Donors to the University of Adelaide Library

Collections of books, papers and cultural gifts

Books

Sir Samuel Way

In 1916, just when all but £13.0.2 of Robert Barr Smith's gifts had been spent, the Library received its largest single contribution of books with the bequest of Sir Samuel Way, its former Chancellor and the Chief Justice of South Australia. In his will Sir Samuel directed that the Council be permitted to select "such of his books as the Council may think proper to accept for the purposes of the Library of the University". Way's collection, assembled with the assistance of the bookseller and collector E.A. Petherick, constituted what is believed to have then been the largest and best private library in Australia. Some 16,400 volumes were selected from his libraries at Montefiore and the Supreme Court, the principle of selection being to take all except those deemed "unsuitable" for the Library.

In 1935 David Murray gave the library a collection of early Australian history books and the library also received over 3000 volumes and a collection of several hundred manuscript Scottish deeds on vellum 1600s to 1700s from the estate of Sir George Murray, Chief Justice, Lieutenant-Governor, and Chancellor of the University from 1916-42.

Lesley Kilmeny Symon and Christine Margaret Macgregor

Between 1962 and 1969 Miss Lesley Kilmeny Symon presented from her library over 4000 volumes on many subjects, among them a collection of Federation pamphlets, popular nineteenth-century English magazines and early South Australian newspapers, books and pamphlets on contemporary politics and social issues, and many rare and expensive private press and limited editions.

In 1974 Mrs Christine Macgregor, a grand-daughter of Robert Barr Smith, donated 4,700 books on a wide range of topics including literature, history, art, architecture, Australiana, music, theatre, travel, cookery and printing. Like Kilmeny Symon, Mrs Macgregor was a keen collector of fine editions and her gift includes many rare and first editions and publications of early twentieth century private presses, notably Golden Cockerel, Gregynog, Kelmscott, Nonesuch and Cuala.

Margaret Morris

In 1970 the library received a bequest by Mrs Margaret Morris, in memory of her brother, Rev. John Colville, of 40 volumes of rare books and special editions prior to 1860, among which is the oldest book held by the Library, Epistolarum familiarum of Leonardus Aretinus Brunus, printed in Venice in 1472.

Angel Symon and Mary Clark

Two years later Miss F.A.N. [Angel] Symon, sister to Miss Kilmeny Symon, bequeathed to the Barr Smith Library her extensive collection on theatre, to be named the Allan Wilkie Frediswyde Hunter-Watts Theatre Collection in memory of the well-known Shakespearean actor-manager Allan Wilkie and actress Frediswyde Hunter-Watts who toured Australia extensively between 1916 and 1930 and with whom Miss Symon shared a warm friendship. The collection includes 3,800 titles of books, periodicals and promptbooks, theatre programmes, playbills, photographs, newspaper clippings and memorabilia, mainly concerned with English theatrical history to 1960. This has been supplemented by other publications, programmes, souvenirs and pictorial material on theatre, particularly ballet, collected by another sister, Mrs Mary Clark, who also made a donation of $10,000 to catalogue the collection in 1983.

Ralph M. Hague

Ralph Hague (1907-97) was a law graduate of the University of Adelaide (LL.B 1932), an outstanding student who won the Stow Prize for three consecutive years and was awarded the Stow Medal in his final year - became Crown Solicitor in 1969. He was also Lecturer in Jurisprudence at the University and held this position until 1949, with leave of absence for war service. His contributions to the profession and to legal scholarship were recognised by the award of the C.B.E. in 1971. 

In 1985 the Barr Smith Library was privileged to receive, his gift of a collection of almost 400 volumes of works printed before 1801. The titles included in this important donation encompass the fields of law, history, religion and English literature. In 1997 he bequeathed the library his enormous collection of over 30,000 volumes. Selected books and journals not held by the Library were added to the main, Law and Rare Book collections as appropriate. The remainder was sold and the proceeds used to support ongoing purchases to the benefit of Special Collections and the Library as a whole.

