Guide to the Papers of Ragbir Bhathal
MS 9365 et al
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Ragbir Bhathal
- Title
- Papers of Ragbir Bhathal
- Date Range
- 1949-2006
- Collection Number
- MS 9365 et al
- Extent
- 3.31 metres (10 boxes + 1 folder + 2 packages + 14 sound/av carriers)
- Physical Facet
- MS 9365 (6 ms boxes)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- Special Collections (Manuscripts)
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The papers relate to an oral history project on eminent Australian women scientists conducted by Dr Ragbir Bhathal for the National Library. They consist of correspondence between Bhathal and the interviewees relating to interview arrangements, a list of questions to be asked during the interview, journal articles written by the interviewees and newscuttings about them. There are transcripts of the interviews for eight of the women. Two of these are available for public access. The remaining six transcripts require permission from the interviewee before they can be made available. The folders which do not contain transcripts are also available for reference.
There are also papers (typescripts, notes and correspondence) relating to the publication of Profiles: Australian Women Scientists. Published by the National Library in 1999, the book is based on the Oral History interviews. The original title of the book was 'Australian women scientists: obstacles and achievements'.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn335630).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Ragbir Bhathal, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.
Provenance
Papers were initially donated to the Library by Ragbir Bhathal in 1999. Further papers were received in May 2001 (MS 9365 Box 3-6). Additions were received in 2006 and 2008.
Related Materials
An oral history recording and transcript for each interviewee is held in the Oral History Collection.
Arrangement
Bhathal had kept a separate file for each interviewee. The arrangement of the papers within the files and the file titles have been preserved by the Library.
The papers in MS 9365 have been arranged by the National Library into two series. Series 1 comprising material relating to National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science. Series 2 containing papers concerning Profile: Australian women scientists (1999).
Bibliography
His publications include Cultural heritage vs technological development: challenges to education (co-ed 1981), Under the Southern Cross: a brief history of astronomy in Australia (1991), Astronomy for the higher school certificate (1993), Australian astronomer: John Tebbutt (1993), Searching for ET (1995), Australian astronomers: achievements at the frontiers of astronomy (1996); Australian scientists and inventors (1996), Profiles: Australian women scientists (1999),and numerous papers in international journals.
Biographical Note
Dr Ragbir Bhathal was born in 1936. He is an award-winning author, astrophysicist and researcher in Australian science studies, physics and astronomy at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, New South Wales, where he teaches the only Australian university course on SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).
Prior to his arrival in Australia, Bhathal was a member of the academic staff of the University of Singapore and the Foundation Director of the Singapore Science Centre. He was then appointed Head of the Science and Technology Division of the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, and has served as an advisor to the Federal Minister for Science.
Other offices held by Bhathal include Foundation Chairman of the Australia-Singapore Centre and Councillor of the University of Western Sydney, as well as Foundation President of the Independent Scholars Association of Australia (NSW Branch).
He was awarded the 1988 Royal Society of NSW Medal for services to science, the C. J. Dennis award for excellence in natural history writing in 1991 and the Nancy Keesing Fellowship from the State Library of New South Wales in 1996.
Item Descriptions
Class MS 9365. Original Consignment
Series 1. National Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science, 1949-1999 (bulk 1996-1999)
The project was commenced by the National Library in 1996. Dr Ragbir Bhathal identified over 100 prominent Australian women scientists and has conducted oral history interviews with about a third of them. Interviews have been held with women scientists who have made a significant contribution to the development of science and technology in Australia and internationally. The women chosen were either Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science, Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering or heads of research groups and scientific organisations in Australia.
The aims of the project were to record the life and achievement and opinions of significant women scientists, to place their achievements in the context of the development of science in Australia and internationally and to publicise the achievements of women scientists amongst the public.
