Papers of John McKellar
MSS 203
Collection Title
Papers of John McKellarCollection Identifier
MSS 203Inclusive date(s)
1944 to 1959Extent and Medium
Category
Subject: Person(s)
Collection Description
This collection includes photocopies of papers and correspondence in relation to Sarah Campion held in the Papers of John McKellar at MS 8113, State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Library, Australian Manuscripts Collection (VSL).
Administrative / Biographical history
John McKellar was born in Greenock, Scotland, and settled in Melbourne, where he worked as a journalist and developed connections with the Jindyworobak poets. He contributed to Merringek : for an understanding of Australia's history and traditions, primeval, colonial and modern, and published a series of pamphlets, 1946-54, to express his strong views on a range of subjects including conscription, evolution, Christianity and politics. He also published two novels, Sheep without a shepherd (1937), and Tree by the creek (1961), an imaginative account of the Burke and Wills expedition of 1860-61, narrated by John King, the sole survivor, and originally an award-winning radio script. He also published a book of essays entitled Digging at roots (1951).
Sarah Campion was born Mary Rose Coulton on 1 June 1906 in Eastbourne, East Sussex, England and brought up in the village of Shelford near Cambridge. She worked as a teacher in England, Canada, Scotland, before travelling to Germany to teach English to German Jews. In 1937, the Nazis expelled her. She then travelled in Canada, the USA, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, earning her living working as a cook until 1940, when she returned to live in England and worked in a variety of occupations.
In 1939, she stayed briefly on the Atherton Tablelands in northern Queensland, which inspired her six Australian novels, including Turn away no more (1940), Dr. Golightly (1947), Come again (1951); and 'The Burdekin trilogy', including Bonanza (1942), Mo Burdekin (1942) and The Pommy cow (1944). She returned to England at the outbreak of war, where she worked as an editor, reviewer, broadcaster and fiction writer.
She married the New Zealand writer, Antony Alpers in London in 1949, and emigrated to New Zealand with him and their son Philip in 1952. She became well known in New Zealand as a writer, commentator, radio broadcaster and political activist, and published no further fiction. She briefly revisited Australia in 1959, with her son Philip after her marriage ended.
Sarah Campion lived in Auckland, New Zealand until her death on 22 July 2002.
References:
Oxford companion to Australian literature, 2nd ed. (1994), p. 495
'Obituary: Vale Sarah Campion, 1906-2002', by Elizabeth Lawson, Australian women's book review, vol.15 no.1, 2003.
Acquisition Details
Access Restrictions
Other
The collection is available for research.Reproduction Restrictions
Existence and Location of Orginals
Related and Separated Materials
John McKellar's manuscript papers are held at the State Library of Victoria, La Trobe Library, Australian Manuscripts Collection (VSL) in the Papers of John McKellar at MS 8113
Sarah Campion's manuscript papers are held at the National Library of New Zealand.
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.