Guide to the Papers of Leonard Brokenshire Curnow
MS 6780
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Leonard Brokenshire Curnow
- Title
- Papers of Leonard Brokenshire Curnow
- Date Range
- 1948-1981
- Collection Number
- MS 6780
- Extent
- 1.29 metres (3 folios)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the material relates to Curnow's work as an administrator in various sporting organisations in Australia. The papers also provide an insight into his work as a professional engineer with various government agencies, such as the Victorian State Railroad, and the Australian Department of Administrative Services, formerly the Department of Supply.
The material documents Curnow's activities as an official at various sporting events, as well as providing information about the administration and operation of various athletics organisations, especially during the period 1950-1980. In general, the collection reflects Curnow's strong commitment to the development and growth of athletics, and of sport in general, in Australia.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2604448).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Leonard Brokenshire Curnow, National Library of Australia, MS 6780, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was acquired by the National Library of Australia in 1982. The collection consists of correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, notes, printed materials, newspaper clippings, architectural scale drawings, a specimen of the running track used at the Mexico City Olympic Games in 1968, and miscellaneous items of a personal nature.
Arrangement
The various series were created out of broad subject areas which would seem to reflect Curnow's major sporting, and other interests. The papers which fell into those broad subject areas were then arranged chronologically, in so far as it was possible to do so.
Biographical Note
Leonard Brokenshire Curnow was born in 1904. He was educated at the Ballarat School of Mines, and later at the Swinburne Technical College in Melbourne, where he studied Mechanical Engineering.
In 1920, at the age of sixteen, he commenced a five year apprenticeship with the Victorian Railways as a fitter and turner at the Ballarat North Workshops. Curnow did well at the apprentices' examinations and was subsequently promoted to the Melbourne Drawing office of the railroad as a Draftsman. Promotion quickly followed, with Curnow advancing to Engineering Assistant and then to Production Engineer at the Newport Workshops.
In 1933, Curnow was seconded to the State Administration as Assistant Secretary and Technical Advisor of the Youth Employment Committee, a body formed to assist in the rehabilitation of young people who had suffered as a result of the Great Depression. At the same time, he spent much of his time lecturing in Engineering.
Early in 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Curnow was seconded to the Federal Administration as Assistant Controller of Technical Training in the then Ministry of Munitions. In 1941, he went to London, where he was a member of the Australian Munitions Delegation. He was also controller of the Ordnance Section at Australia House. Apart from his duties there, he represented Australia on Lord Hankey's British Parliamentary Committee which undertook investigations relative to post-war problems.
In late 1944, Curnow was recalled to Australia to assist Sir Harold Clapp in compiling the Clapp Report on the 'Standardisation of Australia's Railway Gauges'. In 1952 he was transferred to the Department of Defence Production as Senior Engineer in the Ammunitions section.
As far as can be ascertained, Curnow was actively involved in sporting organisations from about the late 1920's. From 1927 until at least 1960, and possibly later, he was a Council Member of the Victorian Amateur Athletics Association, and served as that organisation's Vice-President for at least thirty years from about 1931 onwards. In 1938 he was Assistant Clerk of the course at the British Empire Games in Sydney, and in 1950, was the Manager of the Australian Athletics Team to the British Empire Games in New Zealand. In 1952, Curnow was an Observer at the Helsinki Olympic Games.
Aware of Curnow's great interest in sport, and his organisational talents, Curnow was seconded to the Organising Committee for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne as Deputy Technical Director, with which was combined the job of Arena Manager at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the progress of the Games. In 1957, he was awarded the OBE for his services to Amateur Athletics.
After the Melbourne Olympics, Curnow returned to the Department of Supply's Ammunitions Supply Branch. In 1958 he became Secretary and Executive Officer of the 'Working Party on Palletization and Unit Loading', later known as the 'Department Material Handling Committee'.
In 1964, Curnow was the General Manager of the Australian Olympic Delegation to the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
In 1970, he retired from federal service. Curnow was a Life-Member of the Amateur Athletic Union of Australia, the Victorian Amateur Athletic Association, the Ballarat Chapter of the Victorian Amateur Athletic Association, and the Melbourne Harriers.
Curnow achieved a great deal during his lifetime, especially in terms of his service to the nation, and his services to sport in Australia. The collection is rich in its coverage of sport, most particularly in the field of athletics. There is a wealth of information about his involvement in the Australian Olympic movement, and his contributions to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics are prominent features of the collection. The collection is also rich in evidence of his interest in, and support for, the Amateur Athletics Union of Australia, and the Victorian Amateur Athletics Association.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Olympic Games material, 1948-1972
Note: some publications from this series have been moved to Series 5.
