Guide to the Papers of Daisy Bates

Collection Summary

Creator

Daisy Bates

Title

Papers of Daisy Bates

Date Range

1833-1990

Collection Number

MS 365

Extent

10.47 metres (53 boxes, 2 folio boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Repository

Special Collections (Manuscripts)

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The papers consist chiefly of Daisy Bates' manuscript and background material for The native tribes of Western Australia, written during Bates' period of service with the Western Australian Government from 1904 to 1912.

Originally the compilation was to have ten chapters, but by the time the Library acquired the papers they were divided into thirteen sections, followed by eleven loosely grouped forms of material. Superimposed on this arrangement was the division, by Bates herself, of the total collection into 99 'folios'. These folios are summarised on page 23 of The native tribes of Western Australia(Canberra, National Library of Australia, 1985).

Several versions of the draft of The native tribes of Western Australia will be encountered within each folio. These versions are explained in detail by Isobel White on page 24 of the publication, but basically there is a pencil longhand version accompanied by typescript versions, the later drafts being produced by Miss E. Watts, the secretary provided by the Commonwealth to sort and type Bates' papers. In the detailed list of the papers the longhand version is identified by the symbol 'MSS' following the title.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1377317).

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Daisy Bates, National Library of Australia, MS 365, [series and folio number]'.

Provenance

The papers were acquired by the Library in 1941.

Related Material

The original material in MS 365 has been copied onto 55 microfilms (Mfm G 24,696-750). Transcripts of the collection, made many years ago by the Commonwealth, are also held in the Barr Smith Library, University of Adelaide.

As well as the photographs and maps contained in the manuscript collection, there are images of Daisy Bates in the Pictures Collection and a number of maps in the Map Collection. Please consult appendices (under the Related Documentation tab) and staff of these areas for further information.

Other related manuscript collections are as follows.

MS 1830 A letter from Leon O'Broin to Reverend Thomas Leen, dated 20 December 1966, concerning the birthplace and forebears of Daisy Bates.

MS 2300 Letters to Daisy Bates from Andrew Lang, Frank Harris, Rudyard Kipling, A. Chichester Bradon, H. Linlithgow, J.A. Gorges, Kingsley Fairbridge, Ruby Fairbridge and M. Gibney, together with a few other items.

MS 3197 Letters from Daisy Bates to the Reverend John Mathew, and press cuttings and samples of hair from Aborigines.

MS 6481 Papers of Bates' biographer, Elizabeth Salter. They include research material for her book Daisy Bates: queen of the never never.

MS 7739 Various items relating to Eleanor Witcombe's research on Daisy Bates.

MS 7374 Copies of correspondence, articles and press cuttings relating to Daisy Bates and W.P. Hurst. The originals are held in the La Trobe Library, State Library of Victoria.

Arrangement

The original list for MS 365 has been revised so that the confusion arising from the variety of numbers used could be reduced, whilst still maintaining the original arrangement.

The first primary subdivision are the Series (previously called Sections), identified by upper case Roman numerals. These are subdivided into Parts, identified by Arabic numerals. These Parts are in turn subdivided by lower case letters of the alphabet and finally by lower case Roman numerals.

On the right hand side are Daisy Bates' folio numbers, which are subdivided by the Library's own system of items (i.e. pages). Since every piece of paper has been item-numbered, some of the 'gaps' in numbering on the list are in fact the covers or binders containing the manuscripts.

For stocktake and shelving purposes the list is subdivided still further by manuscript box numbers.

Researchers are advised that the most reliable method of requesting Bates material is by folio/item number, or by manuscript box number if larger quantities are required.