Foundation for Australian Literary Studies the FIRST TEN YEARS 1966M1976

Foundation for Australian Literary Studies THE FIRST TEN YEARS 1966m1976

COLIN RODERICK

Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Monograph No.19 1989 The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies: A Note on the First Ten Years 1966-1976

Cohn Roderick CBE, MA, MEd, PhD, DLitt honoris causa Caen Emeritus Professor Foundation Professor of English James Cook University of North Queensland

Foundation for Australian Literary Studies James Cook University of North Queensland Townsville AUSTRALIA 1989 © James Cook University of North Queensland

ISSN 0817-5659

Roderick, Cohn, 1911- The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies: a note on the first ten years 1966-1976.

ISBN 0 86443 408 1.

1. James Cook University of North Queensland. Foundation for Australian Literary Studies - History. 2. Australian literature - Societies, etc. - History. 3. Literary prizes - Australia - History. I. James Cook University of North Queensland. Foundation for Australian Literary Studies. II. Title. (Series: Monograph (James Cook University of North Queensland. Foundation for Australian Literary Studies); no.19).

A820'.6'094

Set in lipt Lectura on 12 points of leading. Wholly set up and printed within the University Contents

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Prelude 1 Public Lectures 6 Preliminary Activities 7 Journalism Seminar 10 First Annual Dinner 11 Annual Literary Award 13 School in English Expression 14 E.J. Banfield 16 Gifts to Library 20 P.F. Rowland Award 23 APPENDIX: Board of Directors 1989 23 Guests of Honour 1966-1989 24 Cohn Roderick Lecturers 1966-1988 25 Foundation Literary Award Winners 1967-1988 26 Publications 26 Autographs 28 Prelude

THE FOUNDATION FOR AUSTRALIAN LITERARY STUDIES of the James Cook University of North Queensland, like so many North Queensland enterprises undertaken since Leichhardt opened up the area with his journey of exploration in 1844-5, originated in Sydney. There, shortly after Dr Cohn Roderick had in July 1965 accepted the invitation of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland, Sir Fred Schonell, to take the foundation Chair of English at the University College of Townsville, two crucial meet- ings occurred. Dr Roderick, then a Director of the publishing company of Angus and Robertson Ltd, invited an interested group of bookmen to join him at two luncheons at Claude Fay's Metropolitan Hotel, on the corner of Bridge and George Streets, a hundred metres from the publishing offices of the Company. To the first meeting came Sir Norman Cowper, Chairman of the Company; George Adie Ferguson, CBE, Managing Director; the poet and critic Douglas Stewart, OBE, a member of the Company's literary staff and formerly editor of the Red Page of the Sydney Bulletin; the poet Kenneth Slessor, OBE, then literary critic of the Sydney Daily Telegraph and President of the Journalists' Club; Harry Kippax, drama critic of the Sydney Morning Herald, and Dr Clement Semmler, of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. At that meeting Dr Roderick broached the idea of the establishment of a literary foundation in association with his Chair, for the close affiliation between the community and the Chair of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney which he had worked to establish had not eventuated. The aim of the proposed foundation was to bring writers, teachers, critics, and readers of Australian literature into closer contact with each other and with the reading public. This, Roderick said, could occur through public lectures, seminars exploring the practical aspects of literature, social occasions with a literary flavour, nation-wide symposia on the problems of communication between writer and reader, and by publications inspired by activities of the Foundation. He wished it to be free of Government or University financial support and to rely for its continued existence on public appeal to the spirit of free initiative. At that time North Queensland had no public Art Gallery, no regional well-stocked library, and no organized theatre. The popula- tion of Townsville was 48,000. The University College, instituted in 1961, occupied a small building in an inner suburb and had no more than a hundred students in the Department of English. The demand for a cultural impetus to North Queensland was clamant. All present at that first meeting in Sydney were in favour of the idea and undertook to support it if it were established. At the second meeting the same gentlemen attended and met the newly-appointed Warden of the University College, Dr K.J.C. Back, as he was passing through Sydney on his return from sabbati- cal leave. Dr Back, a bio-chemist, undertook to support the venture on its being made clear that no call would be made on University funds on its behalf. George Ferguson pledged his support by way of publication by Angus and Robertson of monographs consisting substantially of a series of annual public lectures sponsored by the Foundation. In anticipation of success, Dr Roderick requested the notable author and commentator Rohan Rivett of Melbourne to hold him- self in readiness as the first guest of honour at the inaugural dinner envisaged for July 1966 and as the Foundation's first public lecturer. Resigning as a Director of Angus and Robertson on 5 January 1966, Dr Roderick entered on his duties as Professor of English on 19 January 1966. The Department of English was at the time a subsidiary of the Department of English of the University of Queensland, of which Professor K.G. Hamilton was head. The courses of both Departments ran in parallel, and with Professor Hamilton's agreement, it was possible to institute two years of study of Australian literature at both institutions from the begin- fling of 1967. Meanwhile Professor Roderick, carrying a letter of introduction from the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Alderman (later the Honorable) Harry F. Jensen, conferred with the Mayor of Towns- ville, Mr Angus Smith, OBE, and with Mr Andrew Dale, Chairman of the Public Relations Committee of the University College, on the

2 inauguration of the Foundation. The Chairman of the Advisory Council of the University College, Mr H.T. Priestley, agreed to act as foundation Chairman of the Foundation.