Medical Collection Donations

In 1899 the medical collection received the gift by Miss Whittell of her late father’s medical books, a library considered "one of the best collections of medical books in Australia".

Over the decades the medical collection (formerly a separate medical library) was greatly enhanced by gifts from a number of institutions and individuals. The Public Library decided in 1909 to transfer its medical library to the University and at the same time the local branch of the British Medical Association undertook to provide an annual sum of not less than £50 for ten years for additions to the medical collection, an agreement renewed periodically to 1975.

Dr W. Ramsay Smith presented his library of over 2000 volumes, most of them medical works but also including an important collection of early works on women, in 1929. Sir Joseph Verco gave further works for the medical library in 1931 and H.F. Shorney presented his library in ophthalmology to the University in 1933.

In 1939 the Library received a collection of some 1000 volumes from the estate of Dr. F. Lucas Benham, among them a number of sixteenth and seventeenth century medical texts as well as early (and well-used) editions of Dickens and other literary works. Other early editions in medicine and science were donated by Sir Henry Simpson Newland, Dr. H.K. Fry, (who had many years previously presented the Library's first and most lavishly decorated incunabulum, the Poeticon Astronomicon of Caius Julius Hyginus), and, more recently, by the family of Dr. A.A. Abbie, former Professor of Anatomy.

The medical collection has, over the years, received support from the British Medical Association (SA Branch), the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Dental Association, the Australian Association of Psychiatrists, the Australian Physiotherapists Association, the Anti-Cancer Foundation and the South Australian Tuberculosis Association, which became Bedford Industries.

A number of other smaller, but nonetheless very welcome donations of materials, have been received.
Some of the notable ones are:

1894
King of Siam  Tripitaka - 39 volumes of Buddhist scriptures sacred writings of the southern Buddhists.

1954 
Approximately 1000 volumes of English fiction from Mrs E. V. Steele.

1962
Professor T D Campbell donated 300 slides of Aboriginal Australians.

1963
The library of the late Mr J. G. Duncan-Hughes.
A collection from Miss Patricia Hackett.

1964
Dr Helen Mayo donated her book and facilitated the donation of a collection of the papers of Elizabeth Jackson.
Books from Miss A. Faith Hollidge.
Four hundred books from Mr A K Sangster, QC.

1968
Three hundred books from the Honourable Sir George Ligertwood, former Chancellor.

1970s
Donation of a small but valuable collection of items related to Charles Babbage whose inventions were forerunners of the modern computer

1974
South Australian Education Department, Guidance and Special Education Branch donated 160 volumes of the Constance Davey Collection and the Mary Smith Collection, which included early editions of classic works in psychology.

1997
A donation of over 500 volumes of Czech literature from Alfred French.
Maureen Purcell donated 280 volumes of books on medieval studies.
A bequest of 544 volumes from Professor Issy Pilowski, formerly of the Department of Psychiatry 

1999
Former Premier, Don Dunstan's, papers were donated to Flinders University Library, as were some of his personal books. The remainder came to the Barr Smith Library.
In the same year Nick Wilson donated  200 volumes.

2000
A collection of books from Clement Semmler (cadet-librarian at the BSL 1932-34 who went on to become an author and ABC deputy general manager) representing his James Joyce collection, and also his personal papers

2001 
The late Martin Hibble, from ABC-FM  bequeathed music resources comprising  6,000 discs and other items.

2002

A collection on German theatre and literature from Erika Rathberger, architect and town planner, donated by Geoff and Nele Findlay.

2003
Jim Mitchell (Secretary of the SA Branch of the Communist Party) gave to the library a large collection of Australian left periodicals, Soviet and Chinese books published in English, early Australian left publication and some rare books

2003-2004
Ralph and Juliana Archbold gave to Special Collections two lovely volumes:
Baskerville edition of the Book of Common Prayer, 1762
Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste by William Halfpenny, 1755

2004
Dr David and Mrs Noel Hayman donated.33 works 1643-1830 relating mainly to the government of England during the reigns of the Stuarts and the Commonwealth and Restoration periods.
Upon David Hayman's death in 2007, a further monetary gift of $5,155 was donated to the library.

