Guide to the Papers of Ross Hohnen
MS 9124, MS Acc03.149
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Ross Hohnen
- Title
- Papers of Ross Hohnen
- Date Range
- 1944-2003
- Collection Number
- MS 9124, MS Acc03.149
- Extent
- 6.4 metres (26 boxes, 6 cartons)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers comprise files maintained by Hohnen while Registrar and Secretary of the Australian National University, 1949-76; drafts and research materials for a history of the Australian National Universtiy; appointment diaries; papers relating to the 1995 review of the Institute of Advanced Studies; and papers relating to Hohnen's involvement in numerous organisations including the Industrial Design Council of Australia, Australian Frontier Incorporated, the National Heart Foundation, Heart Research Institute, and the Scout Association of Australia.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1693381).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Ross Hohnen, National Library of Australia, [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The papers were donated to the Library by Mr Hohnen in two instalments in 1997.
Related Materials
An interview with Ross Hohnen by Dr Ralph Reader is held in the Oral History Section at ORAL TRC 2544/36.
Finding Aid Source(s)
Please note: This finding aid may comprise or contain descriptive information provided by donors, researchers and/or volunteers.
Collection Retrieval Advice
Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there may be multiple Box 1s). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.
Biographical Note
The following information was provided by Ross Hohnen.
Ross Ainsworth Hohnen, born 21 Oct. 1917 at Arncliffe, NSW
Mentioned in dispatches, 1946
Officer of the Order of the British Empire 1967
Honorary Fellow, Design Institute of Australia,1971
Honorary Fellow, University House, ANU, 1975
Canberran of the Year (first), 1977
Member of the Order of Australia, 1987
Fellow (first), Heart Research Institute, (Syd/Uni; RPAH), 1991
Parents
Charles Edward Hohnen (1864-1938) ,b.Sydney, commercial traveller, W&A McArthur Ltd. (family arrived 1857)
Edith Jane Ainsworth (1877-1971), b. Kempsey, NSW; music teacher and medallist horsewoman (family arrived 1825 and 1833)
Married 1940
Phyllis Adele Whitten, BA, Dip Ed (Syd) b. 24 January 1915, Kempsey, NSW, daughter of Reverend Alfred Giles Whitten. (1883-1958) [b. Narrabri, NSW; clergyman, family arrived 1842]; and Ethel Annie Cock, (1883-1980), [b. Neville NSW; family arrived 1854].
Phyllis Whitten worked in the NSW Dept of Education as a teacher, research office, school counsellor, and school librarian.
Children
Michael Edward, MBBS (Adel) MPH (Hawaii);
Stuart Alexander, BE (Adel) MBA (Stanford)
Murray Andrew; LLB (Adel)
Alys Evanne, RN, (m. D. N. Fraser, marine engineer, airline pilot)
Education
Bexley Public School, 1922-1928
Sydney Boys' High School, 1929-1933
University of Sydney BEc (Evening student), 1935-1938
War Service 1940-46
Adjutant, S&T Services, HQ New Guinea Force, 1943-45;
Adjutant AASC, (Balikpapan) 7 AustDiv 1945
Career
The Commercial Banking Company of Sydney Ltd 1934-1946 (war service 1940-1946);
First Registrar, The New England University College, Armidale, NSW (University of Sydney) 1946-1948;
The Australian National University, Canberra ACT -1948-1975 :
Assistant to the Registrar, 1948-1949
Registrar of the University, 1949-1968
Secretary of the University, 1968-1975 (Retired on health grounds 1975)
Extra-Curricular Activities
Sydney Boys' High, athletics, (five school records); also Combined High Schools, Great Public Schools;
Scouting:
1925-1940: Wolf Cub, Scout, King's Scout, District Cub Master, (North St George), Assistant HQ Commissioner for Wolf Cubs, NSW
1957-?1962: President, South Canberra District
1962-1969: Area Commissioner, Canberra-Monaro Area (NSW).
1969-1996: Honorary Commissioner, ACT Branch.
1979-1981: President, Canberra-Monaro Area, (NSW)
1981-1989: President, ACT Branch of the Scout Association of Australia.