15th Olympic Games, Helsinki, 1952: Report by L. B. Curnow on athletics and transport (roneod) (File) - Box 1-2
An invitation to dine with H. R. H. The Duke of Edinburgh at the Helsinki Olympic Village, July 22, 1952 (File) - Box 1-2
16th Olympic Games, Melbourne, 1956: Month by month planning schedule for games preparation leading to the commencement of the Melbourne Olympic Games, which started on November 22, 1956 (File) - Box 1-2
Information bulletin about the operation of communications equipment at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (two roneoed copies) (File) - Box 1-2
Applications for the position of General Manager of the Australian Olympic Delegation to the Rome Olympiad (File) - Box 1-2
18th Olympic Games, Tokyo, 1964: Papers re Australian Olympic Federation fund raising activities to finance the costs of sending the Australian Delegation to the Tokyo Olympic Games (File) - Box 1-2
Minutes of Australian Olympic Federation meetings held during 1963 and 1964 prior to the commencement of the Tokyo Games (File) - Box 1-2
A circular to the Australian Hockey Section of the Australian Delegation to the Tokyo Games dated 10 Jun 1964 (File) - Box 1-2
Tokyo Olympics Newsletter, produced and distributed by the Organising Committee for the Games of the 18th Olympiad, 16 Sep 1983 - 17 Oct 1964 (File) - Box 1-2
Papers giving information about selection procedures for Australian Olympic participants and other related papers (File) - Box 1-2
Circulars and other papers re transportation arrangements for the Australian Olympic delegation to the Tokyo Games (File) - Box 1-2
Circulars and other printed matter detailing travel arrangements for the Australian Olympic delegation at the Tokyo Games (File) - Box 1-2
Circulars and other printed matter distributed to Sectional Managers and other personnel attached to the Australian Olympic Delegation to the Tokyo Games (File) - Box 1-2
Claim forms submitted for daily allowances and subsistence in respect of various teams (File) - Box 1-2
Program for the Commonwealth-v-USA-v-Japan Triangular International Athletic Meeting, 25 Oct 1964, Osaka Nagai Stadium (see series 5) (File) - Box 1-2
1964 Tokyo Olympic Games: results and records, published by the Olympic Tyre and Rubber Co. Pty Ltd (File) - Box 1-2
General correspondence re the Tokyo Olympic Games, in Curnow's capacity as General Manager of Australian Olympic Team to the Tokyo Olympics, 10 Aug 1964 - 14 Sep 1964 (Note A great deal of this general correspondence is concerned with confirming travel arrangements for the Australian Olympic Team's movement to and from the Tokyo Olympics) (File) - Box 1-2
19th Olympic Games, Mexico City, 1968: Various newspaper clippings re the Mexico Olympics; Mexico Olympic Games, 1968: result and records, published and distributed by the Olympic Tyre Company (File) - Box 1-2
Object: “Piece of the actual running track ... used at Mexico City Olympic Games 1968”, accompanied by a letter from Sir Edgar Tannar, member of the Parliament of Victoria (in Box 2) (File) - Box 1-2
20th Olympic Games, Munich, 1972: 1972 Australian Olympic Appeal - pamphlet; Newsweek', 18 Sep 1972: contains the story of the massacre of Israeli athletes by Arab terrorists at the Munich Olympic (File) - Box 1-2
Australian Olympic Federation - Select Committee: A report by the Select Committee, which investigates all aspects of Australia's representation at Olympic Games (draft and final copy); Various letters, memos, agendas of meetings and minutes of meetings (File) - Box 1-2
Olympic fund-raising activities in concert with W. D. H. O. Wills and QANTAS Airways (File) - Box 1-2
Scale drawings of facilities at various Olympic Games venues around Melbourne (File) - Folio [Elephant Folio Run]
Includes: Drawing A2 – Arena Manager’s Office – Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) (four copies); Drawing A6 – Administration and Dressing: conversion of part of the northern stand, MCG; Drawing C12 – Cycling (road race): Start – Finish area; Drawing C16 – Cycling (road race): communications layout, Broadmeadows; Drawing A18 – Field Headquarters, MCG: building and communications layout (two copies); Athletics – MCG: rooms C1-C3 and relative position of the Royal Box; MCG: reconstruction for the Olympics: athletics field plan; Organisational chart: 16th Olympiad, Melbourne, 1956.
Series 2. Amateur Athletics Union Of Australia, 1966-1981
Note: British Empire Games/Commonwealth material has been incorporated into this series because of the AAUA's involvement in selecting and sending Australian team members to the Commonwealth Games.