2004-6
The Adelaide College of Divinity (formerly St Barnabas College) donated mission press texts.

2005
Mr and Mrs De Campo gave to Special Collections a set of 30 signed wood-engraved bookplates by David Frazer

2006
Michael Burden donated some rare music texts and collections were donated by Gillian Pearson, Professor H. E. Green (Physics),  Brian and Judy Chatterton (agriculture), Professor Neville Marsh, Suzanne Brugger (Chinese studies), Dr. A. Bevan and the Department of Physics.
Since 2001 the University, in conjunction with Le Cordon Bleu, has taught a Masters programme in Gastronomy. Food and cookery books are not usually part of an academic library's collection but that all changed when Dr Graham Pont donated his huge library on food history and culture to us in 2006. Further donations of Gastronomy books have been made by David Taplin, Dr Roger Haden and Dr Barbara Santich.

2007
Maaike Knottenbolt found at auction set of rare books formerly belonging to the Simpson family, alerted the library to them, and then funded their purchase by the library.
Collections were also received from Dr. Le Page and Dr. Bruce Davis.
A large collection of German works was received from University of Technology, Sydney.

In 2007, Special Collections also received from Sara Douglass a collection of approximately 350 legal documents, mainly London indentures and deeds related to the sale and rental of property and dated from 1591 to 1942. Most are handwritten manuscripts on vellum (sheepskin) with some written on vellum-like paper and some typewritten. The collection also includes assorted wills, marriage settlements, certificates of death and burial, warrants of attorney, letters of administration and transfer of titles and responsibilities, marriage settlements.

2008
Donors during this year included Dr. Bruce Davis,  the Roe family, Dr. Dudley Byrne, Dr David Dunn and we received collections from the Centre for Health Promotion at the Women's and Children's Hospital and the Dental Therapy training centre. The final collection of German books from the late Dr Victoria Hardwick was received.

Personal Papers and Art Works

Personal papers donated over the last fifty years include those of Daisy Bates, Sir Mark Oliphant, Sir Walter Crocker, Sir Ronald Fisher, Professor H.E. Maude and Max Harris, as well as many members of the academic staff. Max Harris has also been a generous friend of the Library with the gift from himself and Mrs Harris in 1982 of six paintings by Arthur Boyd, initially commissioned to illustrate poems by Max Harris published in Australian Letters in 1961. Rev. Peter Osborn had bequeathed his papers to the library, and in 1999 he provided $10,000 for their cataloguing. We hold the papers, including such items as promptbooks, of Allan Wilkie, Shakespearean actor-manager. Sadie Pritchard has also donated Edwardian London theatre programmes and memorabilia. Dr. Richard Sanders Rogers gave 8 albums of original Australian orchid drawings by Rosa Fiveash.

Donations by University Staff and Officers

Books

Many smaller donations have also contributed to the richness of the Libraries' research collections. Most of these have come from members of the University community, commencing with the gift of a 1665 Elzevir edition of the Works of Claudian by Bishop Augustus Short, the second Chancellor, in 1881. In 1913 the Library received some 250 volumes from Dr. Joseph Verco, largely on medicine, and 500 volumes from the estate of Sir Henry Ayers, the first (and only) Treasurer of the University. This was followed in 1915 by a bequest from the former Vice-Chancellor, William Barlow, of some 450 volumes from his personal library, principally relating to law. Sir Josiah Symon presented almost 500 volumes, mainly series of law reports, in 1924, further strengthening the law teaching and research collections.

