Guide to the Papers of Richard Hughes
MS 7259
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Richard Hughes
- Title
- Papers of Richard Hughes
- Date Range
- 1940-1983
- Collection Number
- MS 7259
- Extent
- 2.1 metres (15 boxes + 1 folio)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Conditions Governing Access
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1089429).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Richard Hughes, National Library of Australia, MS 7259, [box number and series and/or folder number]'.
Biographical Note
Richard Hughes was born 5 March 1906 in Melbourne, and educated at Christian Brothers College, St Kilda between 1912-1920. At 14 he left school to join the Victorian Railways where he worked as a Shunter. In 1934, on deciding to try Journalism as a way of being able to travel, he joined The Melbourne Star and subsequently the Sydney Daily Telegraph. In 1940 Hughes visited Japan and Shanghai on holiday and stayed for six months as foreign correspondent, correctly predicting Japan's entry into the Second World War. During the latter years of the war he served as a war correspondent in North Africa, then returned again to Japan to report the aftermath of the war in the Orient. Hughes's desire to stay in Japan led hm to resign from The Daily Telegraph and take on the job of manager of the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Tokyo. In 1948 with the aid of Ian Fleming (at that time Foreign Editor of the London Sunday Times) Hughes was taken on by the London Sunday Times and The Economist. (Both Fleming and John Le Carré later used Hughes as a character in one of their novels: Fleming used him as "Dikko Henderson" in You only live twice, Le Carré as "Old Craw" in The Honourable Schoolboy). Hughes then moved to Hong Kong where he wrote for such newspapers as the London Times, The Sunday Times, The Economist, the Melbourne Herald and the Far Eastern Economic Review.
In 1956, Hughes achieved an International scoop with an exclusive interview of Burgess and Maclean after their defection to Moscow. Richard Hughes was the author or editor of a number of books, the best known of which is Hong Kong: Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time, published in 1968.
In 1980, Hughes was made a Commander of the British Empire.
He married three times. His first wife (1930-1933) was May Bennett. They had one son Richard. His second wife (1945-1950) was Adele Redapple and his third wife (1973- ) was Ann Lee. Richard Hughes died in 1984 and is survived by his wife Ann and son Richard.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence - Box 1-3
The correspondence ranges in date from c.1960-1983 and is sorted chronologically. Undated material which is not readily attributable to any one year has been placed in folder no.24 at the end of the series. Correspondents include Ian Fleming and Winston S. Churchill. The bulk of the series is comprised of copies of letters sent, together with correspondence with publishers Hodder and Stoughton, Andre Deutsch and Frederick Praeger. Letters with newsclippings attached have been isolated in plastic bags. These may be removed for examination. Please replace them when your examination is finished. This series comprises folders 1-24.
Series 2. Newspaper Clippings - Box 3-9
The bulk of the Hughes collection comprises newspaper clippings of articles written by Hughes and articles of interest to Hughes. The clippings have not been sorted into any kind of order at this stage. This series comprises folders 25-71.
Series 3. Cables - Box 9
There are five folders of cables and telegrams within this series. Folder no. 76 is exclusively cables and messages received on the marriage of Richard Hughes to Ann Lee on 7 October 1973. The remainder of the cables are work-related. This series comprises folders 72-76.
Series 4. Expenses - Box 10
This series contains correspondence re expenses, receipts, cheques, financial statements etc. Some material has been placed in plastic bags. This may be removed for examination but please retain the original order of the material and replace it in the bag when you have examined it. This series comprises folders 77-80.
Series 5. Notebooks and Diary - Box 10
Although it is believed Hughes kept a large series of notebooks from which he wrote his articles, very few of these have come to the National Library. This series is very small and consists of two notebooks and a 1983 diary, comprising folders 81-82.
Series 6. Articles and Drafts - Box 11-12
This series contains notes, articles and drafts of articles. They have not been sorted into any order. This series comprises folders 83-96.
Series 7. Pictorial Material - Box 12
The first folder comprises ink cartoon-type illustrations drawn by Richard Hughes probably during his days in the Victorian Rail Service. The second folder contains photographs many of which are of Hughes himself. This series comprises folders 97-98.