Guide to the Papers of Russel Ward
MS 7576
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Russel Ward
- Title
- Papers of Russel Ward
- Date Range
- 1908-1994
- Collection Number
- MS 7576
- Extent
- 8.6 metres (60 boxes + 1 folio item)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers extend from Ward's childhood until three or four years before his death, with the bulk of them dating from 1950-90. They include an extensive correspondence, business papers, personal documents, newspaper cuttings, photographs, lecture notes, research material, drafts and other papers relating to most of his books and articles, and publications. There are a large number of ballads and bush songs collected when he was writing The Australian Legend. In addition, there are family papers, including letters and manuscripts of his parents, John and Winifred Ward.
The correspondents include Clem Christesen, Douglas Pike, John Robertson, Edgar Waters, Margaret Kiddle, Gregory Blaxell, Peter O'Shaughnessy, Geoffrey Serle and Robin Winks
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1170351).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Russel Ward, National Library of Australia, MS 7576, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The bulk of the papers were purchased from Russel Ward in 1988. Following his death in 1995, a further five cartons of papers were donated by his family.
Related Materials
Two interviews with Russel Ward are held in the Oral History Collection. The first was recorded by Hazel De Berg in 1968 (TRC DeB 358-359) and the other by Neville Meaney in 1986 (TRC 2053-20). There are also eight tape recordings of ballads, folk music, stories and reminiscences recorded by Ward in the 1950s when he was collecting material for The Australian Legend (TRC 1837).
Arrangement
The papers were originally in two locations: Ward's office at the University of New England and his home in Armidale. The University papers were well-filed and included several numbered sequences of files. Many of the papers at the home were also in Files, but others were in large bundles or loose. In particular, the papers which came after Ward's death were mostly disordered.
Wherever possible, Ward's files have been kept intact. The papers have been organised by Library staff into 27 series, 13 of which relate to his publications. In many cases, this has meant that files from the University have been brought together with files or loose papers from his home.
Biographical Note
Russel Braddock Ward was born in Adelaide on 9 November 1914, the son of a schoolteacher J.F. Ward and his wife Winifred née Braddock. He was educated at Blackheath College, Charters Towers, Wesley College, Perth and Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. He went on to the University of Adelaide in 1933, majoring in English, and graduated with an Honours degree in 1936.
In 1937 James Darling asked Ward to become a teacher at Geelong Grammar School. He gained a Diploma of Education in 1938. Following his marriage to Margaret Ind in 1939, Ward moved to Sydney to teach at Sydney Grammar School. While living in Sydney Ward and his wife joined the Communist Party of Australia. They were active in the Party for several years and in the New Theatre in Sydney, but resigned in 1949. In August 1942 Ward joined the Australian Military Forces. He remained in Australia throughout the War, serving mainly in the Australian Psychology Testing Section. After the War he joined the New South Wales Education Department and taught in several secondary schools. In 1953 he enrolled as a postgraduate student in the Department of History at the Australian National University and he received his doctorate in 1956.
In a notorious case, Ward's appointment to the staff of the University of New South Wales was blocked for political reasons. In 1957 he was appointed a lecturer in History at the University of New England, where he remained for the rest of his career. He was made Associate Professor in 1963 and was Professor of History from 1967 to 1979. He served on the Council of the University from 1960 onwards and was Deputy Chancellor in 1982-89.
Apart from book reviews, Ward's earliest publications were junior secondary school textbooks. His first major book was The Australian Legend, first published in 1958 and appearing in several later editions. It won the Ernest Scott Prize in 1961. Most of his later writings were general Australian histories. He wrote a short history of Australia in 1965, reissued under various titles over the next 28 years, and in 1977 embarked on a three volume history of Australia. A Nation for a Continent was published in 1977 and Finding Australia in 1987, but the third volume was never completed. Together with John Robertson, he edited a three volume selection of documents Such Was Life. He also translated two French works: The New Australia and Socialism Without Doctrine. A Radical Life, an autobiography covering his life up to 1957, was published in 1988.
Ward was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1986.
Russel and Margaret Ward had two children. The marriage ended in divorce in 1967 and in 1970 Ward married Barbara Holloway. They had three children. His companion in his last years was Jeané Upjohn.