In 1930 Professor T. Brailsford Robertson gave scientific books and periodicals and the former Librarian, R.J.M. Clucas, bequeathed his extensive library of 1300 volumes. The following year Aylmer Strong presented the library of his brother Professor Sir Archibald Strong, the former Jury Professor of English, a collection with particular strength in classics and Georgian poetry. In 1938 former lecturer in Geology Walter Howchin bequeathed a collection of 600 volumes from which appropriate works were selected by Sir Douglas Mawson and the Librarian. In the same year Sir Douglas himself presented complete sets of the Reports of the Discovery expedition and of Drygalski's German South Pole Expedition.

On the death in 1942 of Dr R.S. Rogers, a former lecturer in forensic medicine and a world authority on Australian orchids, the Library received his botanical library of 800 volumes which included a rich and rare collection of works on orchids, many transcribed or annotated by Dr Rogers. Dr Angas Johnson was another benefactor, with gifts on a wide range of subjects over the thirty years to his death in 1951, and Professor David Nichol Smith presented nearly 300 volumes, principally of nineteenth century literature, between 1952 and 1960, and left a further important legacy by his encouragement of the establishment of a Rare Book department within the Library. More than 250 volumes of journals and books were presented from the estate of Professor Harvey Johnston in 1952 and in 1962 Sir Mark Mitchell presented the philosophy library of his father Sir William Mitchell.

Since 1992, Ray Choate, the University Librarian, has donated more than 500 volumes, and continues to do so. In 1996 the library received a collection of volumes on Engineering donated by Professor George Sved and Professor Brian Coghlan donated 90 volumes of German literature and history. Frank Dalziel was a treasured member of the Psychology Department and, upon his death in 1999, the library received 1550 volumes from his library.

In 2002 Professor Colin Horne donated some 18th and early 19th century editions of English literature and Professor Richard Clough gave 78 works on NZ botany, botanical illustration, plants, garden history, environmental and rural land use and works on colonial history of New Zealand. In 2006 collections were donated by Professor H. E. Green (Physics),  Professor Neville Marsh, and the Department of Physics. Movements and renovations of departments often precipitate donations to the library and in 2007 such donors included the University of Adelaide Departments of Commerce, and Gender, Work and Social Inquiry.

The library enjoys the benefits of a small group of donors regularly adding titles to our collection. They include Dr. Leon Bignold, Dr. Gerry Groot, and Lee Kersten.

Papers

Members of the University community, as has been indicated, have been loyal supporters of their libraries and continue to make presentations of their own works and other titles of general interest: gifts too numerous to mention individually but together making a very substantial contribution to the collections. Collections of papers and manuscripts are held in Special Collections and are listed here.

Institutional Gifts

In 1938 the University Library was offered US$20,000 (equivalent to almost £6000) by the Carnegie Corporation of New York for the purchase of general undergraduate reading in the liberal arts, and also received substantial gifts of books from the Corporation in 1929 and 1957. In 1938 also the French Government made a presentation of 473 volumes of works selected by the Lecturer in French, and similar gifts have been made by other governments, particularly those with substantial groups of nationals in South Australia or, as with the gifts of a microfilm copy of the Asahi Shimbun and other research materials by the Japan Foundation and Korea Foundation, by organisations that wish to promote research and cultural understanding. The British Council donated to the Collection over many years.

In 1995 the Bibliothek der deutschen Literatu: Mikrofiche-Gesamtausgabe nach den Angaben des Taschengoedeke, was donated by the German government. This collection covers 250 years of German literature, poetry and other disciplines such as philosophy, theology, musicology, and dramaturgy. The collection includes approximately 15,000 works in 27,000 volumes published between 1650 and 1900 by almost 2,500 authors on nearly 20,000 microfiche. It contains all works listed in Der Taschengoedeke, an authoritative source compiled in 1924 by Leopold Hirschberg. Copies were also donated to only the national libraries of the United States, France, Japan and Russia.

The library has continued to benefit from the generous instincts of people, especially as they move house, move office, retire, or pass away.
If you wish to donate in any way, please go to our guide to Donating to the Library.