Guide to the Papers of E. J. Brady

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MS 206

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
E. J. Brady
Title
Papers of E. J. Brady
Date Range
1881-1952
Collection Number
MS 206
Extent
9.12 metres (57 boxes + folio boxes of oversized items)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
National Library of Australia

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The National Library purchased the papers of E.J. Brady from his widow in 1952, along with a large number of books, pamphlets and photographs. Most of the printed matter was absorbed into the Library's general book collection and most of the photographs were transferred to the Pictorial Collection.

Overall, this collection is relatively poor in complete manuscripts but rich in correspondence both to and from Brady, for he meticulously kept a copy of every letter he wrote, as well as providing indexes relating to them. Its great value lies in the authentic coverage it gives of the period from 1890 to about 1914, for Brady was the last surviving representative of the Bulletin school of the 1890s, as well as being one of the original members of the Australian Labor Party.

The literary correspondence throws much light on writers such as Henry Lawson and Christopher Brennan, on journalistic ventures and on the struggles of small magazines such as the Native Companion.

The political correspondence contains a great deal of discussion on Labor ideals and world events, and the letters to and from Labor leaders from about 1891 to 1935 are especially interesting.

There are also personal and family papers (though very few survive from Brady's early life), business papers, published and unpublished literary manuscripts, notebooks, photographs, pamphlets, a large quantity of press cuttings grouped into scrapbooks on various subjects, background notes for his geographical and biographical works, and material on the history and development of the Gippsland area.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2252801).

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 E. J. Brady, National Library of Australia, MS 206, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Existence and Location of Copies

A card index to correspondence in MS 206 has been partially compiled and is available on request.

Brady did not preserve the integrity of this personal papers, but from time to time sold or gave items to various institutions, individuals or dealers, particularly letters which had dome monetary value, though he generally kept records of his dispersals. This explains why his papers may be found in several locations, and why parts of this collection appear incomplete. The Mitchell Library in Sydney and the Fryer Memorial Library in Brisbane, for example, both possess substantial Brady material, including his Juvenilia, whilst collectors in the literary field, such as Philip Whelan, H.H. Pearce and George Mackaness, acquired some Brady manuscripts and letters. Many of the latter have fortunately found their way to the National Library (MS 2449, MS 1657 and MS 534 respectively).

A manuscript of the poem 'Heave and go' occurs in MS 3806, while two published copies of Australia Unlimited can be found in Box 15 of MS 3288 (John Flynn).

Three scrapbooks, formerly at MS 298, MS299 and MS 1560, have been transferred to this collection (MS 206).

Finally, an unpublished PhD thesis, which gives a comprehensive account of Brady's life and works, has been written by John Broughton Webb of the University of Sydney, entitled 'A critical bibliography of Edwin James Brady, 1869-1952' (1973). A copy is held at the Australian National University, and the NLA holds a microfilm version at mfm G15,452.

Biographical Note

Edwin James Brady was born on 7 August 1869 at Carcoar, New South Wales. His mother was Hanah Jane Waldron (?) and his father, Edward John, had emigrated from Ireland to America, and in the 1950s, to Australia. During his adventurous life, which his son Edwin recounted in his biography Two frontiers, he fought against American Indians and against Confederates in the Civil War, hunted whales in the Arctic and Pacific, and, as a mounted policeman, pursued bushrangers in Australia.

Edwin Brady went to America with his parents at the age of 11. Returning in 1882 to Australia, he continued his education, achieving the level of matriculation to Sydney University at the Marist Brothers High School in Sydney. The poet Roderic Quinn was one of his school friends.

Employed as a shipping clerk in Sydney, Brady became familiar with ships and the seafaring life. These influences are evident in his first literary works.

During the Maritime Strike of 1890, which eventually cost him his job, Brady became active in the Labor Movement. He joined the Australian Socialist League, and was elected Secretary. The 1890s were an important period for Brady, for his political involvement led him to edit one of Australia's earliest trade union newspapers, the Australian Workman, while his creative efforts were accepted by the Bulletin and the Sydney Morning Herald. His friendship with Henry Lawson was also developing at this time.