Ward died in Texas, Queensland, on 13 August 1995.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence, 1950-1993
From 1967 to 1985 Ward maintained a series of personal files, mostly arranged by date, in his office at the University of New England. He also kept files of correspondence on articles and other writings, appointments and engagements, and the Australian Dictionary of Biography. These files make up the bulk of the series. The earlier and later letters were kept at Ward's home. They have been filed chronologically by Library staff.
For the early years most of the correspondence is in-coming, but as time passed Ward increasingly kept copies of his own letters, including handwritten ones. Further correspondence can be found in Series 3 (Family papers), Series 5 (Financial and Business Papers), Series 6 (References) and in most of the series relating to his books.
The correspondents represented in Series 1 include Fred Alexander, Shirley Andrews, Gregory Blaxell, Alec Bolton, Ken Buckley, Clem Christesen, Manning Clark, Louise Daley, Brian Dalton, Geoffrey Dutton, L.E. Fredman, Robin Gollan, Cecil Hadgraft, Sir Keith Hancock, Ken Inglis, Roger Joyce, Margaret Kiddle, H.G. Kippax, John La Nauze, Wendy Lowenstein, Bill Lunney, Samuel McCulloch, Noel McLachlan, Ken Macnab, Rod Mead, John Meredith, Charles Moraze, Stephen Murray-Smith, Bede Nairn, Vance Palmer, Harry Pearce, Nan Phillips, Douglas Pike, Henry Reynolds, Michael Roe, Graham Seal, Geoffrey Serle, Bernard Smith, Tom Tanner, Edgar Waters, Lionel Wigmore, C.M. Williams, Robin Winks and A.T. Yarwood.
Series 2. Personal documents, 1921-1992
The series contains a variety of documents, a few dating back to Ward's childhood. In particular, there are copies of his job applications, a broken run of appointment diaries, and the transcript of his oral history interview.
Series 3. Family papers, 1908-1972
Ward inherited some of the papers of both of his parents and they are filed in this series. John Frederick Ward (1883-1954) was educated at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and later taught there. He was headmaster successively of Thornburgh College, Charters Towers (1920-1923), Wesley College, Perth (1923-1930) and Prince Alfred College (1930-1948). He married Florence Winifred Braddock in Perth in 1912. She had also grown up in South Australia, although her parents later moved to Perth. She retained many of Russel Ward's letters, covering over 30 years. In addition, the series contains some letters from Ward's brother John and sisters Claire and Jean and a few items relating to his two eldest children. Claire married the academic and diplomat Walter Crocker and Jean married a missionary Arch Yule.
Series 4. Subject files, 1964-1991
Files consisting entirely or predominantly of letters are kept in Series 1. The papers in this series contain some letters, but are broader in scope, including travel itineraries, conference papers and cuttings.
Series 5. Financial and business papers, 1961-1993 - Box 19
This series mostly contains agreements and correspondence with publishers and with Tim Curnow of the literary agents Curtis Brown. There are also copies of Ward's applications for Australian Research Committee grants to assist him with his three volume history of Australia in 1982-89.
Series 6. References, 1962-1991
From 1962 onwards Ward maintained files on references that he wrote on behalf of colleagues, students and other academics. The filing system broke down somewhat in the 1980s. In the case of some individuals, the related papers are extensive and they have been filed separately.
Series 7. Newspaper cuttings, 1948-1987
This series comprises newspaper articles about Ward, including interviews with him, many of them from Armadale newspapers.
There are some newspaper articles written by Ward in Series 24 and book reviews written by him are in Series 25. Reviews of his books can be found in the appropriate series.
Series 8. Photographs - Box 21
This small series contains loose photographs of Ward at various times in his life and also of various members of his family. This series comprises 1 file.
Series 9. Early papers, 1920-1950
Ward kept a few papers from his childhood and early adult life. There are no papers, however, on his pre-War teaching career or his military service during World War II. The series contains reports, a few letters, cuttings and programs. His Master of Arts thesis was entitled ‘Genesis and nature of the social, political and historical content of English poetry between the two world wars, with articular reference to the works of Pound, Eliot and Auden'.
Some other early papers can be found in Series 2 and 3.
Series 10. Australian National University, 1953-55 - Box 22
Ward enrolled as a doctoral student in the Department of History at the Australian National University in 1953. He completed his thesis in 1956. The papers assembled for his thesis can be found in Series 11. This small series contain lecture notes and seminar papers.
