Skip to content

Arthur Ronald Warhurst (1916-?)
Papers 1932-1944

MSS 0191

Biographical Note

Arthur Ronald Warhurst was born on 8 July 1916 at Narrabri, New South Wales. He enlisted in the Royal Australia Air Force on the 28 April 1942 to assist with WW2 efforts and was discharged on 15 Feb 1943. The following year he was appointed District Clerk of the Bute District Council and in 1947 was appointed Town Clerk of Kadina Corporation. By 1950, at the age of just 33, Warhurst was selected as Town Clerk of Clare. In considering his application, Mayor J.R. Michael reported that Warhurst’s credentials and qualifications were splendid, having also been District Clerk of the District Council of York Peninsula, and having earned the necessary local Government certificates required for Town Clerk and Overseer of Works duties. He also came from a family of local Government tradition, his father employed as District Clerk for the District Council of Balaklava for 25 years. In 1954 Warhurst resigned from his position at Clare to assume the role of Town Clerk of Gawler.

It is thought that Warhurst married later in life to Gloria. His interests included golf, church work and music, and from the late-1930s he was a scholar of the Elder Conservatorium, and acted as pianist and organist for several Anglican churches.

The following papers were donated to the Music Library by Gloria Warhurst’s niece, Margaret Parker. They were transferred to Rare Books & Special Collections in January 2015.

Contents Listing

Series 1: Lecture and study notebooks  (4 cm)

Notebook containing good copies of lectures attended at the Elder Conservatorium:

  • History of music – 25 lectures [1939]
  • Notes on analyses of Bach’s Preludes and Fugues – by Dr F. Iliffe
  • History of music 1940 – 3 lectures only

Small ring-binder containing manuscript notes on composer, inscribed ‘Arthur Warhurst 1938?’ Also contains a letter of reference for Warhurst by William Silver , Elder Conservatorium, 26/2/1941 (Silver was a teacher in the Elder Conservatorium from 1919 to 1947)

 

Series 2: Newspaper scrapbook ca 1936-44  (2.5 cm)

Scrapbook containing newspaper clippings of visiting international musicians to Adelaide (including Lotte Lehman, George Szell, Arthur Schnabel, Clive Carey, Sir Thomas Beecham, Marcel Dupré, Malcolm Sargeant, Lord Lurgen etc); also local and interstate musicians (eg Lyndall Hendrickson and Lawrence Power.

Note: Many of the general interest clippings were removed before deposit.

 

Series 3: Newspaper music scores (2 cm)

Collection of scores of popular music published in a London newspaper ca 1932-36. 2 folders.

 

 

Cheryl Hoskin & Lee Hayes
February 2017

University Library
Address

Barr Smith Library
South Australia 5005
Australia

Contact

Phone: +61 8 8313 5224
special.collections@adelaide.edu.au