On 30 October 1890, Brady married Marion Cecilia Walsh. The marriage ended in divorce in 1894, when he married Annie Creo Dooley (formerly Stanley), one of the members of the Socialist League. Shortly before Brady embarked on his travels to the north, the couple separated, and Annie Creo died in 1942.

Brady's first volume of verse, The Ways of Many Waters, was published in 1899, establishing him as an authentic writer of ballads and sea shanties. During the years 1899 to 1900, the aspiring writer drove a covered wagonette from his home near Sydney towards the Gulf of Carpentaria, in search of adventure and creative inspiration. King's Caravan (1911), his first published prose work, recorded this journey, which terminated at Townsville due to drought and limited resources. From 1901 to 1902 Brady lived in Grafton, where he was proprietor of The Grip, a critical newspaper, and met Norma Lynda Dalby, who was to remain his domestic partner for 35 years until her death in 1936.

Attracted to a business venture, which he established as the Commonwealth Press Agency, Brady re-settled in Sydney in 1903, and in 1904 was appointed editor of the Australian Worker, the journal of the Australian Workers' Union. He continued his advertising agency in Melbourne after he moved there in 1907, and in the same year became editor of the short-lived Native Companion. Another journey, this time by motor boat down the Murray River from Albury to Lake Alexandria in 1909, yielded material for River Rovers, published in 1911.

In the same year, Brady, Norma and three children arrived in Mallacoota, Victoria, on a holiday trip. They settled there in 1914, and it remained Brady's home until his death. From Mallacoota Brady carried on his literary career concurrently with his farming activities and the running of a guest house, 'Mallacoota House'. He did, however, make many journeys, particularly during the compilation of Australia Unlimited. This monumental work, published in 1918, took six years and 250,000 miles of travel to complete, but was recognised as the leading reference book of its kind and placed Brady at the forefront of non-fiction writers.

Amongst his varied output over the ensuing years were freelance contributions to many periodicals, poems, articles, political commentaries, accounts of his travels, geographical surveys, biographies, film scenarios and a series of autobiographical reminiscences entitled Life's Highway. A great number of his works remain unpublished or even uncompleted. His efforts to keep himself and his family by writing and by occasional business ventures did not always meet with success and he was often beset by debts, leading to the eventual sale of Mallacoota House and some of his land.

Brady and Norma had six children: Hugh, Moya ('Tuppy'), Anthony, Edwin (Ted), Sadie and Nancy. In 1942 Brady married Florence Bourke, who bore him a daughter, Edna June, on 4 July 1946. On 22 July 1952, at the age of 83, Brady died of a prolonged illness in Pambula Hospital, survived by his widow and seven children.

Sources: Anderson, Hugh. 'E.J. Brady and the Native Companion' in Biblionews, March 1951, p. 10-11; Brady, E.J. 'E.J. Brady: by himself' in Life Digest, June 1949, p. 20-23; Brady, E.J. 'Life's Highway' in Southerly, No. 4, 1952 to No.4, 1955; Harrington, E. 'E.J. Brady' in All About Books, August 1935, p. 141-142; Turnbull, Clive. 'The life and times of E.J. Brady' in Melbourne Argus, 26 July 1952; Obituary 'Genial giant was bush and sea balladist' in Sydney Morning Herald, 23 July 1952; Who's Who in Australia, 14th edition, Melbourne, The Herald, 1950; E.J. Brady Papers.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. General correspondence - Box 1-3

The first series assembles letters, telegrams, letterbooks and postcards, along with copies of drafts of Brady's own letters, which discuss subjects or events not covered by one of the remaining series, or which discuss several topics. They include birthday greetings, congratulatory messages on Edna's birth, enquiries about Brady's health, or general discussions about current events, mutual friends and travel experiences.