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Inaugural subscriptwn dinner 18 July 1966 in the Orchid Room, Hotel Allen, Toss nsille Ito r: Or K.J.C. Back, Warden; Rohan Riven, Ouest of Honour; Mr Angus Smith OBE, Mayor; Or Cohn Roderick CBE, Professor of English A Steering Committee consisting of Professor Roderick, Mr Andrew Dale, and Mr Justice Russell Skerman arranged an inaugural subscription dinner at which the Foundation would, following approval of the Advisory Council of the University Col- lege, come formally into existence. At this dinner, held on 18 July 1966 in the Orchid Room of the Hotel Allen, Townsville, then the only commodious dining-room in the city, seventy citizens with the Mayor of Townsville in the Chair heard the formal proposals to establish the "Foundation for Australian Studies", as it was first called. Among them were the former Commonwealth Treasurer, Sir Arthur Fadden, judges of the North Queensland jurisdictions, the Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops, Commonwealth Senators and State members of Parlia- ment. including Dr Peter Delamothe of Bowen, then Minister for Justice and Attorney-General of Queensland, and leaders of com- merce and industry in the city.

3 To it came messages of support from leading figures in Australian literary and academic fields. Sir John Barry, Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, expressed the hope that the influence of the proposed Foundation would be nation-wide. Sir Stephen Roberts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney, described the formation of the Foundation as "a major educational achievement". The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queens- land, Sir Fred Schonell, saw it as "a means of charting the past, vitalizing the present, and influencing the future for the increasing number of Australians seeking a literary conscience".

At the first anniversary dinner 29 May 1967 I to 4.: Mr Douglas Suthers CBE (Benefactor); Mr H.T. Priestley, Chairman; Professor G.A. Wilkes. Guest of Honour and Foundation teccurer 1967; Mr WE Hunt, Director; Mrs Margaret J. Roderick Mr Rohan Rivett, responding to the toast of the guest of honour, predicted that the University College would grow into one of the important universities of the Southern Hemisphere. "Where you have a strong and virile university, you see enormous growth and prosperity," he said.

4 Moving the resolution to establish the Foundation, the Warden of the College, Dr Back, said that the progress of the humanities at the College, being spearheaded by Professor Cohn Roderick, would provide essential balance in the development of the university. Mr John Saint-Smith, CBE, remarked that his own profession of engineering would benefit from the improvement in expression which he expected would follow the activities of the Foundation. Following the reading of the congratulatory telegram from the former Governor-General, Sir William McKell, Professor Roderick dealt briefly with the proposed aims of the Foundation. "While a university must serve the mind of man," he said, "inspiring man by its research and teaching in the various disciplines, it must never lose sight of the fact that its great object was to serve the community." He was certain that the Foundation would carry the name of Townsville not only before the rest of Australia, but around the world. Dr Peter Delamothe summed up the enthusiasm displayed for the project by remarking on the historical significance of the evening's proceedings for North Queensland. "History will record," he said, "that on this night we went back to what our forbears studied first and foremost - humanity." The resolution carried by the meeting not only formally established the Foundation but appointed a preliminary committee to draft a constitution. Its members were: Chairman: Mr H.T. Priestley, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the University of Townsville Deputy Chairman: Dr K.J.C. Back, Warden Executive Officer: Professor Cohn Roderick, C B E, Professor of English Honorary Secretary: Mr Andrew Dale, Chairman of the Public Relations Commit- tee of the Advisory Council of the College Honorary Treasurer: Mr R.J. Barnett, Assistant Registrar Honorary Solicitor: Mr G.V. Roberts, C B E, Deputy-Chairman of the Advisory Council. Members: The Honourable Justice Russell Skerman of the Northern Supreme Court; MrJohn Saint-Smith, C B E. (Manager of the Copper Refineries Pty Ltd); Mr W.E. Hunt, Manager of the Commonwealth Bank, Townsville; Mr Gordon Lee. of Gor- don Lee Motors; Mr Andrew Dale; Mr H. Neil Smith.

