MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION
MS 178
FENNER, Charles (1884-1955)
Charles Albert E. Fenner became the South Australian Superintendent of Technical Education in 1916 and Director of Education in 1936. He also established a course in geography at the University of Adelaide in 1930. This catalogue has been compiled by his son, Frank Fenner FAA.
LIST OF CONTENTS by box number and page of catalogue 1
CATALOGUE 5
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Box Number Page
BOX 1
178/1. Biographical material
1 Australian Dictionary of Biography 5
2 South Australian Teachers Journal 5
3 The Education Gazette (S.A.) 5
4 Newspapers 5
5 Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia,
South Australian Branch 6
6 Biographical article ‘Charles Fenner: Scientist Who Would Be An Administrator’ 6
7 Extract from the centenary history of The School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat 6
8 Extract from the centenary history of the Royal Geographical Society
(South Australian Branch) 6
9 Obituary, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia
(SA Branch) 6
10 Cartoons of CF 6
11 Photographs of Charles Albert Edward Fenner (CF) 6
12 Photograph of wife (née Emma Louise Hirt) in the 1930s 6
13 Photograph of family 6
178/2. Family history.
1 Entries Hessisches Geschlechterbuch 6
2 Summary family tree constructed by CF 7
3 Summary of direct line to CF, by Daniel Fenner 7
4 Correspondence with Max Fenner about Fenner genealogy 7
5 Photographs of Fenner house at Niedergrenzebach 7
178/3. Charles Fenner, childhood.
1 Details, from Dunach. In the Shadow of the Mount by Rita Hull, 1988 7
2 Photograph of Dunach School students in 1890, with three Fenners, including CF 7
3 Recollections of childhood, as related to W.G. Fenner in 1955 7
4 Photograph of the premises of the Talbot Leader, where CF became a
‘printer’s devil’ 7
178/4. Career between 1895 and 1916.
1 Photograph of CF with his father, in 1904 or 1905 7
2 Student teacher, Narrawong East 7
3 Head, Mansfield Agricultural High School 8
4 Extract from the History of The School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat, 1984 8
5 Wedding photograph 8
6 Biographical data on CF’s wife, Emma Louise Hirt 8
7 Scientific studies in Victoria 8
A Book of laboratory work in Physics, 1907 8
B Book on human anatomy, ?1910 8
C Two books of drawings, comparative anatomy studies, 1911 8
D1 Geological field notes, 1911 8
BOX 2
D2 Geological field notes, 1912 8
178/5. Superintendent of Technical Education, South Australia, 1916 to 1939.
1 Certificate of appointment 8
2 Newspaper comment on appointment 8
178/6. Educational Activities as Superintendent of Technical Education, 1917 to 1939.
1 Extracts from A Broader Vision. Voices of Vocational Education in
Twentieth-Century South Australia 8
2 1924-30. 9
A Apprentice Training. An Experiment in Compulsory Specialized
Adolescent Education 9
B Newspaper clippings 9
C Education at Thebarton Technical High School 9
3 1931-32. 9
A Trip by CF and wife to Europe, 1931-32 9
1 to 4. Newspaper clippings 9
5. Typed version of CF’s diaries for 1931-32 trip 9
B Newspaper clippings on apprenticeships, historical matters and geology 9
4 1934-36. 9
A to E. Newspaper clippings 9
F. 1936: CF appointed Acting Director of Education 9
5 1937. 9
A Comments on technical education abroad, as result of 1937 trip 9
B Typed version of CF’s diaries for 1937 trip 9
6 1939, Acting Director of Education. 10
A, B. Newspaper comments 10
C Interview with Mrs Fenner 10
D Address: Trends in Education 10
178/7. Educational Activities as Director of Education, 1940-1946.
1 Newspaper comments 10
2 1941. 10
Newspaper comments 10
3 1942-43. 10
A, B. Newspaper comments 10
4 1945. 10
A Cartoons and photos of Directors of Education 10
B Paper on education given at ANZAAS, August 1945 10
C Article in S.A. Teachers Journal and comment in The Advertiser 10
5 1946, Retirement. 10
A Newspaper comments 10
B Comment by Minister of Education in South Australian Hansard 10
BOX 3
178/8. Scientific activities, physiography and geology.
