Guide to the Papers of Ian Turner

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MS 6206

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
Ian Turner
Title
Papers of Ian Turner
Date Range
1948-1979
Collection Number
MS 6206
Extent
15.8 metres (113 boxes + 14 folios)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The collection comprises a large quantity of correspondence, consisting of letters from his family, academic and literary associates, friends, publishers, numerous organizations and reflects his wide interests. Copies of many of his own letters are included. There are drafts and background material relating to his own books: Cinderella dressed in yella; Sydney burning; In union is strength: a history of trade unions in Australia; The Australian dream; The depression of the 1930s; Peter Lalor; Industrial labour and politics: the labour movement in Australia, 1900-1921.

Academic material includes radio and university lecture notes, some student research papers, reports on theses and manuscripts, references and records concerning Monash University government.

Subject files are intensive, including research on Australian Aborigines, Australian history, the Australia Council, the Vietnam war, apartheid in South Africa, socialism, the Australian Labor Party, Broadsheet, Arena and Overland. There is a large quantity of pamphlets, ephemera and printed material dealing with these and numerous other subjects.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2594538).

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Ian Turner, National Library of Australia, MS 6206, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The Library purchased the bulk of the collection from Dr Leonie Sandercock in 1979. Further papers were donated to the Library in several instalments between 1981 and 1996.

Biographical Note

Ian Turner was born on March 10, 1922, at East Malvern, Melbourne, the son of Francis Turner, a wheat farmer, and his wife Nina, nee Lang. He was educated at Nhill State School, Geelong College (on a scholarship) and the University of Melbourne, from which he graduated in 1949 (LL.B., 1948; B.A., 1949).

In 1941 Turner was called up for service in the militia, later transferring to the Australian Imperial Forces. In the following year he joined the Communist Party of Australia. While in the A.I.F. he served as a driver with headquarters staff in Queensland and in New Guinea, where he was reduced in the ranks from lance corporal to private for insubordination. Later he became an acting corporal in the Australian Army Education Service, and was discharged from the A.I.F. in Melbourne in February 1945. He then returned to the University where he studied History and Politics under Max Crawford, Percy Partridge, and Manning Clark. After graduation he joined the railways as a cleaner and threw himself into the work of the Communist Party and the Australian Railways Union; he was sacked by the railways in 1952.

In 1958 Turner was expelled from the Communist Party after expressing opposition to the Soviet Union’s suppression of the Hungarian uprising of 1956. He then studied at the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University, being awarded a Ph.D. in 1963. From 1962-1964 he lectured at the University of Adelaide, after which he moved to Monash University where he established himself as an inspiring teacher of Australian history in the radical nationalist tradition. He maintained a long association with Stephen Murray-Smith and the journal Overland.

Turner married Amirah Gust in 1948 and they had three children before being divorced. In 1968 he married Ann Barnard. He died in 1978 while playing beach cricket, on Erith Island in Bass Strait.

[Source: The Australian Dictionary of Biography, v.16].

Item Descriptions

Class. Original Consignment

Correspondence (File) - Box 1-5

Except where indicated on the folder, there is no particular chronological or subject order to the correspondence. Some folders contain a small quantity of other papers such as notes.