At the see and all live rsa ry di 1111cr 10 Xl iii 1968 I to r: Mr H.T. Priestley, Chairman; His Excellency the RI Hon. Lord Casey, Governor' General and Patron; Hon. J.C.A. Pizzey, Premier of Queensland

Public Lectures The Steering Committee's first guest of honour, the Mel- bourne author of Behind Bamboo and political commentator Rohan Rivett was also the embryo Foundation's first lecturer. Rohan Rivett, BA, born in 1917 - died 1977 - was educated at Wesley College, Melbourne, the University of Melbourne and Oxford University. During the second World War he was a war correspondent with the Australian Forces. He was news editor of the Malaya Broadcasting Commission when the Japanese overran the peninsula. Along with fellow Australians he slaved on the Burma-Siam railway during the dark days of the war. His captivity ended only with the surrender of Japan. After the war he joined the staff of the Melbourne Herald and served as its correspondent in China and Britain. In 1951 he became Editor-in- Chief and a Director of News Limited, Adelaide. He was a Director of the International Press Institute, Zurich, in 1962-3 and was an Honorary Life Member of the organization. Rivett's lectures followed on the heels of the inaugural dinner. His subject was "Writing About Australia". He dealt with it in four lectures, two given in the Town Hall, Townsville and two in the College Refectory. In the chair for the first lecture, delivered in the Town Hall to some 200 people who attended, the Chairman of the Advisory Council of the College presided. In it Mr Rivett traced the origins of post-war Australian writing in the work of such war reporters as Alan Moorehead, Chester Wilmot, and George John- ston. The second lecture, dealing with the writing of Australian history, was delivered to an equally large and enthusiastic audience in the Refectory of the University College with the Mayor of Townsville presiding. So the pattern of linking the community with the University College was set from the beginning. Mr Rivett's remaining two lectures, on Australian travel literature and biography, attracted audiences of more than 200. In due course the series appeared under the imprint of Angus and Robertson. The Company met all costs of publication and paid a royalty to the Foundation.

Preliminary Activities The Preliminary Committee met for the first time on 27 July 1966 at the Reef Motel, Strand, where subcommittees were formed to draft a Constitution and to organize finance. 7 At the anniversary dinner 2 July 1970 I to r: 1-Ion. Justice J.P.G. Kneipp, Director; Professor Dame teonie Kramer DBE, Guest of Honour; Mrs K.J.C. Back; Alderman Harold Phillips, Mayor; Mrs J.P.G. Kneipp: Canon M. Macgregor; Mr W. Gillman, Member

The Constitution Committee consisted of the Warden, Mr Justice Skerman, Professor Cohn Roderick, and Mr G.V. Roberts. The final draft was the work of Mr Justice Skerman and Professor Roderick and was adopted by the Senate of the University of Queensland. The Finance Committee began its operations with a credit balance of S846 after payment of establishment expenses, including the inaugural dinner. Four major immediate aims suggested themselves to the Steer- ing Committee: to conduct an annual series of public lectures on various phases of Australian life: to arrange to publish them in a monograph; to endow an annual prize for the best book published in Australia: and to sponsor three-day schools in English Expres- sion to which secondary schools in North Queensland might send one senior secondary school student.

E. A long-term aim was to encourage graduates, either from Australian universities or from others, to pursue postgraduate studies in Australian literature. In general terms the Foundation was to do all that it could to enrich the cultural life of the community. How far these aims were realized will appear as this record of the Foundation's activities unfolds. The Foundation was to remain an arm of the Department of English. Membership was to depend on the making of donations to the University College that would enable the Foundation to achieve its aims. The scale of donations to be suggested to those invited to become members was as follows: Full member : $ 50 Benefactor : $150 Life Member : $300 The Preliminary Committee's second meeting occurred on 16 February 1967 at Lang's Hotel, Flinders Street, by which date the Foundation had a credit balance of $6,221.93. The Committee agreed to invite Professor G.A. Wilkes, Pro- fessor of English at the University of Sydney, to deliver three lectures on the Australian novel to coincide with the Annual Dinner on Monday, 29 May 1967. The Foundation's Annual Award for the best book dealing with any aspect of Australian life and published in 1967 began with a prize of $500, the funds for the first Award being donated by the Australian book publishers on the representation of Mr George Ferguson. With the encouragement of the Vice-Chancellor of the Uni- versity of Queensland, Sir Fred Schonell, Mrs Margaret Laurie began research under the auspices of the Foundation into the myths and legends of Torres Strait. This project was successfully com- pleted. The ensuing book, Myths and Legends of Torres Strait, splendidly illustrated with paintings by islanders, appeared from the University of Queensland Press and won the Foundation's Annual Award.

9 Journalism Seminar During the week-end of 27-28 May 1967 the Executive Direc- tor, Professor Cohn Roderick, co-editor of The Journalists' Craft (Sydney, A & R, 1965) attended a seminar organized by the Univer- sitv of New England at Armidale for the provincial press.

