MS 9503
Papers of Jack and Jean Horner
Scope and Content Note
Creator: Jack and Jean Horner
Title: Papers
Date range: 1965-94
Extent: 1.84m (10 boxes + 1 folio)
Reference number: MS 9503
Administrative Information
Access: Restricted until access determined
Provenance
The papers were donated to the Library by Jack and Jean Horner in April
2000.
Further papers were received in August 2001.
The bulk of the collection comprises papers relating to both published
and unpublished works by Jack Horner, most of which concern Aboriginal rights
issues. They include correspondence, research material and edited drafts.
There are papers relating to the involvement of Horner and his wife with
the Australian Council of Churches Commission on Aboriginal Development. They
include agenda, minutes of meetings and related documentation.
A small amount of correspondence is included in the papers, most of
which relates to research for and publication of works by Jack Horner. This
correspondence can be found in the relevant series, together with other papers
relating to the work. Correspondents include Faith Bandler, Rev. F.G. Engel,
Bill Gammage, Lex Grey (University of Sydney) and Dame Edith Lyons.
Papers relating to the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines
and Torres Strait Islanders have been retained by Jack and Jean Horner.
The Oral History Section of the Library holds the following related
recordings:
1989 Jack and Jean Horner talking about Jessie Street (ORAL TRC
2303/32)
1994 Interview with Jack and Jean Horner (ORAL TRC 3074)
1998 Interview with Jack and Jean Horner (ORAL TRC 5000/6)
See also MS 9506, papers of Monica Clare, author of Karobran : the
story of an Aboriginal girl. Horner was involved in the posthumous
publication of this book.
Biographical note
Jack (John) Curwen Horner was born at Sandringham, Victoria on 15 May
1922. He was educated at Sydney High School for four years and then studied art
at East Sydney Technical College (1940-42). In 1943, he was called up to serve
in the Australian Army. After being discharged, he studied at East Sydney
Technical College under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme.
In 1950, Jack and his wife Jean travelled to England where they found
work designing and painting scenery for theatre productions. They returned to
Australia in 1953 where Jack worked for the Law Book Company. During this time
they became involved with the Workers Educational Association and
developed an awareness of discrimination against Aborigines, which has led to
their involvement in campaigning for Aboriginal rights and taking an active
role in organisations supporting this cause. As Secretary of the
Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship, Jack was responsible for campaigns to remove
discriminating clauses relating to Aboriginal people from New South Wales laws
and he was Secretary of the Vote Yes Committee for the 1967
referendum to remove similar clauses from the Australian Constitution.
The Horners were Executive members of the Federal Council for the
Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). From 1969 to
1970 Jack was General-Secretary and from 1961 to 1971 Jean was the Treasurer.
For a number of years, they were also members of the Australian Council of
Churches Commission on Aboriginal Development. As members, they were involved
in supporting issues brought to the Commissions attention by Aborigines
and Islanders, mostly relating to land rights and decisions affecting their
political and human rights. Jack is a member of the Australian Institute of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Canberra.
Jack Horner has published biographical and historical works, contributed
chapters to books and written numerous journal articles, mostly concerning
Aboriginal rights issues. His published works include A dictionary of
Australian history (1970), co-authored with A.R. Barnes, Vote Ferguson
for Aboriginal freedom (1974), The day of mourning in
Australians 1938, co-authored with M. Langton (1987) and A peace
that is no peace (1988). He is currently working on a history of FCAATSI.
Series List
1 A dictionary of Australian history
2 Australian Council of Churches Commission on Aboriginal Development,
1970-80
3 Vote Ferguson for Aboriginal freedom: a biography,
1965-74
4 A people with courage: the story of the South Sea Islanders in
Australia, 1975-80
5 The day of mourning, 1981-85
6 Published and unpublished works of Jack Horner, 1960-94
Series Description
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.
Folder
1 Research notes
2 Early edited manuscript and typescript
3 Typescript of rejected entries
4-5 Edited typescript of early draft (2 copies)
6 Edited typescript
7 Galley proofs, 1970
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
Commissions 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).
Folder
1 Agenda, minutes of meetings and documentation, 1970-73
2 Agenda, minutes of meetings and documentation, 1974-75
3 Agenda, minutes of meetings and documentation, 1976-77
4 Agenda, minutes of meetings and documentation, 1978-79
5 Agenda, minutes of meetings and documentation, 1980
6-7 Papers relating to ACC activities, 1970-80
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.
Folder/item
1 Correspondence, 1966-74 Black and white negatives
2-12 Research material, 1965-73
13 Edited early drafts: Chapters 1-2
14 Edited early drafts: Chapters 3-4
15 Edited early drafts: Chapters 5-7
16 Edited early drafts: Chapters 8-11
17 Edited early drafts: Chapters 12-14
18 Miscellaneous notes
19 Edited typescript (2 copies)
20/20a Edited typescript (2 copies, one of which is a folio item)
21 Edited proofs, 1974 (2 copies)
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).
Folder
1 Correspondence, 1975-80
2-6 Research material
7 Edited typescript (35pp)
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).
Folder/item
1 Correspondence, 1981-85
2 Research notes and notes on the structure of the chapter
3-6 Drafts, 1983-84
Addition 30.08.01
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.
Folder
1-3 Typescripts of articles and book reviews, 1960-94
4 Typescript The Family Circle, a radio play written for an
Australian Broadcasting Commission competition, 1975
5 Typescript William Ferguson, a biography written for
A.B.C. radios Encounter program, includes typescript drafts
6 Typescript Land of the Holy Spirit: an Australian Christmas
Collation, written for A.B.C. radios Encounter program,
includes typescript drafts
7 Typescript draft Life as Aborigines saw it, a film
commentary script, typescript and draft The charcoal burners, a
television script, typescript Commonsense about the Aborigines, a
radio discussion feature
8 Typescripts of short stories by Horner; The football
ground, A stretch of blue water and The
outbreak
9 FCAATSI report on racism in Australia to the World Council of
Churches, Geneva, circa 1971
Box List
| Box
|
Series
|
Folder
|
| 1 |
1 |
1-4 |
| 2 |
1 |
5-7 |
| 3 |
2 |
1-7 |
| 4 |
3 |
1-7 |
| 5 |
3 |
8-14 |
| 6 |
3 |
15-19 |
| 7 |
3 |
21-21 |
| 7 |
4 |
1-2 |
| 8 |
4 |
3-7 |
| 8 |
5 |
1-2 |
| 9 |
5 |
3-5 |
| 9 |
6 |
1-3 |
| 10 |
6 |
4-9 |
| Folio box |
3 |
20a |
January 2001 Updated August 2001 |