1 1920-21. 10
A Sachse Gold Medal 10
B Review of paper in Geographical Review, New York, February 1920 10
C Badge of the South Australian Field Naturalists, 1920 10
D Newspaper articles on Mount Gambier, 1921 10
2 1928-30. 10
A Reviews of paper (Trans. R. Soc. S.A.) on the geography of South Australia 10
B David Syme Research Prize of the University of Melbourne 10
C CF was elected President of the Royal Society of South Australia in 1930 11
D Long article in The Advertiser on CF’s papers on the geography of
South Australia 11
E CF was President of the Section on Geography and Oceanography,
AAAS, 1930 11
3 1931. 11
A Article in Geographical Review, New York, reviewing three papers
on the geography of South Australia 11
B Article in The Advertiser, 25 July 1931, on the geology of South Australia 11
4 1933. 11
A to C. Newspaper articles and comments 11
D Letter from Sir Edgeworth David 11
5 1934. 11
A Article: ‘The Murray River Basin’ in Geographical Review (New York) 11
B Newspaper comments on this article 11
C Newspaper comments on geography books for schools 11
D Article on ‘The Study and Love of Nature. An Appeal to Youth’ 11
E Articles on the climate of South Australia 11
6 1935. 11
A, B. Newspaper comments on the size of Australia, over geological time 11
C Article on ‘Myths and Superstitions’ 11
7 1936, 1938, 1940, 1943. 11
A Comment on Australia’s population problem 11
B Article on Spitzbergen 11
C Article on water supply and industries in South Australia 11
D Newspaper comments on meteorites and australites 11
8 1946, 1947, 1949. 11
A Newspaper comments, on state regional planning 11
B The John Lewis Memorial Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society
of South Australia 11
C Various newspaper comments 12
9 1954. 12
A Article on monotremes 12
B Newspaper comment on Goyder’s line.
C Photo of CF (in hospital with a stroke) and very large australite 12
10 Bound scientific papers, geological and geographical, 1914 to 1937 12
178/9. Scientific writing; Science Notes, by Tellurian, in The Australasian,
a Melbourne weekly.
Index to articles 12
178/10. Scientific writing, Australites.
1 Photograph of cross-section of a button-shaped australite 12
2, 3 Popular articles on australites 12
4 Scientific papers on australites. Twelve papers, 1933 to 1953, bound 12
178/11. Scientific writing, books on geography.
1 Reviews of South Australia – A Geographical Study 13
2 Newspaper notices of South Australia – A Geographical Study 13
178/12. Scientific writing, popular books of essays.
Books, Bunyips and Billabongs: An Australian Out-of-Doors (1933) Mostly Australian
(1944) and Gathered Moss (1946): 13
1 Reviews of Bunyips and Billabongs, An Australian Out-of-Doors 13
2 Reviews of Mostly Australian 14
3 Reviews of Gathered Moss 14
178/13. Historical interests and writings.
Publications on Nuyts, Burke and Wills, William Light: 14
1 Newspaper clippings referring to Charles Sturt 15
2 Colonel William Light, controversy surrounding his home, Thebarton Cottage 15
3 Burke and Wills expedition, historic gum trees 15
CATALOG: MS 178, CHARLES ALBERT EDWARD FENNER
These files and this catalog have been assembled by Frank Fenner, second son of Charles Fenner. In compiling it I have made use of what material I could obtain from family records, and a large book filled with newspaper clippings, which has been deposited in The State Library of South Australia. The catalog is supported by several books written by Charles Fenner on scientific matters which are cataloged with other books in the Basser Library, and are also lodged in the National Library of Australia and The State Library of South Australia. Missing from this collection are copies of the articles he wrote every fortnight for over twenty years for the Melbourne weekly, The Australasian. He had books of these clippings but they were lost after his death and that of his eldest son, although there is an index of them in this collection and there are tapes of The Australasian in the National Library. The archive begins with biographical material provided by obituary notices, an entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and a long biographical article which appeared in 1990 in the journal Biography. There follow as much family and personal history as I could find.