Anniversary dinner 21 May 1971 Mrs Margaret Lawrie, seinner of the Foundations literary award for 1970, with His Excellency Sir Paul Hasluck. Governor-Genera! and Patron

His address dealt with the need for closer ties between tertiary education institutions and the press. Sub-graduate courses such as the meagre diploma courses in journalism offered by some universities were insufficient. The status of journalism had to be lifted. What was needed was a marriage of the practical training by the cadet tutor and the broad educational basis provided by the disci- pline of a university degree. He broached the proposal that universities appropriately placed might create the degree of Bachelor of Journalism.

10 To thrash the question out he proposed holding a symposium on it in 1968 in Townsville under the auspices of the Foundation. His proposal was accepted, and he was asked to convene a conference to discuss education in journalism. He was empowered to invite representatives of the Australian Journalists' Association, metropolitan and provincial newspaper proprietors, and radio and television newsmen and public relations officers to attend, together with interested university faculties. The conference was tentatively fixed for May 1968, during the university vacation. It was opened by His Excellency Lord Casey, Governor General of the Commonwealth and presided over by His Honour Mr Justice Else-Mitchell. Lord Casey subsequently bestowed Vice-Regal patronage on the Foundation and this all subsequent Governors-General have maintained.

First Annual Dinner At the first Annual Dinner, held in the Orchid Room of the Hotel Allen on 29 May 1967, 77 members and their guests met the Guest of Honour, Professor G.A. Wilkes, and his wife, and heard the Chairman, Mr H.T. Priestley, present an Interim Report embodying most of what is in these notes. At that date there were 53 members, three benefactors, seven life members, and 26 contributors of sums ranging from $2 upwards. Members ranged from private citizens to the biggest commercial and industrial companies in Australia. The Founda- tion's credit balance stood at $6,274.43. Proposing the toast of the University College of Townsville, Mr J.J. Casey, District Manager of the Mutual Life and Citizens Assurance Company, predicted that the growth of the young university of a thousand students would exceed expectations. "The College," he remarked, "is now occupying the first buildings on the permanent campus at Douglas, which is designed ultimately to accommodate 10,000 students." He saw the future university as a focal point for education not only for North Queensland but also for our neighbours to the north. "I wonder," he said, "Whether this enrolment of 10,000 is as far away as many people think."

11 In response, the Warden, Dr K.J.C. Back, said that he and his staff were very conscious of the fact that the university was, and would continue to be, a part of the community. He cited the Foundation as "an admirable example of how university activity and community interest were brought together." Professor Wilkes's lectures on the theme. "Australian Nove- lists Look at Life," delivered at the Town Hall and the College Refectory on 30 May, and 1 and 5 June 1967, drew attendances of 129, 60 and 165 respectively. Angus and Robertson Ltd subsequently published an enlarged version of his lectures as Austral- ian Literature: A Conspectus. It proved to be a strong seller and was long in demand as a concise introduction to Australian creative literature.

At the anniversary dinner 17 July 1972. ito : Professor Geoffrey Serle, literary award winner for 1971 or Noel Macainsh, Cohn Roderick Lecturer for 1972: Miss Marjorie Green. Life Member: Mrs Dianne Brown, student, Australian literature prize winner for 1971

12 Annual Literary Award During the year the Board of the Foundation resolved to establish an annual literary award to be known as the Townville Foundation for Australian Studies Award. The Assistant Registrar, Mr R.J. Barnett, who was both Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Secretary of the Foundation, promulgated the rules relating to the Award in June 1967. The Award was from the outset meant to recognize merit in the writing of Australian non-fiction and to march with the Miles Franklin Award given annually for merit in the writing of the Australian novel. Since the Miles Franklin Award did not take in poetry and the short story, the Board decided to widen the scope of the Townsville Award to include publications in any field of Australian writing. The essential qualifications were, and remain: (a) that the publications entered be published in Australia, even though they might be printed elsewhere; and (b) that they deal with some aspect of Australian life. The judges appointed to the panel for the 1967 Award were Professor G.A. Wilkes of Sydney, Dr Stephen Murray-Smith of Melbourne, and Professor Cohn Roderick of Townsville. The prize money was fixed at $500 until 1976, when it became $750. (It has since risen to $2000.) The Award has usually been made by the guest of honour at the Annual Dinner. The first Award went to the poet Douglas Stewart for his Collected Poems 1936-1967. Winners of the Award thereafter, with the titles of their winning books, were: 1968 Gavin Souter, A Peculiar People 1969 Francis Webb, Collected Poems 1970 Margaret Laurie, Myths and Legends of Torres Strait 1971 Geoffrey Serle, The Rush to be Rich 1972 Sir Keith Hancock, Discovering Monaro 1973 Dorothy Green, Ulysses Bound 1974 David Malouf, Neighbours in a Thicket 1975 Denis Murphy, T.J. Ryan 1976 Gavin Souter, Lion and Kangaroo 13 School in English Expression In the aim of enlarging interest in the work of the Depart- ment, the Foundation began the organization of an annual week- end school for secondary school students. To this two Senior level students from each of the secondary schools of North Queens. land came. The Premier (and Minister for Education), MrJ.C.A. Pizzey, approved of the scheme, and the Railways Department provided the young students with free passes to attend. The Regional Director of Education at Townsville, Mr W.H. Hooper, who was a member of the Advisory Council of the University, and the Principals of the secondary schools, supported the scheme enthusiastically. The first school, in Australian language and literature, occurred on 22-23 June 1967. The poet and novelist, David Rowbotham, participated in the programme, as did members of staff of the English Department.

