Guide to the Papers of Ninette Dutton

Series 1. Correspondence of Ninette and Geoffrey Dutton, 1941-1988

The correspondence in this series comprises letters written by Ninette and Geoffrey Dutton to each other.

There is a large group of Ninette's letters to Geoffrey, which were written during the period 1941-1945 while Geoffrey was serving in the RAAF. These often lengthy, news-filled letters document not only their war-time romance but also Ninette's day-to-day activities as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), which she joined in Adelaide in 1942.

The largest component of the letters from Geoffrey to Ninette were written after their separation in 1983. These letters are for the most part filled with news of Geoffrey's day-to-day activities. There is a smaller group of letters from Geoffrey to Ninette while he was serving with the RAAF dating from 1941 to 1945 and a few letters during the period c1960s to 1983. There is also a collection of illustrated notes (c1960s-1983) that it was Geoffrey's custom to create for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries.

Series 2. Correspondence of Geoffrey Dutton and Emily Dutton, 1932-1961

This series comprises a large group of letters exchanged between Geoffrey Dutton and his mother, Emily Dutton, over the course of a number of years.

The correspondence commences while Geoffrey is a boarder at Geelong Grammar and continues over the years whenever they were separated. There is a large group written during the period from 1946 to 1951 when Geoffrey and Ninette Dutton lived in England.

Both write news filled letters that provide an interesting insight into their day-to-day lives and activities.

Series 3. General correspondence, c1940s-2007

The correspondence in this series is one of the strengths of the collection. The Duttons were close friends with a number of prominent people in the literary and arts fields and letters from many of them, often spanning a number of years, can be found in this series. Interleaved with these letters are those of family and other friends and a small amount of non-personal correspondence. There are also letters from readers of several of Ninette's published works. For reasons unknown, there is a gap in the correspondence for the period 1957 to 1974.

When received, there were several small groupings of letters created by Ninette Dutton, and these have been retained in subseries 1. However, the bulk of the correspondence was in no particular order and these letters have been grouped and listed chronologically in subseries 2.

Please note that other letters from authors in subseries 1 may also be included in subseries 2. This is because it appears that Ninette only grouped their letters for a certain period of time. For example, Alister Kershaw's correspondence with the Dutton's commenced in 1947, but the group of letters created by Ninette is only for the period 1984 to 1989.

See index to major correspondents.

To assist researchers in identifying authors of letters from family, the following is a list of family nicknames:

Mole - Ninette's nickname for Geoffrey

Skunk - Geoffrey's nickname for Ninette

Jiffa/Gep/Geppy/Bert - various nicknames for Geoffrey

Chibs - Geoffrey's sister, Helen

Tisi - Teresa Dutton

Pusscat and Mumcat - Geoffrey and Emily Dutton's nicknames for each other

Series 4. The Beautiful Art of Enamelling, c1966 - Box 22

Ninette Dutton was a renowned enamellist, having studied the art overseas in Europe and the USA. Contained in this series are papers relating to her book on the subject, The Beautiful Art of Enamelling, which was published by Sun Books in 1966.

Comprises File 1

Series 5. Portrait of a Year, c1976 - Box 22-23

Contained in this series are papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book Portrait of a Year, which was published by Thomas Nelson in 1976. There are manuscript and typescript drafts and a copy of the contract.

See also series 20, Artwork, for originals of illustrations used in the publication

Comprises Files 1-7

Series 6. An Australian Wildflower Diary, c1981 - Box 23

This series contains papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book An Australian Wildflower Diary, published by Rigby in 1982. There is an annotated sketchbook containing selections of poems, edited typescript draft and a copy of the contract.

Comprises File 1

Series 7. Wildflower Journeys, c1985 - Box 23

Contained in this series are papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book Wildflower Journeys, which was published by MacMillan in 1985. They comprise research notes, an edited typescript draft, correspondence with the publisher, and reviews.

See also series 20, Artwork, for originals of illustrations used in the publication

Comprises Files 1-4

Series 8. Presents From Your Garden, c1986 - Box 23

Contained in this series are papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book Presents from your garden, which was published by nelson in 1986. They include a copy of the contract and correspondence with the publisher.

See also series 20, Artwork, for originals of illustrations used in the publication

Comprises File 1

Series 9. Probabilities, 1987 - Box 24

Ninette Dutton's book of short stories, Probabilities, was published by Angus and Robertson in 1987. Contained in this series are drafts of three of the stories together with reviews of the book.

Comprises Files 1-2

Series 10. An Australian Gardener's Notebook, c1988 - Box 24

Contained in this series are papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book, An Australian Gardener's Notebook, which was published by Greenhouse Publications in 1988. There are proofs, transparencies, a media release and reviews.

See also series 20, Artwork, for originals of illustrations used in the publication

Comprises File 1

Series 11. A Passionate Gardener, c1990 - Box 24

Ninette Dutton's book, A Passionate Gardener, was published by ABC Enterprises in 1990. It was based on her weekly gardening column of the same name, published in the Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser. Contained in this series is the draft of the introduction and proof sheets.

See also series 16, Other writings - non-fiction, for drafts of the weekly column; and series 20, Artwork, for originals of illustrations used in the publication.

Comprises File 1

Series 12. Firing, c1995 - Box 23-26

Contained in this series are papers relating to Ninette Dutton's autobiographical works, Firing, which was published by Imprint Books in 1995. They comprised notebooks of manuscript draft, together with edited typescript drafts.