1972-1976: International Commissioner for Australia, Asia-Pacific Region Committee, World Organisation of Scouting; Deputy Chairman, 1974-76 Chairman,1976-78
1985: Founding member and first Honorary Secretary, Arthur Shakespeare Foundation for Scouting
Scouting awards include the Silver Kangaroo, 1985 and the President's Citation, 1997
The Arts:
Australia Council
Member of the Council (co-opted), 1975-'77 Member, Crafts Board, First Chairman, Community Arts Committee, 1975-1977
Industrial Design Council of Australia
Founding member, Deputy Chairman, Chairman
Essington Lewis Award, 1971
Canberra School of Music
Member Advisory Council
Canberra Theatre Trust
Deputy Chairman, 1968-1970 Chairman, 1971-1977
Crafts Council of Australia
Chairman, Planning and Restoration Committee, Crafts Council Gallery, The Rocks, Sydney, 1979-81
Academic:
Canberra Grammar School
Member of Council ?-1960
Wollongong University
Member of Council 1975-77
Duke of Edinburgh's Third Study Conference, 1968
Member of Executive Committee
Australian Dictionary of Biography (ANU)
Volumes 1-9 : member National Committee and member of Editorial Committee
Church:
Member of the Council of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, 1950s
Member of Parish Council of the Church of St John the Baptist, Reid, ACT, 1950s
Other:
National Heart Foundation of Australia
Deputy National President, 1979-81 Member of National Board and Honorary Secretary, 1966-77 Member-at-Large, 1981- Chairman, Smoking and Heart Disease Committee Conducted Feasibility Study for the creation of a research institute dedicated to the mechanisms of atherosclerosis and Chaired first Development Council. Conducted Audit of the allocation of the Foundation's funds for educational targets. First President, ACT Division Sir John Loewenthal Award, 1988
Heart Research Institute, Sydney (Sydney University and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital)
Chairman of first Development Council Founding Member of the Board of Governors
Technical Aid for the Disabled, ACT Branch
First Chairman, 1979-82
Australian Frontier Inc.
Promotion in Canberra (failed) of an 'Institute for the Study of Man and Society' Public Officer of the corporation
Item Descriptions
Class MS 9124. Original consignment
Comprises files maintained by Hohnen while Registrar and Secretary of the Australian National University, 1949-1976; drafts and research materials for a history of the Australian National University; appointment diaries; papers relating to the 1995 review of the Institute of Advanced Studies; and papers relating to Hohnen's involvement in numerous organisations including the Industrial Design Council of Australia, Australian Frontier Incorporated, National Heart Foundation, Heart Research Institute, and the Scout Association of Australia.
Contained in 22 boxes and 5 cartons.
Series 2. Personal Correspondence, Australian National University, 1949-76
A series of files marked 'personal correspondence' maintained in the office of the Registrar of the Australian National University. The files include incoming correspondence deemed by the Registrar's personal staff (principally Hugh Bartholomeusz) to be "DO" (demi-official) or of a personal nature and carbon copies of Hohnen's replies.
A "white" copy of all correspondence issuing from the Central Administration of the Australian National University while Hohnen was Registrar is in the ANU archives.
Series 3. Outgoing Correspondence, Australian National University, 1961-75
The position of Secretary of the Australian National University was created in 1968, and Ross Hohnen held the position until his retirement in 1975. This is a series of mostly lever-arch files containing all outgoing correspondence and other documents ("white copies") from the office of the Secretary, as well as some earlier material. They were kept by his secretary, RuditaLeverington, and are partly indexed but not sorted.
Series 4. Unofficial Files, Australian National University, 1948-92
A series of files relating to both personal and official activities of Ross Hohnen during his administration. The files contain correspondence, reports, minutes, references and other papers.