The correspondents are chiefly personal friends, among the most frequent writers being Patrick M. Stanley, Richard E. Tracey, Ernest H. Lane, Oscar Mendelsohn, Edward Harrington, J.K. Moir, May Butler George, Philip Whelan and Alan Queale. Letters by some of these people occur in other series, while general letters from literary or political figures can be found in this series as well as in Series 2 and 4. Examples are Bernard O'Dowd and Arthur Calwell.

The letters are arranged chronologically, with undated or incomplete letters placed last. Brady's own indexes to his correspondence have been brought together in Series 15

Series 2. Literary correspondence - Box 4-6

The letters in Series 2 provide an extensive insight into the literary climate and writers of the 1890s and the first half of the twentieth century, covering especially the rise and fall of the Bulletin School, literary societies such as the Bread and Cheese Club, and magazines such as Bohemia.

The series covers all forms of correspondence of a general literary nature, including literary discussions, business transactions involving more than one publication, literary criticism and requests for permission to publish Brady's works. Letters documenting a particular work are filed in Series 7-12, while letters dealing with Brady's contributions or activities connected with newspapers and magazines are in Series 6. An attempt has been made, however, not to break up a succession of letters with common elements other than main subject. The letters are arranged chronologically, with undated letters placed last.

Brady corresponded with members of literary societies, publishers, librarians, literary agents, booksellers, politicians and singers, chiefly J.K. Moir, Muir Holburn, A.H. Stubbs, George Robertson and Co., Harry H. Pearce, May Butler George, Horace Gleeson, Philip Whelan, Edward Turner, P.M. Stanley and Edward Harrington. Their letters often discuss writers such as Henry Lawson, Bernard O'Dowd, Katherine Mansfield, Banjo Paterson, Christina Stead, Christopher Brennan and Victor Daley.

Series 3. Family correspondence - Box 7-8

Contained in this series, and arranged chronologically, is correspondence to and from Brady's relatives, where relationship can be determined, and dealing predominantly with family matters.

The term 'family' encompasses Brady's parents, wives, cousins, aunts, children, grandchildren and their own spouses, sweethearts and children; as well as the descendants of the Irish Bradys, Catherine Wallace, her son William and daughter Alice, who helped Brady in his research for the biography of Bishop Hugh Brady, 'The Maywed Goshawk'.

Condolences to Brady on the deaths of his parents and of Norma, as well as to Florence Brady on the death of her husband, have been included here.

Series 4. Personal papers - Box 8, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Roughly two aspects of Brady's personal memorabilia are covered in this series.

(a) Autobiographical material. In 1939 Brady completed a series of reminiscences entitled Life's Highway. It was never published in book form, but extracts were posthumously serialised in Southerly, from 1952 to 1955. This subseries contains only fragments of the manuscript and notes relating to it, followed by correspondence with publishers. Various personal notes are placed at the end.

(b) Documents, scrapbooks. Among the papers collected here are letters of reference for Edward John Brady, the wills of Edwin and Hanah Brady, scholastic records, identity card, divorce papers relating to Brady's first two wives, and two scrapbooks marked 'Personal' containing cuttings about Brady.

Series 5. Business papers - Box 9-18, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

This series has been subdivided according to form.

(a) Correspondence. Because of Mallacoota's isolation, the bulk of Brady's business transactions had to be conducted by letter. This accounts for the great volume of correspondence grouped under this heading. The letters, arranged chronologically, deal with a variety of business matters, including the buying, selling and leasing of properties, the management of the guest house, insurance, debts, legal advice and the simple ordering and purchasing of supplies. The correspondents comprise solicitors, bank managers, local council members, the Department of Lands and Survey, insurance brokers, travel agents, storekeepers, tenants, neighbours and managers of Mallacoota House.

(b) Accounts and receipts. A great quantity of loose accounts and receipts issued to Brady are arranged chronologically in this subseries.

(c) Documents. Arranged in date sequence are a large variety of agreements, indentures, legal documents, statements of power of attorney, summonses, licences, permits, insurance policies, application forms, registration forms and company prospectuses.