Monash University: Lecture notes and business papers (File) - Box 6-9

Australia Council (File) - Box 10-12

Australian Aborigines (File) - Box 13-16

Australian Labor Party (File) - Box 17

Broadsheet (File) - Box 18

Drafts (File) - Box 19-20

Circulars, handouts, photocopy (File) - Box 21-23

Ephemera (File) - Box 24

Printed Matter (File) - Box 25-27

Australian Broadcasting Commission (File) - Box 28

A.B.C. Broadcast – Australian Nationalism (File) - Box 28

A.C.T. – History (File) - Box 28

Anstey, Frank (File) - Box 28

Anthropology and Government (File) - Box 28

Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations (File) - Box 28

Arena (File) - Box 28

The Arts – printed matter (2) (File) - Box 28

Australian Culture (File) - Box 29

The Australian Dream (File) - Box 29

Australian External Relations, 1880-1914 (File) - Box 29

Australian History (general) (File) - Box 29

Australian Labor Party (Centre) (File) - Box 29

Australian Labor Party. Victoria branch. (File) - Box 29

Australian “Left”. (File) - Box 29

Australian Mates (File) - Box 29

Australian Society., 1961 (File) - Box 29

Australian Society for the Study of Labor History (File) - Box 29

Australian Studies Club (File) - Box 30

Automobile (File) - Box 30

Books to A.N.U. (2) (File) - Box 30

Broadsheets - roneoed material (File) - Box 30

Bushrangers (File) - Box 30

C.A.P.A (Victoria) (File) - Box 30

Cassells – Depression (File) - Box 30

Censorship (File) - Box 30

Centre for Research into Aboriginal Affairs (File) - Box 30

Cinderella Dressed in Yella (6) (File) - Box 31

Clark: Canberra (File) - Box 31

The Concept of Class (File) - Box 31

Colonialism and man (File) - Box 32

Communist Party of Australia, 1956-58 (File) - Box 32

Cultural mission to China (File) - Box 32

Death of a Building – draft by Harry Roskalenko (File) - Box 32

Depression (File) - Box 32

Draft of a novel? (File) - Box 32

Duplicate documents (File) - Box 32

The Estarolica (2) (File) - Box 33

Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (File) - Box 33

Federalism and the Commonwealth (File) - Box 33

Fitzpatrick (MacMillan) (File) - Box 33

Folk (File) - Box 33

Function notices (File) - Box 33

Games (File) - Box 33

Historiography. Civil Liberties (File) - Box 33

Humanists (File) - Box 33

Immigrants (File) - Box 34

In Union is Strength (3) (File) - Box 34

Industry (File) - Box 34

1957–60 4th International (Australia) (File) - Box 34

International Communist Party documents (File) - Box 34

International labor and politics. Reviews (File) - Box 34

Labor (File) - Box 34

Labor History references (File) - Box 34

Labor Movement (File) - Box 35

Peter Lalor (2) (File) - Box 35

A.D. Lang (File) - Box 35

The last remake of Beau Geste (File) - Box 35

Law Reform Commission (File) - Box 35

The Left (2) (File) - Box 35

Lenin article (File) - Box 35

Bert Lloyd (File) - Box 35

Ellen Mary McEwan: Thesis (File) - Box 36

Manning Clark (File) - Box 36

Meetings, engagements (File) - Box 36

Miscellaneous Australia. 156-58 (File) - Box 36

Miscellaneous manuscripts (I.T.) (File) - Box 36

Miscellany (File) - Box 36

Monash Administration (File) - Box 36

”Monash and La Trobe frolics” (File) - Box 36

Monash History notes., 1974 (File) - Box 36

Monash Labor Club (File) - Box 36

Monash University Staff Socialist Group (File) - Box 36

Morals (2) (File) - Box 37

N.S.W. - History (File) - Box 37

National Capital Development Commission (File) - Box 37

National Conference for a Democratic Constitution., Sept. 1977 (File) - Box 37

Natural Health New China Policy (File) - Box 37

New History. Chapter by H Radi (File) - Box 37

The New Left: Marcuse, counter culture (File) - Box 37

New Technology (File) - Box 37

The Nuffield Foundation (File) - Box 37

Oral History (File) - Box 38

Outlook, 1956-58 (File) - Box 38

Overland (2) (File) - Box 38

Pacific Islands, New Zealand, Antarctica – History (File) - Box 38

Petty, T. – Women (File) - Box 38

