Papers of John Jones
MSS 116
Collection Title
Papers of John JonesCollection Identifier
MSS 116Inclusive date(s)
1978 to 1982Extent and Medium
Creator(s)
Category
Subject: Person(s)
Collection Description
The collection includes correspondence and drafts of Fame and misfortune, a novel for young adults. The book was made into a television series and produced in serialised format in six instalments on ABC TV, 1986.
Administrative / Biographical history
John Jones was born on the 21 November 1938 in Liverpool, England, and arrived in Australia in 1956. Author, children's author and scriptwriter, John Jones grew up in Liverpool, England. At the age of eleven he topped Liverpool in his exams and won a scholarship to grammar school.
Moving to South Australia with his family, he attended Adelaide University, then worked for a while in a forestry office at Mount Gambier before becoming a high school teacher. He wrote three children's books and was the script writer for numerous TV shows including Bell Bird, Mush, Well well, Kids only and Man and his environment. A TV series was made from his book Fame and misfortune. He had just written the final episode when illness overtook him, and as he was taken to hospital in an ambulance he handed his mother the last instalment for her to post. He did not live to see the production.
John Jones died on 21 January 1986 in Mount Gambier, South Australia. His mother published posthumously an extract from his unpublished novel, 'The fifth horseman', based on the life of Adam Lindsay Gordon.
References:
AustLit : The Resource for Australian Literature, April 2004.
Acquisition Details
System of arrangement
The collection has been arranged in box then folder order.
Access Restrictions
Other
The collection is available for research.Reproduction Restrictions
Existence and Location of Orginals
Related and Separated Materials
This collection originally included a number of publications, listed below. These works have been catalogued separately, and added to the Library's main collection.
Jones, John. Fame and misfortune. Melbourne : Longman Cheshire, 1979.
Jones, John. Scrap iron kid . Melbourne : Longman Cheshire, 1973, c1972.
Disclaimer
This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed above. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.