Last Days to See! - Centenary of the Sugar Strike 1911!

A display now on at JCU's Cairns Library commemorates the 100th anniversary of the sugar industry strike of 1911. It includes Special Collections material that documents the background to the strike, historical photographs of strikers and the strike camps, and contemporary newspaper reports of the events.

Dr Peter Griggs, a JCU geographer who has researched the sugar industry extensively, says this was a significant strike that saw arrests, riots and unlawful burning of cane crops.

“It went on for four months, with police cordons guarding sugar mills, and union marches through towns along the Queensland coast,” he said.

Dr Griggs said the story of the strike revealed a great deal about the times.

Lest We Forget

This year’s Anzac Day Display at the Cairns Campus Library commemorates the 70^th anniversaries of two significant battles that took place during the Second World War. In 1941, more than 4,000 allied troops, including Australian soldiers, were killed during the Siege of Tobruk and the Battle for Greece and Crete.

Check out the display on the ground floor which includes short histories of each battle as well as books from the library collection which are available to be borrowed.

See the glass cabinets nearby for items from Cairns Special Collections based on this theme.

Why Sir Russell Drysdale is so special to us.

Kylie (above) takes a look inside a book on the paintings of Sir Russell Drysdale held in The Shaw Collection.

Sir Drysdale was a generous man. In 1971 he donated to us a collection of 30 rare books which focus on Australian settlement and exploration. The collection includes works such as William Dampier's "A Collection of Voyages" (1729), William Bligh's "Voyage to the South Sea" (1792) and the "Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay" by Captain Watkin Tench which we recently featured on this blog! Stay tuned to read more about and see more of these precious books.

Not only a generous man, Sir Russell Drysdale was an outstanding Australian artist primarily known for his drawings and paintings although he was a photographer as well. The Shaw Collection at JCU Library contains approx. 4000 volumes on Australian Art & Culture and houses a range of books about him (see below). All items in The Shaw Collection are listed in our online catalogue and can be accessed by contacting the Special Collections Librarian or the Infohelp staff.

Sir Russell Drysdale had long-standing family connections with north Queensland, having settled in the Burdekin area in 1884. Since that time members of the family have been associated with the management of the Pioneer Sugar Mill in Brandon. His donation to JCU Library Special Collections is greatly valued and all rare books are available for viewing, by appointment with the Special Collections Librarian of course! Read more about Sir Russell Drysdale in the Australian Dictionary of Biography online.

"Books are mens hearts in other mens hands" - surprises inside the rare Watkin Tench book

Upon opening the Watkin Tench book featured from our Rare Books Collections this week, we find not one but two bookplates probably placed there by two previous owners of the book.

Both are original artist prints, that is drawn by artists and printed directly from engraved metal plates in a limited edition. We can see the indented mark of the plate around the edge of the image. The first one (see below) indicates the book was once in the collection of Jonathon Pytts Esquire.

Remember this book (written by Captain Watkin Tench who traveled with the first fleet to Australia) was a best seller in its day.

The second book plate (see left) would have belonged to G. R. Nicolaus and as is the case with many privately commissioned book plates through the image we are provided with an indication of the person's personality and interests. Here we can clearly see an number of objects on a shelf (eg golf clubs, a gun and deer, various books - some on mining and a fishing reel). The use of the scottish thistle as a decorative border also suggests that Nicolaus
was a Scotsman.



Finally the quote at the top of the plate is hard to miss and quite moving, "Books are mens hearts in other mens hands". No doubt here was someone who truly valued their book collection of which this precious item was once a part.

Live from our Treasure Chest this week.

The highlight of this week has been the discovery of an important and rare little book titled "A narrative of the expedition to Botany Bay; : with an account of New South Wales, its productions, inhabitants, &c. To which is subjoined, a list of the civil and military establishments at Port Jackson" by Captain Watkin Tench.

This book was published by Debretts of London in 1789! It is a small, leather bound volume which is in fantastic condition considering it's age. It was donated to us by Sir Russell Drysdale in the 1970s. Watkin Tench was a Marine Officer who travelled to Australia with the first fleet and this is his first hand account of the colony. Read more about him in the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020466b.htm

Not to have read Watkin Tench is not to know early Australia. An eye that noticed everything, a young man's verve, a sly wit, an elegant prose style - all brought to bear on an unimagined place and a very strange micro society. This is the most readable classic of early Australian history. - Robert Hughes

To access this original copy of the Watkin Tench book from the Rare Books Collection contact Bronwyn McBurnie, the Special Collections Librarian. If you would like to spend longer over the text at home then one thing you can do is borrow an edited version of the book produced by Tim Flannery (see below).
But how fantastic is it to have an original copy of this important early colonial Australian text in north Queensland and available for everyone to view (by appointment) and enjoy!

Women Artists of the North display, International Women’s Day 2011

The display for International Women’s Day in the Cairns Library features information about women artists who were born in or work in North Queensland. Artists featured include:

Thanakupi who was born on the Weipa Mission ;

Rosella Namok who was born at Lockhart River ;

Evelyn McGreen who, although born at Woorabinda, moved to Hope Vale in the 1950s, where her parents were from;

Emily Ngarnal Evans who was born and has lived all her life on Mornington Island.

All the information comes from items held in the Cairns Special Collection or the Main Collection, and includes exhibition catalogues, programmes and leaflets , as well as books.

Spot the Saint.

Courtesy of JCU Archives

Student Commem Parade, Townsville City, 1963.
The messages on the signs and placards carried by students during the Commem parades were indicative of the topical political issues of the day. Note in this photo the wire figure of the infamous saint attached to the car in the front.

The Queen of the Procession!

Courtesy of JCU Archives

Student Commem Parade, Townsville City, 1963.
In an issue of the Student Union newspaper, Magnus Taurus in 1964, co-editor John Heilbronn wrote "Well, it's on again! Commem is here, and it's time for students' minds to turn from study to more serious topics - like rabbling for instance! This is your big chance for the year to have a go at those people, places and occurrences which have annoyed, disgusted, or pleased you over the year."

The Students play up during Commem week

Image courtesy of JCU Archives

Student Commem Parade, Townsville City, 1963.
At this early stage in the life of the University College there was considerable concern lest the students' pranks or floats should not respect "the canons of adult decorum" to quote the first Warden, Dr Frank Olsen.

Student Commem Parades, 1961 onwards...

Image courtesy of JCU Archives

Commemoration was set aside traditionally by the University to commemorate its benefactors and the scholars who have brought it distinction. Degrees were conferred at a colourful, solemn Ceremony. Commem week was also the time when undergraduates staged a procession with decorated floats, highlighting or ridiculing the activities of their elders.