Vice-Chancellor Professor F.J. \sillett, Griffirh L'r:ieersity, speaking as guest of honour at the seventh anniversary dinner 25 May 1973 seared: or G.V. Roberts CBE, Honorary Solicitor

14 Angus and Robertson Ltd provided five prizes for the best written accounts of the school submitted subsequently by participants. Miss Barbara Vissers, 16, of the Townsville State High School, won the first prize with a report that revealed a talent for creative writing worthy of cultivation. Of the 29 students who participated, 21 subsequently enrolled as students at the James Cook University. In subsequent years similar week-end schools were held. In 1968 59 Senior students participated in one on "Australian Bal- lads and Songs" conducted by Hugh Anderson of Melbourne. The first session, on "Folk Song and Popular Ballads" dealt with traditional songs of the British Isles and their survival in Australia. The second, "Stringybark and Greenhide", reviewed songs reflecting Australian settlement, goldfield life, bush life, and journalistic songs. The third, "The Ballads", leaned heavily on Lawson, Paterson, and the balladists of the Sydney Bulletin. The fourth, "Folk Song in Australia", revealed that North Queensland was the last "golden hole" for the collection of bush songs and mining ballads. On the Saturday evening, the students enjoyed a Campfire Singabout on the campus in the foothills of the Mount Stuart Range. For the first time - and, as it happened, the last - the hills re-echoed to the strains of "The Wild Colonial Boy", "Click Go the Shears, Boys", "The Dying Stockman", and scores of other Australian ballads. Next morning, at Cape Pallarenda, Mr Anderson discoursed on "Songs of the Sea and of Sailors". In a fascinating session he took the students through the primitive work songs and explained the evolution of sea chanties as songs of entertainment as well as accompaniments to labour on the ropes and at the capstan. The session culminated with the salt-water ballads of E.J. Brady and ended with a Chanty Singsong. The students having presented Hugh Anderson with an inscribed boomerang, he came again in 1969 with Shirley Andrews, President of the Victorian Folk Music Club, for a school on Australian song and dance. The school took place on 12-13 September 1969.

15 At the eighth anniversary dinner 26 July 1974 1w r: Lady Kneipp; Hon. W.E. Knox, Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Queens- land; Alderman Joan Innes-Reid; Professor Xavier Pons, University of Toulouse. Guest of Honour

In addition to more on Australian song from Mr Anderson, the students learned some of the simple country dances and on the second day went through their paces in the Anglican Synod Hall on Melton Hill.

E.J. Banfield The year was notable for the Foundation's acquisition for James Cook University of the half-acre surrounding the burial cairn of E.J. Banfield and his wife on Dunk Island. Until then the land on which the cairn stands had been the property of Avis Rent-a-Car. Mr Eric Mcllree, Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, visited Dunk Island on 9 October 1967 with the Chief Commissioner of Lands for Queensland, Mr E.C.J. Muir;

16 the Chief Conservator of Forests. Mr A. Trist; Sir Raphael Cilento, of the National Trust: Professor Cohn Roderick, Execu- tive Director of the Foundation; and Mr Keith Brazier, a Towns- ville surveyor. The purpose of the visit was to select and mark out a reserve for a proposed Banfield Memorial Centre. Mr Mcllree, whose untimely death shortly afterwards in a motor boat explosion in Sydney Harbour deprived the Foundation of a firm friend, surrendered the half-acre surrounding the cairn to the Crown, which then gazetted it as trust land to be vested in the University College of Townsville, later James Cook Univer- sity. Avis Rent-a-Car undertook to provide access to the Centre from the northern bank of the embouchure to the Goo-Tchur Creek by a footway leading up the creek bank to a dam to be built by the Company adjacent to the site of the Centre. In the event of the University's erecting a building on the site, the Company would provide assistance with a tractor and trailer to haul building materials and would provide an honorary caretaker.