Pelican Guide to Australia Literature (File) - Box 38

Photocopy of an 1856 diary (File) - Box 38

Political stories (File) - Box 38

Popular culture (File) - Box 38

Postgraduate supervision (File) - Box 39

Queensland – History (File) - Box 39

Radicalism (File) - Box 39

Referee’s reports (by I.A.H.T.) (File) - Box 39

Register, 1844-46 (File) - Box 39

Richmond A.L.P. (File) - Box 39

Richmond City Council election (File) - Box 39

Richmond Historical Society (File) - Box 39

Richmond Town Planning (File) - Box 39

Roman Catholic Church – History (File) - Box 39

Santamaria (File) - Box 39

Shearers – Bullockies (File) - Box 39

Social Service (File) - Box 40

The Socialist (N.S.W. no.1-6, 1959-60) (File) - Box 40

Society (File) - Box 40

South Australia – History (File) - Box 40

Sport (File) - Box 40

Staff College (File) - Box 40

The Street Commission (7) (File) - Box 40

Students, 1970 (File) - Box 41

Students’ Movement, 1970 (File) - Box 41

Studies in Higher Education (File) - Box 41

Syndicalism in France (File) - Box 41

Tasmania – History (File) - Box 41

Thesis – tables (File) - Box 41

Trotsky Essay I.T. (File) - Box 41

“Turner scribblings” (File) - Box 41

United Kingdom (File) - Box 42

Universities (File) - Box 42

University Conferences (File) - Box 42

“Victoria” article for World Book Encyclopaedia (File) - Box 42

Victoria – History (File) - Box 42

Visit to Australia of Naomi Mitchison (File) - Box 42

Visit to China. 1975 (2) (File) - Box 42

Western Australia – History (File) - Box 42

Wool (File) - Box 42

Wool economics (File) - Box 42

World Book Encyclopaedia (File) - Box 43

World Economy (File) - Box 43

World War One (2) (File) - Box 43

Groups of small subject files (3) (File) - Box 43

Groups of small subject files (File) - Box 44

Press Cuttings (File) - Box 45–47

14 packages of monographs, photographs, printed material and news cuttings. (File) - Folio-Box (No. ?)

Class. Consignment added 1982

Press cuttings (File) - Box 48-55

Football book research (File) - Box 56-60

Sydney’s burning (File) - Box 61-63

Freedom to read Association (File) - Box 64-66

Olympic Games, 1956 (File) - Box 67

Crimes Act, 1960 (File) - Box 68

Vietnam War (File) - Box 69

Australia – China Society (File) - Box 70

Overland; Australian Book Society; Moomba Book Fair, 1955-57 (File) - Box 71

Industrial Labour and Politics, 1900-1921 (File) - Box 72

Lecture notes (File) - Box 73-74

Turner’s writings (File) - Box 75-78

Research notes and cards (File) - Box 79-83

Subject files: Australian history (File) - Box 84-87

Subject files: Urban studies (File) - Box 88-89

Subject files: The Arts (File) - Box 90-91

Subject files: European history (File) - Box 92-93

Subject files: General (File) - Box 94-98

Articles by others (File) - Box 99

Printed material (File) - Box 100-103

Correspondence and personal papers (closed) (File) - Box 104-105

Class. Consignment added 1983

Mostly Australian history research notes

Sydney Labour Council (File) - Box 106

Australian Workers Union (File) - Box 106

Essays (File) - Box 106

Communism in a workers’ democracy, 1962 (File) - Box 106

Two photographs of Turner and friends, December 1956 (File) - Box 106

IWW in Australia (File) - Box 107

Broadsheet, 1963-65 (File) - Box 107

Arbitration in Australia (File) - Box 107

Waterside workers (File) - Box 107

Early Socialist organizations in Australia (File) - Box 107

The International Socialist (File) - Box 107

Class. Consignment added 1985

Correspondence (closed), 1948-76 (File) - Box 108

Correspondence (closed), 1959-73 (File) - Box 109

Correspondence (closed), 1960-73. Re privacy and defamation and the Dorothy Hewitt case (File) - Box 110

Correspondence (closed), 1956-70. Re Overland magazine, Round-up newssheets., 1962-64 (File) - Box 111

Class. Consignment added 1987

Publications on Communism, including roneoed items, journals and cuttings, mostly 1950’s (File) - Box 112-113


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