Ward wrote about his time at the Australian National University in chapter 10 of
A Radical Life.
Series 11. University of New England, 1957-1984
Ward was appointed a Lecturer in History at the University of New England in 1957 and remained associated with the University for the rest of his life. After his retirement as Professor of History in 1979, he was appointed Emeritus Professor and Honorary Fellow and he was Deputy Chancellor from 1982 to 1989.
A great deal of correspondence about the University in general and the Department of History in particular can be found in Series 1. References and job applications of several of his colleagues at the University are in Series 6.
Series 12. The Australian Legend, 1951-1980
The Australian Legend was Ward's first substantial book and the one that put him at the forefront of Australian historians. Ward sought to define the national character or national mystique and to identify the traits of the typical Australian. Using ballads and other popular literary forms, he traced the emergence of these traits among the convicts, bush workers and itinerant workers. He asserted that their work, experiences and social practices encouraged nationalistic, democratic and egalitarian beliefs that flourished in the late nineteenth century and continued to characterize Australian life in modern times. The book has often been criticized, but it has been one of the most influential works of an Australian historian.
The Australian Legend was published by Oxford University Press in 1958 and a second edition appeared in 1965. A new illustrated edition was published in 1978. The book was based on Ward's doctoral thesis ‘History of the Australian Pastoral Worker'. Most of the papers in this series were assembled when he was writing his thesis. They include extensive material on ballads and also papers of one of his supervisors, Margaret Kiddle. There are also reviews of the book and correspondence concerning later editions.
Series 13. Ballads and Folklore, 1953-1994
During World War II Ward became interested in the old bush songs collected by A.B. Paterson and this interest led to conversations with Vance Palmer and ultimately to The Australian Legend. His doctoral research began with a search for Australian ballads and folksongs, many of which can be found in Series 12. His research coincided with the ‘folk revival', in which John Manifold, John Meredith, Edgar Waters, Ron Edwards and Wendy Lowenstein played important roles. In 1964 Ward edited The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads, which was reprinted a number of times. He retained a strong interest in Australian folklore all his life.
The series contains ballads collected from various sources, newspaper cuttings, correspondence, printed items and the typescript of The Penguin Book of Australian Ballads. Correspondents include Edgar Waters, Ida Fielding and Brian Stonier (Penguin).
Series 14. Australia - a Short History, 1962-1981
Ward's short history of Australia was first published in 1965 and re-appeared under various titles over the next 28 years. The original edition, published by Prentice Hall in America, was simply entitled Australia. A revised edition published in Sydney by Ure Smith in 1967. A further revised edition appeared in 1975 with the title Australia - a Short History. In 1987 Macmillan published it, with many changes, as Australia Since the Coming of Man and in 1992 it re-emerged as Australia: a Concise History.
The series consists of correspondence with publishers and reviews of the first edition. The correspondents include Walter Langsam, Robin Winks, Edgar Thomas, Jose Turner, Richard Smart, Sue Wagner and Rod Mead.
Series 15. Australia Since the Coming of Man, 1981-1987
Australia Since the Coming of Man, published by Heinemann in 1987, was a substantial revision of Australia - a short history. It was in a larger format and included numerous illustrations. The series comprises a typescript draft, reviews and correspondence. The correspondents include Rod Mead and Barbara Beckett.
Series 16. Concise history of Australia, 1991-1993
Concise History of Australia was the last book by Ward to be published. It was essentially a new edition of Australia Since the Coming of Man, but in his preface he stressed that a lot of new material had been added, especially in chapters 1 and 3. The book was published by the University of Queensland Press in 1992.
Series 17. The Restless Years, 1966-1981
The Restless Years was written by Ward, Peter O'Shaughnessy and Graeme Inson and was published by Jacaranda Press in 1968. It was a large and profusely illustrated book covering the first hundred years of the European settlement of Australia. Apart from reproductions of paintings, prints and broadsides, it contained the texts of many ballads and bush songs. A stereophonic sound recording accompanied the book, with O'Shaughnessy as the narrator.
The series contains a draft of the text, reviews and correspondence. The correspondents include Peter O'Shaughnessy, Graeme Inson, Gregory Blaxell and Brian Clouston. Some of the letters refer to The Glorious Years, a sequel volume covering the period 1880-1918 which Ward and Inson compiled in 1971.
