Guide to the Papers of Jack and Jean Horner

Series 1. A dictionary of Australian history

A dictionary of Australian history was compiled by Horner and A.R. Barnes, Lecturer in History, Sydney Teachers' College. It was published by Cassell Australia, Melbourne in 1970.

Included in this series are research notes, edited drafts and galley proofs of the book.

Series 2. Australian Council of Churches Commission on Aboriginal Development, 1970-80

Both Jack and Jean Horner were members of the Australian Council of Churches (ACC) Commission on Aboriginal Development (COAD). The Commission's role was to support issues raised and brought to its attention by Aborigines and Islanders, mostly relating to land rights and decisions affecting their political and human rights.

This series comprises mainly agenda papers, minutes of meetings and related documentation for the COAD. There is also a small collection of papers relating to the activities of the ACC, which includes reports, correspondence, cuttings and a copy of their submission to the Senate Committee on Social Environment (1972). Correspondents include Rev. F.G. Engel (General-Secretary, ACC) and Lex Grey (University of Sydney).

Series 3. Vote Ferguson for Aboriginal freedom: a biography, 1965-74

William Ferguson (1882-1950) was a shearer and trade union organiser who, in his later life, campaigned for Aboriginal rights reform in New South Wales. In 1937 he launched the Aborigines' Progressive Association, through which he conducted conferences, formulated policies and arranged publicity and welfare work. He was one of the organisers of a 'Day of Mourning' conference for Aborigines on Australia Day 1938, which led to the petitioning of the Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, for a national Aboriginal policy. From 1943 to 1949, Ferguson was one of two Aboriginal representatives elected to be a member of the Aborigines Welfare Board. In 1949 he was vice-president of the NSW branch of the Australian Aborigines' League. Administrative reforms drafted by Ferguson on behalf of the League and put to the Minister for the Interior were ignored. Determined to take action, Ferguson stood for Parliament in the 1949 elections, but received only 388 votes.

Horner wrote a biography of Ferguson, which was published by the Australia and New Zealand Book Co., Sydney in 1974. In 1994, the book was republished in Canberra by Horner, under the new title Bill Ferguson, fighter for Aboriginal freedom.

This series consists of a large collection of research material, mostly in the form of loose pages of handwritten notes taken from a number of sources, interleaved with early drafts of the book. The material has been foldered in the order it was received from Horner. There are also edited typescripts of later drafts and galley proofs of the book.

There is a small collection of correspondence relating to research and publication of the book, including a letter from Dame Edith Lyons (1966), and a strip of unidentified black and white negatives.

Series 4. A people with courage: the story of the South Sea Islanders in Australia, 1975-80

Horner researched and wrote a booklet entitled 'A people with courage: the story of the South Sea Islanders in Australia'. Written on behalf of the Black Research Committee of the Australian Council of Churches (ACC), it is a history of the South Seas labour trade in the nineteenth century. It was originally intended for publication by the ACC, but this did not eventuate.

The bulk of this series comprises a disorderly collection of research material consisting of notes taken from a number of sources, interleaved with manuscript and typescript drafts of the booklet. The material has been foldered in the order it was received from Horner.

There is also a small collection of correspondence, mostly relating to research for the booklet, the correspondents including Faith Bandler and Clive Moore (James Cook University).

Series 5. The day of mourning, 1981-85

'The day of mourning' is the title of a chapter contributed by Horner and Marcia Langton to Australians 1938, which was edited by Bill Gammage and Peter Spearritt and published by Fairfax, Syme and Weldon, Sydney in 1987. The chapter recounts the background of mistreatment of Aboriginal people by white settlers, which led to the organisation of a 'Day of mourning' conference for Aborigines only, held in Sydney on 26 January 1938. It was the first national meeting of Aboriginal people seeking law reforms and full citizenship rights. The chapter also details resolutions passed at the conference, and subsequent approaches to the Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, to have the suggested reforms implemented.

Included in this series is correspondence relating to the writing, editing and publishing of the chapter, research notes, notes on the structure of the chapter and a number of drafts, dating from December 1983-November 1984.

Major correspondents include Diane Barwick and Bill Gammage (both from the Australian National University), Marcia Langton, Andrew Markus (Riverina College of Advanced Education) and Craig Munro (University of Queensland Press).

Series 6. Published and unpublished works of Jack Horner, 1960-94

This series contains typescripts of articles, book reviews, short stories, scripts and drafts for radio and film. A number of these works have been published in magazines and broadcast. Some works were entered in various literary competitions.