This is followed by a series of extracts from newspapers and similar publications relating to his work in education, first as Superintendent of Technical Education in South Australia and then as Director of Education, arranged by year, including typed copies of the detailed diaries that he produced on his only overseas trips, in 1931 and 1937.
The next series of files deals with extracts from newspapers and similar publications dealing with scientific work, as a geographer, geologist and science communicator, arranged by years. Finally I have included separate files concerning his fortnightly contributions, Science Notes, to The Australasian, popular and scientific articles on australites, reviews of each of the four books that he wrote, and files dealing with some of the heritage matters in which he was interested.
BOX 1
178/1. Biographical material
Charles Fenner was born on 18 May 1884 and died on 9 June 1955. His career is summarised in the entry in the Australian Dictionary of Biography and in obituary notices. These are the best sources of information about his career between 1895 and 1914, when he went to the Ballarat School of Mines.
1 Australian Dictionary of Biography (1981) 8, 481-482.
2 South Australian Teachers Journal, July 1955.
3 The Education Gazette (S.A.), 15 July 1955.
4 Newspapers: The Sunday Mail, 11 June 1955, The Advertiser, 13 June 1955, The South Australian Naturalist, December 1955, Walkabout, September 1955.
5 Article by F. Gill, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch (1963).Vol. 63, 73-78. This contains as complete a list of his scientific and other publications as could be assembled at the time.
6 Biographical article by B.K. Hyams, published in Biography (1990) 13, 57-75, entitled ‘Charles Fenner: Scientist Who Would Be An Administrator’. Biography is an international quarterly, published by the University of Hawaii; in 1990 Hyams was Reader in Education at Flinders University of South Australia. The abstract on the Contents page reads as follows: “The career of Dr Charles Fenner in Australia tells us much about the history of education and educational administration in that country. The struggles undertaken by this gentle scholar to advance the cause of technical education emphasizes two of the dominant characteristics of Australian public education: resistance to vocational training and the tradition of recruitment of administrators from the rank and file of teachers.”
7 Extract from The School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat. A History of its First One Hundred and Twelve Years, 1870 to 1982 (1984), pp. 250-252.
8 Extract from The Branch Without a Tree. The Centenary History of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch), 1885 to 1985 (1985), by K. Peake-Jones, pp. 66-71.
9 Obituary, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (South Australian Branch) (1954-55) Vol. 54, 80-81.
10 Cartoons of CF: Saturday Journal, 1926; The Bulletin, 1929, 1930 and 1935,
The News, 1926.
11 Photographs of Charles Albert Edward Fenner (CF).
A. With father, Carl Johannes Fenner, at age of 20 or 21.
B. CF at age of fifty.
C. CF seated at desk as Director of Education, South Australia, about 1940.
D. CF with Sir Edgeworth David, the father of Australian geology.
12 Photograph of wife (née Emma Louise Hirt) in the 1930s.
13 Photograph of CF, ELF and their five children, Charles Lyell, Frank John, Winifred Joyce,
Thomas Richard and William Greenock.
178/2. Family history.
CF was born in Dunach, Victoria, on 18 May 1884. His father, Carl Johannes Fenner, was born in Neidergrenzebach, in Germany, in 1841, and came to Australia in 1866, first to Coolgardie and then to Dunach, near the Ballarat goldfields. His mother was born in Adelaide, of Welsh parents who had migrated to Australia in 1841.
1 Entries relating to direct ancestors of my father (on male side) from Hessisches
Geschlechterbuch, with colour reproduction of Fenner crest. The crest is used by
Fenner Hall, in the Australian National University.
2 Correspondence between Charles Fenner and a cousin in Rotenburg, plus summary family
tree constructed by CF.
3 Summary of direct line to CF, by Daniel Fenner and by Insun Sony Mustapha.
4 Correspondence with Max Fenner (CF’s grandson), about Fenner genealogy.
5 Photographs of Fenner house at Niedergrenzebach, where Carl Fenner was born.
178/3. Charles Fenner, childhood.
1 Details of Dunach and Fenner hotel, from Dunach. In the Shadow of the Mount by Rita Hull, 1988.
A Map of Dunach, Victoria, showing location of hotel where CF was born, and description of Hotel Dunach.
