series III (Titles and synopses)

Caterina's kitchen

The monster

The delectable dream

Senior citizen

Local boy makes good

Unseasonable weather

(Titles and synopses)

1969 A sucker is a sucker

I spy with my little eye

Private self, public face

The prodigal's return

Opportunity seldom knocks loudly

It's all there in the stars

Genius can't be taught

Punishment and the crime

The spider's web

The perversity of people

Dialogue with a rebel

The siren song

Ears to see with

The Australian Tradition

(Titles and synopses)

(Correspondence re radio playscripts)

Grace Bushell of Wallcliff

Shackles off the press

A man named Flinders

His Honour the Superintendent of old Melbourne Town

Europe's loss, Australia's gain

The peripatetic philosopher

New Year at Nobbler Hall

A little loyalty goes a long way

His Honour the Superintendent of old Melbourne Town

James Blackburn

The Australian connection

Gents of the fancy

Murphy's firm

Kojonup

A thief to catch a thief

Kojonup

Radio Australia: miscellaneous material.

SERIES 5: Council of Adult Education, Victoria, 1948 - 1957

The series consists mostly of discussion group book notes prepared for the Council of Adult Education in Victoria (CAE). In his autobiography, the first CAE Director, Colin Badger, paid tribute to Aldous as one of those helping the organisation get off the ground. The notes were directed to people of ordinary education and the questions were designed to be pertinent and not university examination tests. Some of the notes were in use for more than twenty years.

Folder

1-5 CAE Discussion group book notes, 1948-57

6 CAE miscellaneous publications; includes a dedicated service award presented to Aldous in 1993.

SERIES 6: Son et lumière productions, 1966 - 1970

Aldous was involved in several 'Son et lumière' (sound and light) presentations, the first being 'Western gateway' at the 1966 Festival of Perth. The most significant of these was the Captain Cook bicentennial presentation, 'Cook of the Endeavour', held in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne, 6-20 April 1970. The series includes correspondence, scripts, programs, newspaper clippings and photographs relating to these productions.

SERIES 7: Unpublished manuscript, The land beyond the skyscrapers.

Draft of an unpublished manuscript entitled, The land beyond the skyscrapers (approximately 84,000 words). The book was based on six extensive journeys to the remoter parts of Australia and considers such subjects as the 'real' Australia, the women of the outback, the battlers, the cattle industry, road trains, the problem of being an Aboriginal, the Australian Inland Mission and old and new mining towns.

SERIES 8: Family history

This series contains several items relating to the family's history. The first is an architectural drawing dated 28 March 1846 by Charles Aldous, Allan Aldous' great grandfather. Aldous records that Charles came to Australia in 1852, hoping to find gold but was not successful. As there was little call for architects he began a carpentry business.

The second item is a photograph album recording a journey across the Nullarbor by car in 1930 by the Aldous family and others, including the press clipping from when the party reached Adelaide. Also included are some cuttings and a letter from a close family friend, Dr. Eric White, a pioneer in the development of radio, television and radar, as well as a folder of miscellaneous family papers.

SERIES 9: Personal papers, 1933 - 1988

A miscellaneous collection of personal papers including: an article published in The Black Swan, July 1933, the magazine of the guild of undergraduates of the University of Western Australia; The Playbill, June 1935 containing 'Enter the author - a fantasy in one act' by Allan Aldous, winner of the Perth Repertory Club's one-act play competition, 1935; Aldous' certificate of discharge from the army, 14 March 1946; two bicentennial certificates from the Children's Book Council of Australia; photographs and newspaper clippings.

SERIES 10: Miscellaneous

This collection includes a draft manuscript which Aldous edited for Oxford University Press. The manuscript is entitled Alias Jimmy and was written by a former employee of B.H.P. who retired to the United States. Also included are further copies of The Playbill, March - August 1935.

Box list

Series Box
1 1
2 1
3 2
4 2-4
5 4-5
6 5
7 5
8 5-6
9 6
10 6