(d) Ledgers, journals, bank books. There are seven ledger books and journals, 13 bank pass books and sundry bundles of accounts, dealing chiefly with the transactions of the guest house.

(e) Notes, miscellanea. The remainder of business papers consist of Brady's jottings, estimates, sketches, lists, memoranda and miscellaneous material such as rate valuations, notices to remove noxous weeds, brochures, circulars and press cuttings. These are in random order. There is also a scrapbook 'Re purchase Raheen'.

Series 6. Brady as journalist and editor - Box 19-21

The 1890s was perhaps Brady's best known and influential phase, for it was then that he contributed to the Bulletin and became involved with the Bulletin School of writers. He also contributed to the Sydney Morning Herald at this time.

During the following years, Brady edited several magazines and contributed to dozens more. In 1892, after the Maritime Strike, he was editing the Australian Workman. From 1901 to 1903 he was proprietor and editor of The Grip, in Grafton. In 1904 he became the editor of the Australian Worker, the journal of the Australian Workers' Union. Among other periodicals he edited were Arrow, and Bird o' Freedom.

Brady moved to Melbourne in 1907 and became editor of the Native Companion, in partnership with the publisher Lothian. This literary magazine unfortunately terminated in December of that year.

Following his settlement at Mallacoota, Brady undertook freelance journalism and regional correspondence. Some of the many newspapers and magazines to which he contributed poems and articles, often under pen-names, were The Weekly Times, Argus, Smith's Weekly, Bank Notes, Sunday Times ('Owl'), Labor Call ('Scrutator'), The Lone Hand, Australian Clothing Trades Journal, Table Talk, Tramway Record and Walkabout.

(a) General papers. Brady's negotiation regarding the fore-mentioned periodicals are documented by the correspondence in this subseries, which consists chiefly of letters to and from editors, publishers, proprietors, contributors and critics, and which occasionally overlap in topic with Series 2 and 7(a), particularly in connection with the birth and death of Bohemia, Creeve Roe and Oscar Mendelsohn's Focus, and the production of political magazines. Correspondents include R.S. Ross, Keith Murdoch and Senator D. Cameron. The rest of this subseries is made up of contributions by readers (Brady's own articles have been incorporated in Series 7(f) or 8(d)), agreements, notes, cuttings, circulars, rejection/acceptance slips, miscellaneous items and a scrapbook of cuttings, photographs, letters and notes entitled 'Grafton and the Clarence River; the Grip; opening up of the Dorrigo'.

(b) Commonwealth Press Agency. Brady took over the Commonwealth Press Agency from William Bede Melville, a Bulletin paragraphist, whom he encountered in Sydney one day in 1903. The business was established in Elizabeth Street and continued until a short time after he moved to Melbourne in 1907, transferring its base there. There is an article by Brady about this enterprise in Series 8(d). Under the scheme, Brady sent a weekly 'Sydney letter' (covering the news of the week – sport, theatre, commerce) to various country newspapers in return for advertising space, which he filled at 15% commission, hiring a canvasser to sell the space to advertisers.

The correspondence is mainly from interested newspaper proprietors and is in chronological order, followed by a Certificate of Registration, circulars and agreements, accounts, receipts, advertising rates and notes.

(c) Farewell dinner, 1906. When Brady was to leave for Melbourne, Roderic Quinn and Bertram Stevens arranged a farewell by his journalist friends, to take place on 20 November 1906. A small group of waterstained letters record the replies of the invited guests, who included Gerald man Thompson, Frank Fox and J. Le Gay Brereton.

Series 7. Political papers - Box 22-29, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Brady participated in the Labor Movement from its beginnings in 1890, when he was sacked from his dockside job for his part in the Maritime Strike of that year. He was one of the foundation members of the Australian Labor Party and in the course of his political involvement not only produced several manuscripts but conducted a good deal of correspondence, as well as collecting many press cuttings, brochures and notes relating to his interests.