Edith and Joy London Foundation: minutes, correspondence and publicity, 1974-91. [In 1975, Miss Joy London donated 348 hectares at Kialoa to the ANU for use as a field station; Ross Hohnen was on the Board of Management until 1991] (File 1) - Box 3
Registrar's visit to USSR, with regard to the MGU-ANU exchange program 1963 followed by a recruitment trip for the Research School of Chemistry (founded in 1967) to the United Kingdom, 1963 (File 2) - Box 3
Series 5. Appointment Diaries, 1967-76
Hohnen's appointment diaries in his office as Secretary of the Australian National University.
Series 6. ANU Study Group on Administration of Research Schools, 1979
The terms of reference of the Study Group included identifying administrative practices of particular Schools which were worthy of general application and to identify those practices which were considered wasteful or unsatisfactory. Hohnen was invited in retirement to be a member of the Study Group, along with Professors A.H. Johns and C.A. Gibb. He was the principal author of the report of the Study Group.
Series 7. John Curtin School of Medical Research, 1990-92
An incomplete selection of documents relating to Hohnen's concern about earlier recommendations concerning the future control and financing of the John Curtin School of Medical Research.
Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, Enquiry into the Proposal to Divest the ANU of Administrative and Financial Control of the John Curtin School of Medical Research: correspondence of Hohnen and various submissions, 1992 (File 1) - Box 12
Series 8. Review of the Institute of Advanced Studies, 1995
A review of the Institute of Advanced Studies was carried out by the Australian Research Council in 1995 at the request of the Minister for Higher Education and Employment. This review was a sequel to earlier controversy over the future of the John Curtin School of Medical Research (see previous series). This series contains the submissions of the various parts of the Institute, reports, and subsequent responses. Other records of the Review are kept in the ANU archives.
Submissions to the Review : Australian National University Submission to the Committee for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 1994 (File 1) - Box 12
Submissions to the Review : Australian National University Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (File 2) - Box 12
Submissions to the Review : Research School of Earth Sciences and Research School of Biological Sciences (File 3) - Box 12
Submissions to the Review : Research School of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Centre (File 5) - Box 13
Submissions to the Review : Research School of Information Science and Engineering, Vols. 1-2 (File 6) - Box 13
Submissions to the Review : Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies and MSSSO Submissions to the Observatories Review Team (File 7) - Box 13
Reports of the Review: Report of the Institute Review Committee, Research School of Chemistry, Research School of Information Science and Engineering, Mt Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (File 8) - Box 13
Reports of the Review: Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, School of Mathematical Sciences, Research School of Social Sciences (File 9) - Box 13
Reports of the Review: John Curtin School of Medical Research, Research School of Biological Sciences, Research School of Earth Sciences (File 10) - Box 14
Reports of the Review: Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering , The Australia Research Council Review of the Institute of Advanced Studies, 1996 (File 11) - Box 14
Responses to the Review: Australian National University [overall response] , Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Research School of Information Science and Engineering, Committee of the Observatories, Research School of Social Sciences, School of Mathematical Sciences, Research School of Chemistry, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Research School of Earth Sciences, Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies (File 12) - Box 14
Series 9. Industrial Design Council of Australia, 1959-93
The Industrial Design Council of Australia arose out of a concern amongst Australian designers for the lack of recognition and use of Australian design in industry. In 1957 Ross Hohnen and Frederick Ward (furniture designer for ANU's University House and head of the ANU Design Unit) brought together people from industry, government and the design profession to form the Council. Financial assistance was procured by John Crawford from the Commonwealth Govenment, matching funds raised from industry and other sources on a dollar for dollar basis.
Ross Hohnen was a deputy chairman and chairman of the Council, a recipient of the Essington Lewis Award (1971) and was made an honorary Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia. The organisation ceased operating in 1976, its ideals amd initiatives largely subsumed by Standards Australia.
This series contains correspondence files maintained by Hohnen, meeting papers, annual reports, speeches, photographs and other papers.