Series 18. Such Was Life, 1964-1986
Such Was Life was a three volume work involving a lengthy collaboration between Ward and John Robertson. Robertson was originally a colleague at the University of New England, but then moved to the Royal Military College at Duntroon. The books reproduced documents, mainly newspaper reports and articles, on Australian social history, building on the work that Manning Clark had done with his Select Documents on Australian History. Volume 1 (1788-1850) of Such Was Life was published by Ure Smith in 1969 and was reissued by the Alternative Publishing Cooperative in 1978. The latter publisher issued Volume 2 (1851-1913) and Volume 3 (1914-1983) in 1986.
This large series contains a typescript of volume 2, extensive material collected for volume 3, correspondence and reviews. The principal correspondent is John Robertson and there is also correspondence with the publishers Richard Smart and Alec Bolton (Ure Smith) and David Cleaver (Alternative Publishing Cooperative).
Series 19. French Translations, 1971-1980
Ward had studied French as an undergraduate and in the 1970s he translated and published two works by French authors who had visited Australia in the late nineteenth century. L'Australie was written by Edmond Marin La Meslée (1852-1893), who arrived in Australia in 1876, was private secretary to the French Consul-General in Melbourne, and eventually settled in Sydney. The book was published in 1883. Ward studied the book when he was in London in 1970 and his translation was published by Heinemann in 1973. Le Socialisme sans Doctrines was the work of Albert Métin (1871-1918), a writer and socialist who visited Australia and New Zealand on a journey round the world in 1898-1900. It was published in 1901. Ward's translation was published by the Alternative Publishing Cooperative in 1977.
The series contains drafts of The New Australia and correspondence and reviews relating to both books.
Series 20. A Nation for a Continent, 1972-1984
Most of Ward's writings had dealt with Australia in the nineteenth century, but A Nation for a Continent looked at the twentieth century. It was published in England and America under the title The History of Australia: the Twentieth Century 1901-1975. It was published in Australia by Heinemann in 1977 and was reprinted with amendments in 1983, 1985 and 1988.
The series comprises a typescript draft, correspondence and reviews. The correspondents include Alan Hill, Nick Hudson and Tim Bass (Heinemann) and also Ron Mendelsohn and Alan Powell.
Series 21. Finding Australia, 1983-1988
When Ward published A Nation for a Continent in 1977 he contemplated two further volumes covering the preceding period. From 1983 onwards he received grants for the planned trilogy. Finding Australia; the History of Australia to 1821 was published by Heinemann in 1987, but the third volume was never completed. Finding Australia differed from other general histories in devoting a considerable amount of space to Aboriginal history and Ward benefited from the work of archaeologists and prehistorians such as Rhys Jones and John Mulvaney.
The series contains several drafts, as well as correspondence, reprints and articles, and reviews. The correspondents include Jill Taylor, Lesley Dunt and Jim Warburton of Heinemann.
Series 22. Colonial Australia
The series contains drafts of part of the projected but unfinished third volume of Ward's history of Australia. It was to deal with the period 1822-1900.
Series 23. A Radical Life, 1985-1989
Ward's autobiography, A Radical Life, was published by Macmillan in 1988. It covered his life from his birth in 1914 to his appointment as a lecturer in history at the University of New England in 1957. He had planned to write a second volume, but does not appear to have progressed very far before being incapacitated by illness.
The series contains a number of typescript drafts of the book, correspondence, papers on the launch and reviews.
Series 24. Articles, 1954-1990
The early files in this series mostly comprise reprints or photocopies of articles by Ward and occasionally newspaper articles. In the later files there are sometimes drafts of articles, as well as the final versions.
Correspondence about articles in the period 1969-1986 are in Series 1/66-76.
Series 25. Book Reviews, 1946-1991
Ward began writing book reviews for newspapers while working as a schoolteacher in Sydney after World War II. He wrote reviews for both newspapers and learned journals for virtually the rest of his life, but the coverage in his papers is very uneven. The early Files mostly contain newspaper cuttings, whereas in the 1980s he retained handwritten and typescript drafts, as well as the published reviews.
Correspondence about book reviews from 1969 onwards is in Series 1.
Series 26. Lectures and Speeches, 1981-1988
This series contains a small number of lectures given by Ward in the 1980s. His notes for lectures at the University of New England are in Series 11.