Online resource complements University’s Fraser Collection
[ UniNews Vol. 15, No. 22
27 November - 11 December 2006 ]
Online access to items in a collection of memorabilia donated to the University of Melbourne by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was launched recently at the University by Mr Fraser and Federal Liberal MP Mr Petro Georgiou.
The website for the Malcolm Fraser Collection, designed for scholars and others seeking to examine the photographs, speeches, letters and other materials in the collection, has been created by collection archivist Dr Caitlin Stone and web-developer Mr Andrew Stephenson.
Items in the collection relate to Mr Fraser’s long political career, his work with CARE Australia and CARE International, student days and family life.
Donated by Mr Fraser in 2005, the initial archive will be augmented by additional collections of supportive material donated by Professor Patrick Weller from research for two books he wrote on Mr Fraser's political career and achievements, and files from ABC broadcasts and federal election commentaries donated by Emeritus Professor Victor Prescott.
The collection includes personal files, notebooks, family and official photo albums and 25 shelf metres of electorate correspondence dating from 1958 to 1983. Mr Fraser’s Ministerial and Prime Ministerial papers are kept in the National Archives in Canberra.
University Archivist Mr Michael Piggott says the collection is an important historical resource for scholars of Australian political history. He says the online component of the collection is designed to introduce the material to a broader audience.
“In addition to being a resource for scholars of Mr Fraser’s life and career, it also offers interesting insight into the construction and nature of a public life. Comparing a final speech as it is released, with a speech checked against delivery, and the many preparatory drafts, showing annotations and marginalia, is a kind of archaeology of a speech, and would be rich material for investigation.”
The Malcolm Fraser Collection website is at: www.unimelb.edu.au/malcolmfraser/
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