The papers consist of correspondence between Bhathal and the interviewees relating to interview arrangements, a list of questions to be asked during the interviews, journal articles written by the interviewees and newscuttings about them. There is a transcript of the interview for eight of the women. Two of these are available for public access. The remaining six transcripts require permission from the interviewee before they can be made available. The folders which do not contain transcripts are also available for public access. Folders 1-7 are available for access while folders 8-14 are restricted.
Edited extracts of some of the interviews appear in Profiles: Australian Women Scientists by Ragbir Bhathal and published by the National Library in 1999.
Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Jan Anderson, August 1996 (TRC 3479) (File 16-17) - Box 3 (MS 9365)
Correspondence and background material and transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Adrianne Clarke, October 1996 (File 18-19) - Box 3 (MS 9365)
Correspondence and background material and transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Suzanne Cory, January 1997 (TRC 3549) (File 20-21) - Box 3 (MS 9365)
Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Elizabeth Dennis, February 1997 (TRC 3559) (File 22) - Box 3 (MS 9365)
Transcript of Oral History interview with Dr Shirley Jeffrey, March 1997 (TRC 3573) (File 23) - Box 3 (MS 9365)
Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Rhonda Jones, May 1997 (TRC 3592) (File 24) - Box 4 (MS 9365)
Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Nancy Millis, August 1996 (TRC 3485) (File 25) - Box 4 (MS 9365)
Transcript of Oral History interview with Professor Cheryl Praeger, April 1997 (TRC 3746) (File 26) - Box 4 (MS 9365)
Series 2. Profile: Australian women scientists, (1999)
Profiles: Australian Women Scientists (published by the National Library in 1999) is based on a series of interviews which were recorded by Bhathal for the National Library Oral History Project: Women in Australian Science. The original title of the book was 'Australian women scientists: obstacles and achievements'.
The series comprises notes, correspondence with the National Library and the interviewees, and typescripts. The papers in this series were received in the second instalment.
Class MS Acc06.161. Consignment added 2006
Consists of 9 colour photographs of Australian observatories, including observatories at Windsor and The Rocks, Sydney. The photographs relate to Bhathal's book Australian backyard astronomy (with Jenny Bhathal, 2006) (1 folder).
Class MS Acc08.072. Consignment added 2008 (1)
Includes papers and correspondence relating to conferences that Bhathal organised or attended, correspondence and drafts for the oral history project and the book Profiles, Australian women scientists, audio recordings of interviews conducted by Bhathal for the Australian astronomers oral history project, and astronomical photographs from the Mount Palomar Southern Sky Survey, and press cuttings (2 boxes, 17 elephant folios, 14 sound/av carriers).
Series. Audiovisual carriers
Interview Professor Ken Freeman, 30/01/1995, Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005243) - Cassette-Box 321
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Russel Cannon 1/02/1995 Sides A and B (Tape 1) Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005244) - Cassette-Box 321
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Professor Hanbury Brown, 10/02/1995 1 and 2 of 3 (Tape 1) Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005246) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Richard Manchester 15/03/1995, 1 and 2 of 4, (Tape 1) Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005248) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Richard Manchester 15/03/1995, 3 and 4of 4, (Tape 2), Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005249) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Harry Minnet 1 and 2 of 4 (Tape 1), 29/03/1995, Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005250) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Harry Minnet 1 and 2 of 4 (Tape 1), 29/03/1995 Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005251) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Ron Ekers 30/10/1994, Australian Astronomers Project, 1994 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005252) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Dr Bob Frater, 25/01/1995, Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005253) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tape
Interview Professor Jeremy Mould, 30/01/1995, Australian Astronomers Project, 1995 (Item NLA.MS-SAV005254) - Cassette-Box 322
1 item, Compact cassette tapeClass MS Acc08.121. Consignment added 2008 (2)
Comprises research notes, illustrations, draft transcripts and correspondence with interviewees for the Australian Astronomers project, a paper on Campbelltown Rotary Observatory for Astronomical Society of Australia, research papers by Dr Robert Delbourgo for the Australian Physicists project, papers by Professor Cheryl E. Praegor for the Australian Women Scientists project (2 boxes).