Guide to the Papers of Meredith Stokes
MS 9486, MS Acc10.127
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Meredith Stokes
- Title
- Papers of Meredith Stokes
- Date Range
- ca. 1970-1997
- Collection Number
- MS 9486, MS Acc10.127
- Extent
- 3.11 metres (13 boxes, 17 folio items, 1 folder, 1 packet)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Content
The papers consist principally of secondary source material relating to a wide range of issues relating to women, human rights and the environment. Among the issues reflected in the collection are women in the peace movement, the rights of indigenous Australians, energy conservation, the uranium industry, and United States military installations in Australia. International issues represented in the collection include the independence movements in East Timor and Papua New Guinea, apartheid and military intervention in Central America.
The activities and publications of several organisations, including many Canberra groups, are documented in the collection. They include the Women's Electoral Lobby, the Canberra and South-East Region Environment Centre, the Canberra Programme for Peace, Canberra Women for Survival, the Registry of Women Artists, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Australian Section) and the Committees in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean (CISCAC) (files 55-58).
The collection includes some correspondence, circular letters, newsheets, articles and speeches, conference documents, printed ephemera, newspaper cuttings and miscellaneous journals. There are a few pages of notes made by Stokes on the Women and Development Network of Australia (WADNA) (files 28-29) and on other subjects (file 72). Two poems by Petronella Ardlie, entitled 'Two arrive' and 'The markets', appear in the Summer 1987 issue of WADNA newsletter (file 29). A copy of a typescript draft of an article by Petronella Ardlie entitled 'Social defence' (n.d.) may be found in file 40.
The National Labor Women's Conference was held in Canberra from 29 January to 1 February 1982. Conference documents in the collection include notices to delegates, copies of the Programme, papers delivered and Resolutions carried by the Conference. There is a paper by Julia Ryan entitled 'Capitalism and patriarchy'and one by Edna Ryan called 'Labor women since Federation' (file 30).
The material on East Timor includes a letter from Petronella Ardlie to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, A. Street (1978) and a Statement by Jose Ramos-Horta, Fretelin representative to the United Nations (1984) (File 66).
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1759169).
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 Meredith Stokes, National Library of Australia [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The collection was donated to the National Library by Meredith Stokes, through the National Museum of Australia, in 1993.
A small addition was received from Meredith Stokes in January 2001.
Related Materials
The records of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom are held at MS 7755. The papers of Vivienne Abraham are held at MS 9152. The papers of Julia Ryan are held at MS 9361.
The Mining at Noonkanbah radio interviews, conducted by Meredith Petronella (Stokes) and others, are held at ORAL TRC 800/3.
Arrangement
The papers have been arranged according to the subject categories employed by Stokes in her listing of the files, with the 2001 addition being incorporated into the collection. The Museum records are not referred to in the listing.
Biographical Note
Meredith Stokes, who lives in Canberra, has worked for peace and women's rights over many years. She has been associated with various networks, organisations and fora of nonviolence activists. She served as a Committee member of the Women and Development Network of Australia, ACT Branch. She was also involved in broadcasts for the Canberra community radio station 2XX.
Item Descriptions
Class MS 9486. Original consignment
Comprises secondary material on a wide range of issues relating to women, human rights and the environment. It includes some correspondence, circular letters, newsheets, articles and speeches, conference documents, printed ephemera, newspaper cuttings and miscellaneous journals. There are a few pages of notes written by Meredith Stokes on different topics, and two published poems and the draft of an article by her also.
Contained in 13 boxes, 17 folio items.
