J S Battye Library of West Australian History Private Archives – Collection Listing MN 1870 Acc. 5340A, 5459A EWERS, John Keith, 1904-1978 John Keith Ewers, known as ‘Keith’ or ‘JK’ to his friends, was born in Subiaco in 1904. He attended Perth Modern School, after which he joined the Education Department, teaching at various country and metropolitan schools, including those in the Wheatbelt, Group Settlements, Nedlands, Spearwood and Perth Boys. In 1947 he left teaching to concentrate on full-time writing, returning later to work part time as editor of technical correspondence courses. J. K. Ewers began writing while still at school. From 1929 he contributed regular newspaper columns on Australian literature. His fiction includes two books of poetry, five novels, a collection of short stories and a children’s book woven around aboriginal legends. Historical studies include the Kalgoorlie pipeline, Perth Boys’ School, Bruce Rock and Fremantle. In 1945 he published one of the earliest critical surveys of Australian literature. His book on the North- west, With the Sun on My Back was a joint winner in the Commonwealth Jubilee Competition of 1952. J. K. Ewers was Foundation President of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA) in 1938 with three subsequent terms as President, remaining an active member until just before his death. He gave some of the first lectures on Australian literature at the University of Western Australia, spoke on radio and in public, as well as writing travel articles for magazines, such as Walkabout. J. K. Ewers was also known to children throughout Western Australia for his English text books. Perhaps more popular were his alter-egos, Diogenes and Inky Wells, during 10 years of the ABC’s Argonauts. In his autobiography, Long Enough for a Joke, published posthumously in 1983, J. K. Ewers gives a vivid account of early life in Subiaco and wheatbelt towns as well as the development of his writing career. John K. Ewers’s wife, Jean, was a well known Perth potter. The Papers The papers were donated to Battye Library by Patricia Kotai-Ewers in October 2000 (Acc 5340A) and in May 2001 (Acc.5459A) Holdings = 5.30m Access The J S Battye Library provides access to original material. In some situations, this may not be possible and alternative formats such as microfilm, microfiche, typescripts or photocopies are supplied for researchers’ use. Where alternative formats are available, these must be used. Copyright Restrictions The Commonwealth Copyright Act 1968 regulates copying of unpublished material. It is the user’s legal obligation to determine and satisfy copyright. MN 1870 1 Copyright SLWA 2009 J S Battye Library of West Australian History Private Archives – Collection Listing SUMMARY OF CLASSES ADVERTISING ............................................................................................................................. 4 ANNUAL REPORTS .................................................................................................................... 4 ARTICLES ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Articles: Miscellaneous .............................................................................................................. 4 Articles: The world in general .................................................................................................... 4 Articles: Overseas topics ............................................................................................................ 5 Articles: On matters literary ....................................................................................................... 6 Articles: about Australia ............................................................................................................. 6 AUTOBIOGRAPHIES ................................................................................................................ 11 BIOGRAPHIES ........................................................................................................................... 12 BIRTH CERTIFICATES ............................................................................................................. 13 BOOKLETS ................................................................................................................................. 13 BUSINESS CARDS ..................................................................................................................... 14 CALENDARS .............................................................................................................................. 14 CARDS ......................................................................................................................................... 14 CATALOGUES ........................................................................................................................... 15 CERTIFICATES .......................................................................................................................... 15 CONSTITUTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 16 CORRESPONDENCE ................................................................................................................. 17 DEGREES AND HONOURS ...................................................................................................... 69 DIARIES ...................................................................................................................................... 69 DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................................................. 69 EXAMINATION PAPERS .......................................................................................................... 69 FAMILY HISTORIES ................................................................................................................. 70 FILES ........................................................................................................................................... 70 FINANCIAL RECORDS ............................................................................................................. 73 HISTORIES ................................................................................................................................. 76 INFORMATION SHEETS .......................................................................................................... 76 INSURANCE RECORDS............................................................................................................ 76 INVITATIONS ............................................................................................................................ 77 JOURNALS ................................................................................................................................. 77 LABELS ....................................................................................................................................... 77 LETTERHEADS .......................................................................................................................... 77 LISTS ........................................................................................................................................... 77 MAPS ........................................................................................................................................... 78 MINUTES .................................................................................................................................... 78 NARRATIVES / MANUSCRIPTS ............................................................................................. 79 NEWSLETTERS ......................................................................................................................... 79 NEWSPAPER CUTTINGS ......................................................................................................... 80 NOTEBOOKS .............................................................................................................................. 82 NOTES ......................................................................................................................................... 82 NOTICES ..................................................................................................................................... 83 NOVELS ...................................................................................................................................... 83 OBITUARIES .............................................................................................................................. 87 ORAL HISTORIES ...................................................................................................................... 87 PASSPORTS ................................................................................................................................ 88 PHOTOGRAPHS ......................................................................................................................... 88 PLANS and SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................................. 89 POETRY ...................................................................................................................................... 90 MN 1870 2 Copyright SLWA 2009 J S Battye Library of West Australian