(a) Political correspondence. This subseries traces the development of the Labor Movement, its members and its policies from the 1890s. There are letters to and from 'comrades', politicians and parties, discussing world events, particularly World War I and the Spanish Civil War, various political regimes, Russia, Communism, Catholicism and Jews. Some of the main correspondents are P.M. Stanley, David Morris, E.H. Lane, Edward Harrington, R.S. Ross, Austin Chapman, Percy Deane, Senator Donald Cameron, Arthur Calwell, W.M. Hughes, Earle Page, King O'Malley, E.G. Theodore, G.M. Prendergast, J. Scullin, W. MacNamara, Austrian Labor Federation (W.A.), New Zealand Labor Party, the Australia-Soviet Friendship League and the Socialist Party of Victoria.

(b) The Red Objective. After many years of research and early drafts, Brady completed in 1931, but never published, a history of the Australian Labor Movement, entitled 'The Red Objective'. This subseries contains a virtually complete manuscript of this work, followed by incomplete drafts, notes, cuttings, leaflets, related correspondence, a large album of cuttings marked 'Labor' and a scrapbook of letters and comments on Labor, 1890-1949, entitled 'An unfinished pantomime'.

(c) A Religion of Humanity. Although a Roman Catholic by birth, Brady was a self-confessed rationalist. He was vigorously opposed to the Catholic Church, especially since it condemned Socialism and Communism. At the time of the Second World War, he accused it of collusion with the Fascists. Many of his papers bear the heading 'Claridge', and unexplained reference to the Pope.

In 1929 he embodied his philosophy in a manuscript in which he studied the history of Christianity, the conflict between Catholicism and Communism, the alternative faiths of the world, and proposed his ideal religion, the 'Religion of humanity'.

This subseries contains only a few fragmented, unordered drafts of articles intended for this compilation, followed by a large amount of notes and press cuttings relating to Brady's research on a variety of topics: Church history, anthropology, evolution, science, astronomy, ancient history, atomic warfare, witchcraft and miracles.

(d) Depression and its cure. A booklet written by economist Leslie Rubinstein and edited with an introduction by Brady, was published in 1933 with the title Depression and its cure: the Gold Measure Theory. A copy of the booklet, together with notes and correspondence, form this subseries.

(e) The Golden Key. Leslie Rubinstein further developed his Gold Measure Theory and outlined suggestions for post-war reconstruction in this booklet, which was produced in 1942 under the editorship of Brady. Contained in this subseries are various manuscript drafts and letters relating to the publication.

(f) Dreams and Realities. This book was published in 1944 by Brady in collaboration with Rubinstein. It presented, with fictional characters, a history of pioneer settlement in Australia, and advocated the co-operative community farming scheme as a replacement for individual speculation. Some correspondence, notes and reviews document this work.

(g) Other political writings. Individual articles on varied topics, including letters to the press and published newspaper articles, make up this group.

(h) Other political papers. The remainder of this series includes cuttings, notes, lists, circulars, reports, tickets, passes, notebooks and scrapbooks.

Series 8. Creative writings - Box 30-37

(a) Poetry. Brady's published poetical works are represented in this subseries by contents lists, some incomplete drafts, documents and correspondence of his books The Ways of Many Waters, House of the Winds, and Wardens of the Seas. They are followed by several unpublished manuscripts and anthologies, also accompanied by notes and correspondence: 'Zayda: a tale of the Alhambra' (written in 1890 at the age of 21), 'The cat and the fiddle', 'The wandering foot', 'Rhymes of revolt', 'Pictures of the night', 'Nonsense Rhymes' (known variously as 'Native notions' or 'Joyous Jingles'), 'Keel and Caravan' and two untitled collections. The remaining poems not included in anthologies have been arranged alphabetically by title, followed by fragmented, untitled poems and finally, by published versions of poems.