Series [unnumbered]. Women's Issues – Publications
If I was a lady and other picture stories (National Youth Council of Australia, 1975) (File 12) - Box 2
Labor women speak, Vol. 2, no. 3 (Sept. 1981) – v. 3, no. 1 (Mar. 1982) (3 issues) (File 13) - Box 2
Series [unnumbered]. Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Pax et libertas, Vol. 51, no. 4 (Dec. 1986), Vol. 52, no. 1 (Mar. 1987) no. 3 (Sept. 1987), Vol. 53, no. 1 (1988), and no. 4 (1988), Vol. 57, no. 3 (Sept. 1992) and no. 4 (Dec. 1992), Vol. 58, no. 1 (Mar. 1993) (File 33) - Box 5
Peace and freedom: journal of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (Australian Section), Vol. 19, no. 3 (Spring 1982) – v. 24, no. 3 (Dec. 1987); Vol. 29, no. 3 (Oct. 1992), no. 4 (Dec. 1992) and Vol. 30, no. 1 (Feb. 1993) (File 34-35) - Box 5
Series [unnumbered]. International Human Rights and Social Justice Issues – Publications
Action! (Australian Freedom from Hunger), Vol. 3, no. 2 (Apr.-June 1984) – v. 7, no. 1 (Jan.-Mar. 1988) (9 issues) (File 47) - Box 7
Asia Pacific solidarity, No. 19 (Mar. 1985) – no. 21 (Sept. 1985) and Union aid report (Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad), Vol. 1, no. 1 (Aug. 1984) (File 48) - Box 7
CARPA bulletin (Committee against Repression in the Pacific and Asia), No. 6 (Sept. 1980) – no. 18 (Oct.-Nov. 1984) (8 issues) (File 50) - Box 7
Development dossier, 3 (Dec. 1980) – 6 (Aug. 1981) (3 issues) and ACFOA news, No. 5-6 (June 1984) (File 51) - Box 7
Identity (Aboriginal Publications Foundation), Vol. 4, no. 6 (Jan. 1982) – v. 4, no. 7 (June 1982) (File 52) - Box 8
New leaves: a grassroots magazine on social issues, No. 8 (Feb. 1987) – no. 10 (Apr. 1987) (3 issues) (File 53) - Box 8
Venceremos (Committees in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean), No. 2 (Feb. 1981) – v. 1, no. 4 (Nov. 1982 – Jan. 1983) (2 issues) (File 55) - Box 8
Series [unnumbered]. International Human Rights and Social Justice Issues East Timor
East Timor and Pacific report (Campaign for an Independent East Timor (ACT)), No. 1 (May 1979) – no. 6 (Oct.-Nov. 1979) (5 issues) (File 61) - Box 9
East Timor news: bulletin of the East Timor News Agency, No. 60 (Nov. 8, 1979) – no. 83-85 (Winter 1985) (5 issues) (File 62) - Box 9
East Timor report (Australian Council for Overseas Aid), No. 5 (Nov. 1983) – no. 6 (Mar. 1984) (File 63) - Box 9
East Timor report (Campaign for an Independent East Timor (ACT)), No. 1 (Jan. 1978) – no. 14 (Mar. 1979) (File 64) - Box 9
Series [unnumbered]. Environmental, Conservation and Anti-Nuclear Issues – Publications
Chain reaction (Friends of the Earth Australia), Vol. 2, no. 1 (Autumn 1976) – v. 2, no. 2 (1976) (File 78) - Box 11
Chain reaction, Vol. 5, no. 4 (Aug.-Sept. 1980) – no. 22 (Summer 1980-81) (4 issues) (File 82) - Box 12
Chain reaction, No. 45 (Autumn 1986) – no. 46 (Winter 1986); No. 58 (Winter 1989) (File 88) - Box 12
Novosti Press Agency Publishing House, Moscow, 4 publications: Political declaration of the Warsaw Treaty member states (1983) Gerasimov, Gennadi, Keep space weapon-free (1984) Gromyko, A.A., To avert the war danger and stop the arms race (1984) Kuznetsov, Vladlen, A nuclear age peace code is needed (1984) (File 90) - Box 13
Series [unnumbered]. Environmental, Conservation and Anti-Nuclear Issues
'The New Song Movement and Chilean Solidarity Committee present Los Parras Jeannie Lewis in concert' poster (Item 98) - Map-Folio [unnumbered]
'Perspectives – Works by Carol Ambrus, Gwen van Leeuwen, 29 February – 2 March 1980' poster (Item 100) - Map-Folio [unnumbered]
'Nelson Mandela: The struggle is my life – International Defence Aid Fund for Southern Africa' poster (Item 102) - Map-Folio [unnumbered]
'Land rights before games', Newsletter (Black Protest Committee), Vol. 1, no. 2, poster (Item 108) - Map-Folio [unnumbered]
'Papua New Guinea Independence souvenir issue', Papua New Guinea Post courier (Sept. 16, 1975) poster (Item 109) - Map-Folio [unnumbered]
Class MS Acc10.127. Consignment added 2010
Comprises a small group of photographs, slides and negatives documenting Stokes' participation in events relating to political, environmental and human rights issues. Included are photographs and slides of the Kanak Independence Protest, French Embassy, Canberra; Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Conference, University of Canberra; East Timor Rally, Canberra; Anti-Apartheid Rally, South African Embassy, Canberra; Pine Gap Peace Rally, Alice Springs; and the Anti-Nuclear and Nuclear-Free Pacific Conference, Fiji. There are black and white negatives of ANC representatives in Canberra speaking to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid; Bicentennial Aboriginal demonstrations, Parliament House, Canberra; W.I.L.P.F. Conference, University of Canberra; opening of the Conflict Resolution Service, Acton, Canberra; and, supporters of a Nuclear Free Independent Pacific, speaking in Canberra.
Contained in 1 folder, 1 packet.