B Publican’s license, Carl Johannes Fenner, licensee of Hotel Dunach, and account of Carl’s life.
2 Photograph of Dunach School students in 1890, with three Fenners including CF, aged 6 years.
3 Recollections of childhood, as related to W.G. Fenner in 1955, when CF had suffered a stroke and was unable to write.
4 Photograph of the premises of the Talbot Leader, where CF became a ‘printer’s devil’ when he left school at the age of 11. The small boy may be CF. He left when aged 17 to become a student teacher.
178/4. Career between 1895 and 1916.
CF worked at the Talbot Leader from the time he left Dunach School at age 11 (1895) until 1900, when, after he had expressed an interest in becoming a teacher, his mother arranged for him to try it out by giving lessons at Talbot Primary School. As far as I can glean, in 1901 he was employed as a ‘pupil teacher’ at primary schools in western Victoria, followed by employment as teacher in charge of one-teacher schools in that area. In 1907 he won a scholarship to Melbourne Teachers College, where as well as learning teaching he gained university entrance qualifications. After several brief teaching appointments he won a scholarship to return to the Teachers College as a staff assistant and took a BSc degree in geology and biology, graduating with First-Class Honours and obtaining a Diploma of Education in 1912. He then returned to teaching at Sale High School and was appointed Principal of Mansfield Agricultural High School. In 1911 he married another student at the Teachers College, Emma Louise (‘Peggy’) Hirt. In 1914 he was appointed Lecturer in Geology at the Ballarat School of Mines and soon after that was appointed Principal. In 1916 he was appointed Superintendent of Technical Education in South Australia.
1 Photograph of CF with his father, probably 1902.
2 CF’s first appointment as a student teacher. Narrawong east, Victoria, 1904-05.
3 CF’s appointment to headship of a high school, Mansfield Agricultural High School, 1909.
4 Ballarat School of Mines. Extract from the History of The School of Mines and Industries, Ballarat, 1984.
5 Wedding photograph of CF, Emma Louise (Peggy) Hirt, various relatives and best man, 4 January 1911.
6 Biographical data on CF’s wife, Emma Louise Hirt.
7 Scientific studies in Victoria.
In 1905 CF won a scholarship to Melbourne Teachers College and two years later he was selected to study for a Science degree at the University of Melbourne, graduating BSc with First Class Honours in Geology and Biology. He went on to take a Diploma of Education in 1913.
A Book of laboratory work in Physics, 1907.
B Book on human anatomy, ?1910.
C Two books of drawings, comparative anatomy studies, 1911.
D1 Geological field notes, 1911.
BOX 2
D2 Geological field notes, 1912.
178/5. Superintendent of Technical Education, South Australia, 1916 to 1939.
1 Certificate of appointment. The appointment required an amendment to the law relating to Education, hence it had to be approved by the Governor of South Australia and recorded in the Register of Commissions.
2 Newspaper comments on appointment:
A The Advertiser, 15 November 1916, The Ballarat Courier, November 1916.
B The Observer, Adelaide, 20 January 1917.
178/6. Educational Activities as Superintendent of Technical Education, 1917 to 1939.
The following files comprise clippings from newspapers and some relevant publications.
1 Extracts from A Broader Vision. Voices of Vocational Education in Twentieth-Century South Australia.
Mrs Erica Jolly, of Adelaide, compiled and edited a massive book (887 pages) entitled A Broader Vision. Voices of Vocational Education in Twentieth-Century South Australia, which was published in 2001. The index contains 34 references to Charles Fenner. Seven of the more substantial references, have been copied and are included in this file. Two essays written by CF and reproduced in this book are filed with other material in the relevant years, 1930 and 1940.
2 1924-30.
A ‘Apprentice Training. An Experiment in Compulsory Specialized Adolescent Education’. Published as a SA Education Department Bulletin; given as address to ANZAAS Section of Education in Adelaide, August 1924.
B Clippings from The Mail, 13 May 1926, Craft, 21 May 1926, The Mail, 14 May 1927.