AAUA 38th Annual Conference, Perth, 24-25 Mar 1966 - L. B. Curnow, delegate: Agenda, Notices of Motion, Notes (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA Minutes of 4th Conference of Association of Secretaries, Melbourne, 30 Sep - 1 Oct 1972 (File) - Box 2-3
Letter dated 18 Apr 1968, from C. R. Aitken, President of the AAUA, congratulating Curnow on his being awarded life-membership of the AAUA (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA 42nd Conference, Adelaide, 18-19 Mar 1970: Notices of Motion, Report on Records (File) - Box 2-3
Report by the AAUA's delegate to the 27th Congress of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, Stockholm, 30-31 Aug 1970 (File) - Box 2-3
AAA of New South Wales - motions submitted for consideration by the AAUA 1971 Conference (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA 43rd Conference, Brisbane, 10 Mar 1971: Agenda, Notices of Motion, Report on records, Delegates' Report, Nominations, Notes (File) - Box 2-3
The Amateur Athletic Union of Australia. Handbook of Constitution Laws and General Rules, 1975 (see Series 5) (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA Delegates' Report of an Australian Olympic Federation meeting, Canberra, 22-23 Nov 1974 (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA 48th Conference, Melbourne, 16 Mar 1976: Agenda, Notices of Motion, Financial budget, 1976, Reports of Standing Committees and delegates, Report of the International Affairs Committee, Nominations for consideration, Minutes of the Proceedings (File) - Box 2-3
AAUA 49th Conference, Hobart, 8 Mar 1977: Agenda, Notices of Motion, Financial budget, 1977, Secretary's Report (File) - Box 2-3
Nominations (of 1977 AAUA Conference) AAUA 50th Conference, Brisbane, 13-15 Mar 1978: Agenda, Notices of Motion, Secretary's Report, Balance sheet as at 31 Dec 1977 (File) - Box 2-3
Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee set up by minute 19.32 of the 1977 AAUA Conference to re-investigate the administrative structure of the union (File) - Box 2-3
Horological Guild of Australia - specifications required for stop watches to be used at all sporting events (File) - Box 2-3
Papers re activities aimed at introducing standard forms for Athletics Results Sheets on an Australia-wide basis, and correspondence re the same (File) - Box 2-3
School-boy Championship papers, and an assortment of papers from AAUA meetings, both annual and general (File) - Box 2-3
Programmes and other printed information re the 1974 Commonwealth Games, New Zealand (File) - Box 2-3
Papers regarding suggested athletics equipment required for the Commonwealth Games, Brisbane, 1982 (File) - Box 2-3
Series 3. Victorian Amateur Athletics Association, 1961-1980
Note: some publications from this series have been moved to Series 5.
Olympic Park, Melbourne: background notes for the Minister for Youth and Recreation the Hon. I. W. Smith (File) - Box 4-5
Information about lectures given on sports management, appointments and examinations, including Athletics arena management papers, VAAA Managerial Examination Paper No 1 (File) - Box 4-5
Series 4. Private papers not related to sport
Report on Post War Rehabilitation Plans for the Industrial Training of Men and Women Demobilised from the Services from war work in England, Scotland, the United States of America, Canada, as at May and June, 1944 by L. B. Curnow (File) - Box 5
Report on Standardization and Modernization of the Western Australian Government Railways; L. B. Curnow (File) - Box 5
'Free masonry and sport': a lecture given before the Lodge of Research, No 218, at Melbourne by G. T. Beslee (File) - Box 5
Correspondence re offer of services to the inquiry into public transit in Victoria conducted by Sir Henry Bland (File) - Box 5
Series 5. Printed materials
This series comprises three boxes of printed material, accumulated by Curnow.
Minutes of Proceedings of the Amateur Athletic Union of Australia (AAUA), 1964-1980 (incomplete) (File) - Box 6
Four issues of the quarterly journal of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, 1977-1979 (File) - Box 7
The Clubman - official journal of the Masonic Club of Victoria: various issues from May 1976 - Nov 1977 (File) - Box 7
Papers: Reception to mark the introduction of legislation by the Government of Victoria to establish a Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation (File) - Box 7
Publications: a number of published items relating to other series have also been placed in this series (File) - Box 8
From Series 1: Official guide: 16th Olympiad, Melbourne, 1956; Programme: Commonwealth-v-USA-v-Japan Triangular International Athletic Meeting, Oct 1964, Osaka, Nagai Stadium; Operation schedules for the Tokyo Olympic Games training venues; Marathon walking courses; Sports timers for the 18th Olympic Games; Results of the Games of the 18th Olympiad, Tokyo, 1964: Volume 1; Australia at the Olympic Games, 1964; Olympic Medical Archives – Report (Tokyo Games).
From Series 3: The AAUA handbook of constitution laws and general rules, 1975; VAAA Handbook of Constitution and Rules.
From Series 3: The AAUA handbook of constitution laws and general rules, 1975; VAAA Handbook of Constitution and Rules.