Proposed alterations and amendments to Memorandum and Articles of Association, 1962-70 (File 10) - Box 15
Art Center College of Design (Los Angeles): correspondence with Clyde Vandeburg, 1966-72 (File 21) - Box 17
The Role of the Engineer in Industry, 1970. Retirement and Assurance Plan, 1964, 1969 (File 27) - Box 18
Series 10. Australian Frontier Incorporated, 1961-76
The Australian Frontier Incorporated was established in about 1962 as an independent body of the Australian Council of Churches "to help a large continent to become a great country by enabling individuals to find out how they personally can contribute to this end," and to "assist in the development of a responsible society by encouraging the study of the roots of society, economic and political problems and by publishing the findings of its consultation panels and research work." The AFI worked toward the establishment of an Institute for the Study of Man and Society in Canberra, at a cost of $600,000, but this objective was never realised. Hohnen was the Public Officer of the AFI, which was managed by a 15-member Commission. He resigned in 1971 when he was elected International Commissioner of the Scout Association of Australia.
This series contains correspondence files, minutes, reports and other papers maintained by Hohnen as Public Officer.
Series 11. Institute for the Study of Man and Society, 1967-72
Lease negotiations, 1968-71. Submissions to Prime Minister; submissions for approach to Trusts, Foundations, Companies, etc, 1970. Correspondence with Henry Houston re fund raising, 1970-71 (File 5) - Box 20
Hancock Family, correspondence about funding, 1969-71. Correspondence about tax-deductibility of gifts to the Institute, 1967-71 (File 6) - Box 21
Series 12. National Heart Foundation, 1967-74, 1990-94
The National Heart Foundation was founded in 1958, and Ross Hohnen, as Registrar of the ANU was closely associated with it from its beginning. The University provided national headquarters for the Foundation, and a focus for its national meetings.
Hohnen joined the National Board as a director, was Honorary Secretary from 1966-77, and Deputy National President in 1979-81. An ACT Division was established in 1972, with Hohnen as its first President. This series contains files maintained in Hohnen's office at the ANU, and later material on the oral history of the Foundation.
Series 13. Heart Research Institute, 1989-95
The Heart Research Institute at Camperdown, NSW, is affiliated with the University of Sydney and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and sponsored by a consortium including the National Heart Foundation. The Institute was opened in 1989 with the objective of ascertaining the mechanisms and causes of atherosclerosis, nominated by Dr Reader as the basic cause of heart disease.
Hohnen prepared a feasibility study which was accepted by the National Board of Directors among a group of Bicentennial projects proposed by a committee under Sir Richard Kingsland. He was asked to establish and chair a Development Council in Sydney. The Heart Foundation promised one million dollars funding over the first five years, and the AMP Society a similar amount. Sydney cardiologists and cardiac surgeons, together with prominent industrialists, lent significant weight to the new Institute.
Hohnen was a founder and member of the Board of Governors of the Institute and was made a Fellow of the Institute in 1991.
Series 14. Scout Association of Australia, 1971-76
Hohnen was International Commissioner of the Scout Association of Australia in 1972-76, and deputy chairman, then chairman of the Asia-Pacific Region of the World Organisation of Scouting in 1974-78. The series mainly contains correspondence received and carbon copies of letters sent by Hohnen in his capacity as International Commissioner.
Series 15. Australia Council, 1975-95
Hohnen was a member of the Australia Council in 1975-77 and first Chairman of the Community Arts Committee, 1975-77. The series includes reports and correspondence on the role and structure of the Council and its committees.
Series 16. Theatre and the Arts, 1971-95
Ross Hohnen was Chairman of the Canberra Theatre Trust, 1971-77 and Deputy Chairman, 1968-70. The series contains files maintained by Hohnen while Chairman of the Trust.
Series 17. Crafts Council of Australia, 1980-81
Hohnen was Chairman of the Planning and Restoration Committee of the Crafts Council Gallery at the Rocks in Sydney from 1979 until 1981.
Series 18. The making of the Australian National University, 1946-96, 1944-95
Ross Hohnen, after retirement, pressed for the writing of the history of the first fifty years of the ANU. Funds were made available at a meeting of the ANU Finance and Planning Committee and a committee was set up to call for nominations for the research and writing of the history and appoint the authors. The history was written by S.G. Foster and Margaret M. Varghese and published by Allen and Unwin in 1996.
Ross Hohnen had no direct involvement with the history, but was sent drafts for comment. The documents in this series are selective and unsorted.