Guide to the Papers of Marcie Muir relating to Katie Langloh Parker
MS 10182
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Created: 2016
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Muir, Marcie
- Title
- Papers of Marcie Muir relating to Katie Langloh Parker
- Date Range
- c. 1838 to 2000
- Collection Number
- MS 10182
- Extent
- 0.78 metres (5 ms boxes + 1 file)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- NLA
Introduction
Content Description
Comprises papers relating to Katie Langloh Parker's research and publication of the myths and legends of the Narran River Aborigines in the late 1800s, considered one of the earliest examples of a European Australian documenting Aboriginal culture in a serious manner. In 1940 Langloh Parker's archive was purchased by Harry Muir. His wife, Marcie Muir, used the archive to publish a biography of Langloh Parker in the 1980s. The remaining papers in the collection consist mainly of Muir's research, drafts and correspondence relating to this publication.
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-vn6894658).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Marcie Muir relating to Katie Langloh Parker, National Library of Australia, MS 10182, [series/file/item number(s)]'.
Finding Aid Source(s)
Please note: This finding aid may comprise or contain descriptive information provided by donors, researchers and/or volunteers.
Biographical Note - Marcie Muir
Marcie Muir, 1919-2007 was an author, best known for her Bibliography of Australian Children's Books, and for her work on Australian children's book illustration. She also published a life of K. Langloh Parker, the early collector of Aboriginal legends and stories, and a monograph on Anthony Trollope's visit to Australia. She was an early member of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Book Council, and was on the judging panel in 1958 and 1962. In 1985 she advised Australia Post on a set of stamps bearing illustrations from Australian children's Books. She was the inaugural winner of the Nan Chauncy Award from the Children's Book Council in 1984, the National Book Council's Bookman of the Year Award jointly with her husband Harry Muir in 1978; and the Library Association's Redmond Barry Award in 1988.
Biographical Note - Katie Langloh Parker
Catherine Eliza Somerville (Katie) Stow (1856-1940) married Langloh Parker, a well-known pastoralist, in 1875; in 1879 they acquired Bangate station on the Narran River, near Walgett, New South Wales, and remained there until 'Bad seasons and the depression of the 1890s forced' them off the land. During those years, Katie Langloh Parker 'studied her surroundings, taking a particular interest in the Aborigines. She respected their culture and traditions, so gaining their trust, and began to collect their myths and legends. Although she had learned some of their languages, she checked and rechecked the tales with interpreters, and was scrupulous in recording them as they were told to her'. She published Australian Legendary Tales (1896) and More Australian Legendary Tales (1898), as well as The Euahlayi Tribe (1905), a serious anthropological study of the Narran River Aborigines. These books not only preserved traditional Aboriginal tales, they were also among 'the earliest attempts to bring Aboriginal culture to the attention of White Australians in a serious and sympathetic manner' (Reference: Australian Dictionary of Biography).