Measuring ost the F). SantielJ Memorial Centre, Dunk Isle. 11 October 1967 Ito r: Professor Roderick; Mr A. Kjmber. lnnisfail District Land Commissioner; Mr E.C.J. Muir. Chief Commissioner of Lands; Sir Raphael Cilento; Mr Keith Brazier, Surveyor; Mr A. Trist, Chief Conservator of Forests: Mr Eric Mcllree. Chairman Avis Rent-A-Car Systems 17 Mr Mcllree further proposed to erect a dormitory block on a suitable site on the Company's land which would be made avail- able to University students and participants in schools organised by the University at a price lower than the normal tariff. In the event of a Banfield Museum's being erected, with rooms suitable for research in marine science, the question of charging an admittance fee was left open, depending, as it would, on the quality and attractiveness of the exhibits. The Advisory Council of the University College accepted these proposals. By an Order in Council dated 28 January 1971 one rood 7.9 perches in the Innisfail Land Agent's District, Card- well, being Reserve 12668 as shown on plan 2387 deposited in Survey office 71-1828 S.A. (R.C. 25948), was handed over to the trustees gazetted, being the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Advisory Council, later Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor of the Council of James Cook University, the Warden (Vice- Chancellor), Assistant Registrar (Registrar), Chairman of the Buildings, Grounds and Development Committee, the Professor of English, and the Professor of Marine Biology. Access was, and remains, by a pathway leading to the northern corner of the lot, being lot 3, RD 23282, formerly lot 2, the land being gazetted as a Reserve for Museum (Banfield Memorial Purposes). Professor Roderick, who was then engaged on research into the life of Edmund James Banfield, visited Ararat in the ensuing University vacation and informed Banfield's niece, Miss Lorna Banfield, of the University's intentions. Miss Banfield thereupon donated to the University a large collection of Aboriginal and New Guinea artefacts which Banfield had got together during his time in North Queensland, together with an extensive collection of shells which he had gathered on the beaches and environs of Dunk Island. These were packed under Professor Roderick's supervision and were delivered to the Warden's office in what is now Univer- sity Hall. The case being large - some 12 feet by 15 inches by 18 inches - the Warden had it stored in one of the unused buildings at Stuart that had earlier served as accommodation quarters for students. When in 1976 a Professor of Materials Science was appointed, the case could not be traced. It was supposed that it had become accidentally entangled with the wreckage of the hut 18 in which it was housed when Cyclone Althea struck on 24 December 1971 and that it was most likely carted away with the derelict timber and iron to one of the city's dumps and there entombed - to provide a discovery for some future archaeolo- gist.

At the ninth anniversar\ dmner 6 june 1973 1w r: Professor H.P. Heseltine, Guest Lecturer; Mrs Dorothy Green, 1973 Literary Award winner; Rt Hon. Sir Garfield Barwick. Chief justice of the High Court of Australia: The Hon. justice J.P.G. Kneipp. Chancellor, James Cook University: Professor H.J. Zimmermann, Vice-Rector, University of Heidelberg. West Germany

In 1974, on Professor Roderick's return from study leave, a beginning was made to enlist Governors and Life Governors of the Foundation whose major interest would be in the construc- tion and care of the Banfield Memorial Centre. Other ventures precluded any advance until 1976, when Mr Eric Martel became the first Life Governor of the Foundation. The land remains vested in the James Cook University and the burial cairn of Banfield and his wife is open to public inspec- tion by anyone visiting the island, access being by the footway in the Crown sanctuary alongside Goo-Tchur Creek and across the dam built by Avis Rent-a-Car's heirs to the property surrounding the cairn.

19 Gifts to Library During the year Professor Roderick diverted to the Univer- sity College library the complete run of the Townsville Evening Star from 1897 to 1938. This is the only newspaper record of events in Townsville before 1912, the files of the Townsville Daily Bulletin prior to then having been lost in a fire in that year. The year 1976 was notable in the annals of the Foundation for the visit of the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, as the Foundation's guest of honour, and Lady Kerr. Several events that occurred during the dinner made it a memorable occasion. In November 1975 Sir John, as Governor-General, had dis- missed the Labor Government led by the Prime Minister Mr E.G. Whitlam on the ground that he was unable to command supply

