Wilson/Bonython Collection

In 2009 the University Libraries selected several hundred/thousand volumes for purchase from the family collection of the solicitor, company director and politician, Ian Bonython Cameron Wilson AM (1932-2013).

Ian Wilson was the son of Sir Keith Wilson, a prominent United Australia Party and Liberal Party politician and Elizabeth (Lady Betty Wilson CBE). Lady Betty was a granddaughter of Sir John Langdon Bonython, owner of The Advertiser and a member of the first federal House of Representatives, and a great-granddaughter of Sir John Cox Bray, South Australia's first native-born premier.

The books selected represented the reading interests over many decades of two Adelaide old establishment families, enabling the acquisition of many works not traditionally collected by a 19th -early 20th century academic library. Such works included popular fiction and science, new women novels, and books on royalty, travel and social etiquette.

Several hundred works were selected to form the Wilson/Bonython Collection located in Special Collections, including signed and association copies, first edition of novels, and works representative of the reading habits of 19th century wealthy and cultured Adelaide families. Many books were sent to John Bonython for review by The Advertiser and are annotated and often accompanied by letters from the authors.