FRIENDS NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2012 From ‘Ayam-Ayam Kesayangan’ (Donald Friend Diaries: MS 5959) Manuscripts Collection MS 5959) Manuscripts (Donald Friend Diaries: Kesayangan’ ‘Ayam-Ayam From Shoppers at Night, Bondi Junction Mall Shoppers Donald Friend (1915–1989) Friends of the National Library of Australia Inc. Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone: 02 6262 1698 Fax: 02 6273 4493 Email: [email protected] MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 1 Dear Friends A typical cold Canberra winter evening did not prevent a full house of Friends and other guests from coming to the Library for the annual Kenneth Myer Lecture on Tuesday 31 July. Our 2012 presenter, the well-known and respected journalist Kerry O’Brien, enthralled the audience with a perceptive and thought-provoking address on the subject In an age awash with information, how easily we forget the past. Those present clearly enjoyed the talk, for which Kerry drew on nearly five decades of experience in Australia’s media industry. We were pleased to welcome among our guests Ms Kate Baillieu, representing the Myer family and Sue Ebury, Kenneth Myer’s biographer. Since the June edition of the newsletter, we have enjoyed a number of other successful Friends events, including a lecture on Horticulture and the Office of Australian War Graves on 24 May, the Conserving Collections evening on 28 June, and the Lewin: Wild Art Lecture and Tour on 28 July. And of course we are looking to forward to our Spring Tour to the Blue Mountains in Gary Kent September and our Celebration of Hilary McPhee in October. The Friends Committee is already beginning to plan next year’s events and would be delighted to hear of any suggestions you might have for our 2013 calendar. Similarly, the Friends Membership Committee is working hard to ensure that the Friends continues to offer a range of activities and benefits that appeal to members and would welcome your suggestions. Our aim is to grow our membership significantly beyond the current record level of just over 2,000. A number of Friends have written expressing their concern about the increasingly fraught parking situation in the vicinity of the Library, which will be exacerbated with the closure to parking of the Patrick White Lawns, prior to their restoration. All the carparks surrounding the Library, and the Patrick White Lawns themselves, are managed by the National Capital Authority. Many months ago the Friends Committee provided a submission to the intergovernmental committee established to make recommendations to address parking issues in the parliamentary triangle but to date no action has been taken. We have renewed our requests to the responsible authorities to take urgent measures to ensure sufficient parking is available for Library patrons. In the meantime, we encourage you to make your complaints directly to the National Capital Authority. I look forward to seeing you at our Annual General Meeting on Monday 5 November and encourage you to nominate for positions on the 2013 Committee. Best wishes to you all Gary Kent USE OF THE FRIENDS LOUNGE The Friends Lounge is designated as a relaxation space where members may talk freely. It is not a study area. However, we ask that members be considerate of other users, refrain from excessive noise and keep mobile phone calls brief Friends of the National Library of Australia Inc. Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone: 02 6262 1698 Fax: 02 6273 4493 Email: [email protected] CELEBRATING HILARY MCPHEE 2 Each year the Friends celebrate an Australian who has contributed substantially to our national writing and culture. Join us this year when publisher and writer Hilary McPhee will be our guest of honour. Under the editorial guidance of McPhee and her business partner, the late Di Gribble, many Australian writers earned a prominent and respected position. They include Tim Winton, Richard Flanagan, Helen Garner, Murray Bail, Kaz Cook, Martin Flanagan, John Misto, Peter Cundall, Rodney Hall and Drusilla Modjeska. McPhee is well known in the world of publishing. She was a founding director of McPhee Gribble Publishers, Chair of the Australia Council for the Arts and of the Hilary McPhee Major Organizations Board 1994–47 and a founding director and editor of the online political newsletter New Matilda.com. She has an honorary doctorate from Monash University, was the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne and remains a senior Fellow of the University. She was awarded an Order of Australia for service to the Arts in 2003. In 1989 McPhee Gribble was sold to Penguin. From 2006–09 McPhee was living and working between the Middle East and Italy. She writes with insight on the complexities of life and business in the Middle East. Her autobiographical account of her publishing life, Other People’s Words (2001), gives a fascinating