Flis Excellency Sir John Kerr, Governor-General arid P,uruu and lads Kerr, Guests of Honour, with Mr H.T. Priestley. Chairman, at the tenth anniversary dinner, 1976 20 from the Parliament. Much controversy had followed, and Sir John and Lady Kerr had during the year succeeding suffered much calumny. His visit to Townsville was calm, and for that much of the credit goes to the good sense of the citizens, who took their example from the Mayor, Alderman P.G. Tucker, who had formerly been Leader of the Labor Opposition in the Queensland Parliament. During his address to the 136 guests in Lowth's Hotel on 17 September 1976, Sir John announced that he was writing a book in which he would traverse events leading to the climax in 1975. "His difficulty," he told the gathering, "was in reconciling his own feelings about the events of his life with objective fact." An amusing incident was SirJohn's presentation of a cheque for $750 to a representative of the winner of the Foundation's Literary Award for 1975. This turned out to be Dr Denis Murphy, of the University of Queensland, for his biography of a former Queensland Labor politician, T.J. Ryan. Dr Murphy was then on study leave in the United States, and Miss Marilyn Bitomsky, representing the publishers of the book, accepted the cheque. Sir John described the book as an exercise of some distinc- tion. It was during his comments on the book that he referred to the difficulty of writing autobiography but he said: "It is a very congenial task to Sit in Government House reflectively and quietly recording recent history." He recalled Sir Phillip Game's dismissal of J.T. Lang in 1932 and commented dryly that com- pared to those days of crisis the present was a time of tranquillity —"especially in Queensland," he added. This was the last year in which the winners of prizes donated by members of the Foundation received their Awards from the hands of a distinguished guest at the Annual dinner - on this occasion Lady Kerr. In 1977 these prizes went to augment those presented at the Vice-Chancellor's Prize-giving Ceremony held at the University. It is therefore fitting to record the names of the last winners of the Foundation's literary Awards to receive their prizes from the Foundation's annual guest of honour. They were, with the names of the prizes:

21 Miss Pamela Greet (the Bank of New South Wales Prize) Miss Christine McMahon (the Athena Deane Memorial Prize) Miss Elizabeth Allen (the Kern Bros Ltd Prize) Miss Nancy Wallace (the Samuel Allen and Sons Ltd Prize) Mrs Pamela Gilbert (the E.S. Mattel Prize for literary research) Mrs Elizabeth Outram (the Douglas Suthers Memorial Prize and the Cohn Roderick Prize).

Australian literature vacation study excursion to western stations August 100) ixith novelist Elizabeth OConner of Kangerong Station I t r: Des Petersen; Lesley Evans; Anne Sherrifi front: Megan Martin: Phillipa Gordon; Elizabeth OConiner: Zora Leon

It was also the last occasion on which the Fourth-year Honours students acted as receptionists and ushers to the guests. This omission of the students in gowns and mortarboards robbed the event of its communion between town and gown. Severing the

22 link between the Foundation and its members' prize winners also marked the end of the donation of such prizes, for since then none has been added to the impressive list of prizes for English sub- scribed between 1968 and 1976.

P.F. Rowland Award Another advance that became effective in 1976 was the inauguration of the P.F. Rowland Annual Award of $500 to the student whose thesis for the Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in English or for the Master of Letters degree in English is the most outstanding of the year.

The first Award for 1977 was made to Madame Catherine Apard, a Master of Letters students from the University of Caen, for her thesis on "Australian Convict Literature: Fact and Fic- tion". (The Award was again made in 1980 to Catherine Mary Madden.)

APPENDIX

Board of Directors 1989

Emeritus Professor Cohn Roderick, CBE (Vice-Patron) Mr D. Pearse (Chairman) Professor R. Golding (Deputy Chairman) Professor A.J. Hassall (Executive Director) Mr R. Blyth (Honorary Treasurer) Dr G.V. Roberts, CBE (Honorary Solicitor) Justice James Barry Miss Anne Deane Dr R.A. Douglas, AM Associate Professor D.S. Gallagher Mr T. Hall The Hon. Justice Sir George Kneipp Dr David Myers Mr D. Petersen 23 Guests of Honour 1966-1989 1966 Rohan Rivett 1967 Professor G.A. Wilkes 1968 H.E. The Rt Hon. Baron Casey, PC, KG, GCMG, CH, DSO, MC and Lady Casey 1969 Doris Fitton, OBE; Professor K.G. Hamilton; Cohn Bingham 1979 Professor Dame Leonie Kramer, DBE, OBE 1971 H.E. The Rt Hon. Sir Paul Hasluck, PC, GCMG, GCVO and Dame Alexandra Hasluck, AD, DStJ 1972 MrJ.F. Fhitcroft 1973 Professor F.J. Willett, AO 1974 Professor Xavier Pons 1975 The Rt Hon. Sir Garfield Barwick, AK, PC, GCMG, QC 1976 H.E. The Rt Hon. SirJohn Kerr, AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC and Lady Kerr CStJ 1977 H.E. The Rt Hon. Sir Zelman Cowen, PC, AK, GCMG, GCVO and Lady Cowen 1978 Mrs Mark Hertzberg (Nancy Keesing), AM 1979 Mr Walter Stone 1980 Sir Talbot Duckmanton, KBE 1981 Mr Leonard Teale 1982 The Rt Hon. Sir Harry Gibbs, AC, GCMG, KBE, PC 1983 H.E. The Rt Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE 1984 Mr Thomas Shapcott 1985 The Hon. Justice Rae Else-Mitchell, CMG, QC 1986 H.E. The Hon. Sir Walter Campbell, AC, QC, KStJ and Lady Campbell 1987 H.E. The Rt Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE and Lady Stephen 1988 Emeritus Professor Cohn Roderick, CBE 1989 The Hon. Justice Gordon Samuels, AC, QC and Mrs Samuels