(b) Prose. Apart from a few letters discussing Tom Pagdin, Pirate (NSW Bookstall Co., 1911) and the printed newspaper versions of articles and short stories, the bulk of creative prose works represented in this subseries are unpublished. Chiefly anthologies of short stories, the manuscripts are virtually complete, and consist of 'Kangaroo Tales', 'On the Wallaby Track', 'African Adventure', 'Cruise of the Gospel Truth', 'The World Walkers', 'The Gippslanders', 'The Tobins', 'The Message Stick', 'Land of the Lotus', 'The Knights of New Arcadia', 'Bushrangers and Beachcombers' and one untitled collection 'Short Stories'. These are followed by articles arranged alphabetically. Notes and correspondence on a particular work have been placed after its manuscript.

(c) Drama. This subseries contains three works. The incomplete manuscript 'Life on a Rubber Estate' is set in Java, while the scenario 'Fallen Leaves' and the 'photodrama' 'Antonelli' reflect the fascination that motion pictures held for Brady.

(d) Other literary papers. The remaining group of literary papers includes notes, lists, circulars of literary organisations, publicity material, publishers' agreements and accounts, and three scrapbooks entitled 'Australian art and letters' (Volume 1, 1905-1927; Volume 2, 1927-1950) and 'My literary notebook', begun 27 August 1894, in which Brady set down ideas for stories, poems and feature articles.

Series 9. Travels and observations - Box 38-40

Brady wrote a number of books relating his experiences as a traveller. River Rovers (Melbourne, George Robertson, 1911), originally undertaken for the magazine Lone Hand, was published following his journey by motor boat down the Murray River in 1909. Similarly, King's Caravan (London, Edward Arnold, 1911) and Land of the Sun (London, Edward Arnold, 1924) were inspired by Brady's wagon journey from Sydney to Townsville in 1899-1900. Other books of a geographical or pictorial nature were published or projected as commercial undertakings, based on his observations of the areas, and sometimes containing sponsors' advertisements. These were: Sydney Harbour (Sydney, Builder Printing Works, 1903); Sydney, the Commercial Capital of the Commonwealth (Sydney, Builder Printing Works, 1904); Picturesque Port Phillip (Melbourne, George Robertson, 1911); The Overlander: Princes Highway (Melbourne, Ramsay Publishing Company, 1926) and Souvenir: Victorian Centenary 1834-1934 (Melbourne, Industrial Printing and Publicity Company, 1934).

Correspondence, notes, clippings and documents relating to all these publications are contained in this series, grouped by title in chronological order according to the date of publication. In the case of Land of the Sun and Princes Highway, there is also some fragmented manuscript material. The series also contains correspondence regarding projected but unpublished works, such as books on Tasmania and Java, and various general notes.

Series 10. Australia Unlimited - Box 41-44

Published in 1918 by George Robertson and Co., this mammoth geographical, historical, industrial and social survey of Australia is usually regarded as Brady's major achievement. Its success was partly due to the fact that it was the first work of its kind describing Australia, its features and industries in great detail.

Brady developed many schemes in an attempt to prolong its success, such as encouraging its use in schools, persuading the Government to use it wholly or partially as a prospectus for immigrants, a De Luxe edition with biographical inserts, a Victory Edition in 1946, and a motion picture series planned jointly with Arthur Stubbs, which led to the establishment of the Australian Films Publicity Pty Ltd, and the exploitation of films for wider purposes. The papers documenting Australia Unlimited have been grouped as follows:

(a) Manuscripts. A small amount of manuscript material, followed by some prospectuses and publicity matter relating to the De Luxe and Victory editions, are contained in this subseries.

(b) Correspondence. A substantial correspondence covers the long period of planning and negotiating which followed initial publication of this work. There is much discussion of immigration.

(c) Notes. Notebooks, notes, lists, prospectuses, press cuttings, publicity matter and pamphlets form this group of papers.

(d) Australia Unlimited Film Series. Brady's venture into the film industry is documented by correspondence, prospectuses, notes and plans.

Series 11. Industrial Australia - Box 45-46, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Almost as soon as Australia Unlimited was published, Brady was planning a 'companion volume' describing Australia's secondary and tertiary industries, and complementing the extensive coverage given to primary industries in the former volume. Although he spent the greater part of the next two decades planning, negotiating and researching for it, 'Industrial Australia' was never published. The following subseries comprise this group of papers.