See also series 3, General correspondence, for letters from readers

Comprises Files 1-13 (9 files and 4 packets)

Series 13. Home - Box 27-28

Ninette Dutton's autobiographical work, Home, was published by Text Publishing in 2000. Contained in this series are manuscript and typescript drafts, a proof copy, a copy of the contract and correspondence with the publisher.

See also series 3, General correspondence, for letters from readers

Comprises Files 1-9 (7 files and 2 packets)

Series 14. Which Way the Wind Blew, c1999-2000 - Box 28

This series contains papers relating to Ninette Dutton's book about Kangaroo Island, entitled Which Way the Wind Blew, which was published by Molonglo Press in 2000. The cover was designed by Romola Templeman. There are manuscript and typescript drafts, proofs, editing notes, correspondence with the publishers and letters from readers.

Comprises Files 1-4

Series 15. Other Writings - Fiction

Contained in this series are papers relating to works of fiction by Ninette Dutton. The bulk comprise drafts of short stories, and it is not clear whether or not they were published. They are listed alphabetically by title.

There are drafts of a longer work of fiction entitled 'Births, marriages and death' and fragments of unidentified fiction writings. There is also juvenilia in the form of a short story entitled 'Elizabeth's trip to Skyland' and a journal entitled 'Fourth Form Games Magazine'.

Series 16. Other writings - Non-fiction

Contained in this series are non-fiction writings of Ninette Dutton. The bulk comprises a large collection of drafts of her weekly gardening column, 'The Passionate Gardener', which was published in the Adelaide newspaper, The Advertiser, from 1989 to 1991. There are also drafts of book reviews, articles and speeches, fragments of unidentified non-fiction writings and the draft of what appears to be an autobiographical work with the title 'A time and place'.

Series 17. Travel Journals, 1946 - c1980s - Box 35-36

This series comprises a group of mostly undated travel journals kept by Ninette Dutton. In 1946 Ninette and Geoffrey left Australia to live in England for five years and there are several journals covering their travels in the UK and Europe during this time. The journals are filled with the details of all they are experiencing as well as general musings on life in general.

There are also a group of journals, together with a typescript copy, kept on a trip from Geraldton to Perth c1980s and journals of a trip overseas in 1972, a trip to Russia (undated) and a return car trip from Piers Hill to Canberra (undated).

Comprises Files 1-6

Series 18. Diaries and notebooks, 1985-2006 - Box 36-37

This series contains 25 small appointment diaries and 10 undated notebooks containing diary-style entries, addresses and miscellaneous notes.

Comprises Files 1-5 (35 items)

Series 19. Research Material

Contained in this series is research material relating to unrealised book projects of Ninette Dutton.

Series 20. Artwork of Ninette Dutton

Ninette Dutton was a skilled botanical artist and created the illustrations that appear in all of her published works. These range from simple black and white sketches to detailed watercolour paintings. Contained in this series are a large number of these works. There are also several early sketchbooks containing sketches of miscellaneous subjects.

Ninette was also a renowned enamellist. Included in this series are her design ideas for an enamelled panel she was commissioned to create as the decorative centrepiece of a new organ for the Adelaide Festival Centre. The organ was commissioned by the Centre to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Series 21. Biographical Papers, 1923-2002

Contained in this series is a small group of papers accumulated by Ninette Dutton that document aspects of her life. Included is the transcript of an oral history interview by Hazel De Berg (1978); papers associated with her appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1994; various official papers such as passports, baptism certificate and university certificate; papers associated with the sale of her home in Canberra (2002); World War II memorabilia; and ephemera from events at which she was a participant.

Series 22. Cuttings, 1957-2003 - Box 40, 42-43

This bulk of this series comprises four volumes of newspaper cuttings accumulated by Ninette Dutton over a number of years. They contain items relating to family and friends, local news, quirky news stories and also a small amount of ephemera in the form of theatre programs, invitations to exhibitions etc. In addition there are two filesfol of loose cuttings dating from the 1990s and a file of articles about the death of Geoffrey Dutton in 1998.

Comprises Files 1-8 (4 files and 4 volumes)

Series 23. Family Papers, 1890-1998

This series comprises a small group of family papers accumulated by Ninette Dutton. They relate to the Dutton and Trott family histories; to her three children, Francis, Tisi and Sam, mostly consisting of school reports; and to her day-to-day family life in general.

Series 24. Photographs, c1920s-2000s

The bulk of this series comprises early black and white photographs of family and friends of Ninette and Geoffrey Dutton and of travel in Europe during the five-year period they lived in England from 1946-1951. There are also early Trott family photographs, Ninette and Geoffrey's wedding photographs, photographs of the Dutton children and grandchildren and photographs of Ninette's copper enamel works.

Series 25. Audio Visual Material, c1981-1992 - Box 50

This series consists of five cassette tapes. Four are recordings of an unidentified radio program in which Ninette Dutton participated and the fifth is an interview of Geoffrey Dutton by Margaret Throsby in 1996.

Comprises File 1

Series 26. Papers of Geoffrey Dutton, 1932-c1980s - Box 51-53

This series comprises a small group of papers of Geoffrey Dutton, which it appears were retained by Ninette. There are papers and photographs from his school days at Geelong Grammar; World War II memorabilia; early letters to and from family and friends, including a personal reference from the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie, written in 1938; and photographs of his unit in Rose Bay (c1980s). There is a small amount of Geoffrey's writings, including drafts of poetry and the manuscript draft of his book A long way south, which was published in 1953.

Comprises Files 1-12

Series 27. Miscellaneous Papers

Contained in this series is a small group of miscellaneous papers accumulated by Ninette Dutton.