insight into the highs and lows of running an Australian publishing company. Today, she continues to publish widely in Australia with a particular focus on cultural policy and literature. Her selection of recent Australian writing, Wordlines, was published in 2010. She has recently edited and published film maker Tim Burstall’s diaries,Memoirs of a Young Bastard: the Diaries of Tim Burstall November 1953 to December 1954 (Miegunyah 2012). Burstall kept a diary on life in the bohemian world of Melbourne and Monsalvat. At first his observations were considered too controversial for publication but eventually McPhee found a way and published Burstall’s peppery perspective on Australian artistic life as he saw it, within the social and gender conventions of the 1950s. Join us as we celebrate Hilary McPhee as she looks back on Australian writing and publishing from her own unique position within it. Well-known journalist and broadcaster Caroline Baum will lead Hilary in a conversation through what has been a fascinating career. An afternoon tea and book signing in the Library foyer will follow the address. Thanks to The Brassey of Canberra, our accommodation partner for this event. Sunday 14 October, 2–4 pm Theatre and foyer $20 Friends, $25 non-members Bookings: http://nla.gov.au/bookings/friends or 02 6262 1698 DONATIONS SOUGHT OF NEW SCIENTIST MAGAZINE Over many years, users of the Friends Lounge have greatly enjoyed reading the New Scientist magazine, thanks to the donations of one Friends member. As this arrangement has ceased recently, we are keen to find another member who may be willing to donate their back issues of New Scientist, preferably on an ongoing basis. If you are able to assist, please contact the Friends Executive Officer on 02 6262 1551. Friends of the National Library of Australia Inc. Canberra ACT 2600 Telephone: 02 6262 1698 Fax: 02 6273 4493 Email: [email protected] 3 2012 AGM NOTIFICATION The 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the National Library of Australia Inc will be held on Monday 5 November at 6pm in the National Library’s Conference Room, located on the 4th floor. All Committee positions will be declared vacant at the AGM and a new Committee for the forthcoming year will be elected. Being a Committee member is a positive way of contributing your time and expertise to the Friends organisation in support of the Library. It is also a great way to gain a better understanding of how both the Friends and the National Library are run. A nomination form can be found at the end of this newsletter. Nominations for Committee positions must be received by 5pm, Friday 5 October 2012. If you would like to know more about being a member of the Friends Committee, please contact Sharyn O’Brien, Friends Executive Officer, on (02) 6262 1551 or [email protected]. The 2012 Friends Medal and the 2013 Friends Travelling Fellowship will be awarded at the AGM, and Anne Xu, recipient of the 2012 Friends Travelling Fellowship, will present a report on her recent visit to California and Ohio to investigate e-book lending models adopted by US libraries. The meeting will be followed by light refreshments in the Friends Lounge. RSVPs for catering purposes would be much appreciated. Monday 5 November, 6 pm Conference Room, 4th floor, National Library of Australia Bookings: http://nla.gov.au/bookings/friends or 02 6262 1698 RECENT EVENTS Honoring Our War Dead There should be no distinction between officers and men — General Macready Australians are familiar with the elegant and poignant rows of white headstones or pedestal markers of our War Cemeteries. Many of us have relatives buried there. The design and horticulture of these Australian War Cemeteries was the focus of Launceston War Cemetery, 2011 the fifth annual joint lecture of the Friends of the National Library and the Australian Garden History Society on 24 May. It was of particular interest to gardeners and historians alike as well as those who have a more personal connection. The Friends Chair Gary Kent welcomed guests, including Brigadier Chris Appleton (CSC (Ret’d), Director of the Office of Australian War Graves), and Dr Louise Moran, Chair of the ACT Riverina Branch of the Australian Garden History Society, introduced the speaker, Ms Peta Alderman. Ms Alderman, Manager of the West Australian team for the Office of Australian War Graves, spoke on the concept, design and planting of some of the 75 Commonwealth Dr Louise Moran of the Australian War Graves Commission Cemeteries located in Australia, Papua and New Guinea. The Garden History Society welcomes Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) operates as an agent of the Commonwealth guests War Graves Commission (CWGC) in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island and the Solomon Islands. The CWGC owes its existence to the vision and determination of one man who was neither soldier nor politician.