(a) Manuscripts. A small amount of drafts are extant, generally fragmented.

(b) Correspondence. Letters to and from Brady covering a long period from about 1913 to about 1941 discuss his research and publishing efforts.

(c) Notes and accounts. A large quantity of notes, cuttings and brochures were generated by Brady's extensive research. Also included are his prospectuses and circulars, and accounts which resulted from negotiations with his assistants Captain Dowling and Miss L. Herbert, and from general expenses, plus a large album of press cuttings entitled 'Australian Secondary Industries'.

Series 12. Biographical writings - Box 47-51, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Only two biographies by Brady were published, but several more were written or planned. Each has been treated separately, with the published ones first.

(a) Dr Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne (Melbourne, Keating-Wood Pty Ltd, 1934). This work was originally intended as part of a series of biographies of eminent people in Australia and other countries of the Empire, devised jointly by Arthur H. Stubbs and entitled 'Library of National Biography'. This subseries consists of some pages of manuscript by Brady, some 'unused manuscripts of M. Considine', correspondence accompanied by Brady's comments on the process of writing the biography, agreements, circulars and notes.

(b) Two Frontiers (Sydney, Frank Johnson, 1944). This story of Brady's father, Edward John, and his adventures in America and Australia, was written with the help of a Fellowship from the Commonwealth Literary Fund. A complete handwritten 'uncorrected manuscript', a complete typescript draft and correspondence, personal papers of Edward John, notes and cuttings give the full background to this publication.

(c) Biography of J.F. Archibald. In 1943 Brady sought and was eventually granted an extension of the Fellowship offered to him for Two Frontiers, in order to write this biography of the Bulletin founder. The manuscript, however, remained with publishers Frank Johnson for four years before legal action obtained its release, then subsequent submissions to other publishers met with no success. This subseries contains the initial pages of the manuscript, correspondence and notes.

(d) The Maywed Goshawk. Hugh Brady, the first Protestant Bishop of Meath, Ireland, and ancestor of Edwin James, was the subject of this planned biography, for which a vast amount of research was conducted on Ireland, sixteenth century history, genealogy of the Bradys, and ecclesiastical and political figures. Some letters, a foreword and a large quantity of notes and cuttings documents Brady's endeavour.

(e) The Library of National Biography. The agreements, correspondence and notes in this subseries outline further the developments of this proposed commercial enterprise. Some of the important public figures who replied to Brady's offers were J.H. Scullin, W. Forgan-Smith, A.G. Ogilvie, W.A. Watts, A.J.F. de Bavay, Sir Mark Sheldon, Arthur Rickard, J.H. Butters, Philip Collier and T.R. Bavin.

(f) Other plans. This subseries comprises correspondence, notes and plans for other biographical series such as 'Men of my Time'.

(g) Articles. Assembled here are articles on various literary figures such as Victor Daley, Bernard O'Dowd, George Gordon MacCrae and J.F. Archibald.

(h) Scrapbooks. Three scrapbooks of correspondence, photographs, notes and cuttings, 'Prime Ministers, Premiers and Politicians I Have Known', 'Some Big Australians' and 'Odd Men Out' give personal insights into a large number of Brady's famous literary, artistic and political contemporaries.

Series 13. Mallacoota and Gippsland - Box 52-54, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Brady first camped at Mallacoota, Victoria, in 1909. In 1914 he bought a property, settled there and began farming. Apart from occasional excursions to Melbourne, Sydney and other places for field research, he remained based at Mallacoota until his last days. He took a keen interest in the history, development and welfare of the district, as well as a business interest in commercial propositions such as fishing, oyster farming, timber and coal. His membership in the Mallacoota Progress Association furthered efforts to improve facilities.