24 Cohn Roderick Lecturers 1966-1988 * 1966 Rohan Rivett, Writing About Australia *1967 Professor G.A. Wilkes, Novelists of Australia *1968 ProfessorJames McAuley, The Personal Element in Aus- tralian Poetry 1969 Doris Fitton, The Independent Theatre 1970 Professor Leonie Kramer, The Modern Australian Novel 1971 H.G. Kippax, Drama in Australia 1972 Dr Noel Macainsh, The New Australian Poetry 1973 Dr L.T. Hergenhan, Australian Convict Literature 1974 Professor Xavier Pons, The Australian Short Story * 1975 Professor H.P. Heseltine, Acquainted with the Night 1976 Dr Clement Semmier, Four Modern Writers 1977 Dr Elizabeth Perkins, Australian Drama Alive * 1978 Thea Astley, Three Australian Writers * 1979 Dr Stephen Murray-Smith, Books and the Man - A Literary Biography * 1980 Chris Wallace-Crabbe, Three Absences in Australian Writing * 1981 Mark O'Connor, Modern Australian Styles 1982 Les A. Murray, Reflections of an Australian Poet * 1983 Professor A.D. Hope, Directions in Australian Poetry * 1984 Bruce Bennett, Place, Region and Community * 1985 Dorothy Green, The Writer, The Reader and The Critic in a Monoculture *1986 Dr Brian Matthews, Romantics and Mavericks: The Australian Short Story * 1987 Val Vallis, Heart Reasons, These . . . : Commentaries on Five Australian Poets * 1988 Julian Croft, The Impulse to Federation in Three Aus- tralian Writers

'To date these fourteen of the series of lectures have appeared in the Foundation's monograph series.

25 Foundation Literary Award Winners 1967-1988 1967 Douglas Stewart, Collected Poems: 1936-1 967 1968 Gavin Souter, A Peculiar People 1969 Francis Webb, Collected Poems 1970 Margaret Lawrie, Myths and Legends of Torres Strait 1971 Geoffrey Serle, The Rush to be Rich 1972 Sir Keith Hancock, Discovering Monaro 1973 Dorothy Green, Ulysses Bound 1974 David Malouf, Neighbours in a Thicket 1975 Denis Murphy, T.J. Ryan 1976 Gavin Souter, Lion and Kangaroo 1977 Alan Marshall, The Complete Stories of Alan Marshall 1978 Leslie Rees,A History of Australian Drama 1979 Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple 1980 Allan Grocott, Convicts, Clergymen and Churches 1981 Gavin Souter, A Company of Heralds 1982 Geoffrey Serle, John Monash: A Biography 1983 Dudley McCarthy, Gallipoli to the Somme 1984 Alan Gould, The Man Who Stayed Below 1985 John Gunn, TheDefeat of Distance: Qantas 1919-1939 1986 Fr Tom Boland, James Duhig 1987 Nancy Phelan, Home Is the Sailor and The Best of Inten- tions 1988 Peter Carey: Oscar and Lucinda

Publications (Additional to the Cohn Roderick Lectures)

Occasional monographs: 1974 Anne McKay, Percy Fritz Rowland: A Brief Biography 1981 Lorna McDonald, H.A. Kellow 1881-1935

26 1983 Cheryl Frost, The Last Explorer: The Life and Work of Ernest Favenc 1986 Mark O'Connor, Selected Poems (in association with Hale and Iremonger) 1986 Nicola Jane Tareha, The Legend of the Leap 1988 Anthony J. Hassall, ed., The Making of Xavier Herbert's Poor Fellow My Country

Cleveland Bay New Writing Series: 1983 Yetta Rothberg, Thousands of Years Through the Eyes of a Child 1983 Anthony Huntington, Behemoth 1983 Peter John Kirkpatrick, Water Music 1984 R.G. Hay, Love and the Outer World

JUST RELEASED VAL VALLIS, Heart Reasons, These . Commentaries on Five Australian Poets Informal, informative, perceptive and unique- ly personal, these commentaries reassert the importance of reading poetry for pleasure.

JULIAN CROFT, The Impulse to Federation in Three A ustralian Writers An original reappraisal of Joseph Furphy, Christopher Brennan and R.D. FitzGerald in the light of nationalist sentiment in Australia from the 1 890s to the 1 930s.

Obtainable from Foundation for Australian Literary Studies Department of English James Cook University of North Queensland TOWNSVILLE Q 4811

27 Autographs