'Mallacoota and Gippsland' is a subject grouping used by Brady himself to denote the large volume of papers he collected from the time he first became involved with the area which he declared was 'the best place in the world to live'. The area covered by this title is wide, extending from Bega, down the coast of East Gippsland and west as far as Rockton, NSW. This series has been grouped roughly into three sections:

(a) General papers. This subseries contains correspondence, followed by notes, articles, cuttings, maps, travel brochures and documents on all of Brady's activities exclusive of the Mallacoota Progress Association. There are articles by Brady or others on the history or personal recollections of Gippsland, including a file of correspondence and notes entitled 'The MacMillans of Gippsland', which contains letters from the sons of the explorer Angus MacMillan. There is also a bundle of notes for a planned book on East Gippsland, as well as ten scrapbooks of cuttings and correspondence with various headings.

Some of the main topics or issues covered are: Coastal Railway to Eden (Australian East Coast Railway Construction League); Mining for brown coal; Better roads and communications; Influenza epidemic, 1919, and quarantine stations; Mallacoota Hotel, Prohibitionism and the issue against drink; Wangarabelle-Rockton road campaign; Defence posts; Harvesting of wattle bark; Sanitation; Orbost-Bombala Railway; Frontage disputes; Post Office, Mallacoota; Industries in Gippsland.

(b) Mallacoota Progress Association. Brady was elected Secretary to this association, which was formed in August 1944 and which campaigned for improvements in local facilities such as the mail service, water supply, roads, Mallacoota School and the commercialisation of Mallacoota Aerodrome. Correspondence between Brady and the Association's President, J.C. David, is followed by notes, cuttings, documents and a minute book dated 1944-45.

(c) Mallacoota Settlement Scheme. In 1932, motivated by the Depression, Brady leased part of his land to Leslie Burch and Jack Ross for the establishment of the Mallacoota Settlement Scheme for the Unemployed, or Mallacoota Farm, as it was alternatively called. A joint venture by the three men, it was a commune-type co-operative designed to give employment to a selected band of workers, to provide a living demonstration of Socialist ideals, and to be self-supporting in produce. A reciprocal agreement was reached, whereby the Farm provided garden supplies to Brady's guest house in exchange for use of the land.

The scheme was short-lived, its failure being attributed to many factors such as 'too much theory and not enough work', but fundamental problems included Brady's long absence in Melbourne, disputes over ownership of the land and produce and he pilfering or illicit sale of tools and supplies. By about 1936 Brady was negotiating with Leslie Rubinstein for the latter's revival of the scheme, and also for the publication of Dreams and Realities (see Series 7(f)), which embodied some of Brady's experiences and ideas about co-operative farming.

The correspondence in this subseries gives a chronological overview of the establishment and demise of the scheme, the disputes and the theories about its failure. Then follows signed application forms, notes, plans, estimates, articles and cuttings about Utopian settlements, circulars, agreements, publicity matter and receipts.

Series 14. Other interests - Box 55

This series contains matter collected by Brady as background research for some of his writings.

(a) Nautical topics. Brady wrote several articles on shipping, pirates, discoveries, early voyages (particularly Dutch visits to Australia) and shipwrecks. The correspondence, notes, cuttings, maps and diagrams in this subseries document these articles as well as his early seafaring poetry. There are manuscripts of some of the articles, as well as extensive bibliographies, lists of nautical terms and a scrapbook of cuttings.

(b) Science and discovery. A cuttings album with this title, together with additional matter, make up this group of papers. Brady's interest in such subjects as astronomy and atom warfare relates somewhat to the philosophy behind his planned work 'Religion of Humanity' (Series 7(c)).

Series 15. Miscellaneous papers - Box 55-57, Folio-Box (unnumbered)

Assembled in this last group are manuscripts of poetry and prose by other people (for example Brady's wife Florence and Harry H. Pearce), tickets, dockets, invitations, menus, sympathy notices, mementos, cards, borrowers' slips for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, photographs, visitors' cards, passes, notes and press cuttings which do not deal with the subject matter of the other series. There are also various lists and inventories of Brady's correspondence and papers, circulars, announcements, pamphlets, printed matter and a scrapbook entitled 'My Blackfellow Book', which contains pamphlets, cuttings and manuscripts on the Australian Aborigines.


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