C Accounts of education at Thebarton Technical High School, by C. Fenner and A.G. Paull; H. Macklin-Shaw and Frank Fenner, from A Broader Vision. Voices of Vocational Education in Twentieth-Century South Australia.
3 1931-32.
A Trip by CF and wife to Europe, 1931-32.
In 1931 CF, Professor Kerr Grant and Professor R.W. Chapman went to Europe by the steamer Balranald as South Australian representatives of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, to the Centenary meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS). Other Australian representatives on the same ship were Professor E.J. Hartung, of the University of Melbourne and Mr Clive Lord, of the Tasmanian Museum. As well as attending that conference, CF visited many British education centres. He wrote a daily diary describing the trip and his reactions to a first trip abroad, at the age of 47. A typed and minimally-edited version of that diary is included in these files.
1 Newspaper clippings, The Advertiser and The News, 1931, including photograph, describing departure.
2 Newspaper clipping, The Advertiser, 1931, describing the activities of the Australian delegates.
3 Newspaper clippings, The Advertiser, The News and The Mail, 1932, describing CF’s activities, both at the conference and on educational matters.
4 Newspaper clipping, The Mail, outlining the BAAS conference activities.
5 Typed version of CF’s diaries for 1931-32 trip.
B Newspaper clippings, comments on apprenticeships; The Mail, and The News and on Adelaide historical matters and geology, The News and The Advertiser, 1932.
4 1934-36.
A Various comments during 1934 in The Mail, The Advertiser and The Australasian on CF’s public activities.
B Comments on apprentice training, The Advertiser and The Australasian, December 1935.
C Comment in The Advertiser, March 1935, on collection of archival data by schools.
D Comment and illustration in The News, September 1935, of portrait of CF by Ivor Hele.
E 1935 and 1936, Arrangements for overseas travel, CF and the Director of Education, W.J. Adey.
F 1936: CF appointed Acting Director of Education; comments on technical education and art.
5 1937.
A Comments on technical education abroad, as result of 1937 trip.
B Typed version of CF’s diaries for 1937 trip.
6 1939, Acting Director of Education.
A Comments on technical education, The Age, The Advertiser, The News.
B Appointment as Acting Director of Education, The Advertiser, The News, the Talbot Leader.
C Interview with Mrs Fenner.
D Address: ‘Trends in Education’, The S.A. Teachers’ Journal, December 1939.
178/7. Educational Activities as Director of Education, 1940 to 1946.
1 Appreciation by ABC, comment in The Times, London, comments on cultural value of technical education and on area schools.
2 1941.
Comments on school broadcasts, religious teaching, education reform and a meteorite.
3 1942-43.
A Comments in The News, The Advertiser and The Mail, 1942.
B Comments in The News, 1943.
4 1945.
A Cartoons and photos of Directors of Education.
B Paper on education given at ANZAAS, August 1945.
C Article in S.A. Teachers Journal and comment in The Advertiser.
5 1946, Retirement.
A Comments in The Advertiser and The News; articles in The Education Gazette and The South Australian Public Sector Review.
B 1947, Comment by Minister of Education in South Australian Hansard.
BOX 3
178/8. Scientific activities, physiography and geology
1 1920-21.
A Sachse Gold Medal for Research and Discovery (see also file 178/1/5). CF was the first and only recipient of this medal, which was awarded by the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Victorian Branch). Newspaper clippings.
B Review of a long paper (important for Sachse medal award) on the physiography of the Werribee River area, by W.M. Davis, for Geographical Review, New York, February 1920.
C Badge of the South Australian Field Naturalists, 1920.
D Newspaper articles on Mount Gambier, 1921.
2 1928-30.
A Reviews in April 1928, in Teachers Journal and the Victoria Education Gazette of CF’s 64 page paper (Trans. R. Soc. S.A.) on the geography of South Australia, later greatly expanded as a book (see file 178/10).
B David Syme Research Prize of the University of Melbourne. In 1929 CF was awarded the Syme Prize, at the time one of the most prestigious prizes for Australian science. Newspaper comments in The Age, The Advertiser, The Argus, the Talbot Leader, The Australasian, The Bulletin and The Register.
C CF was elected President of the Royal Society of South Australia in 1930(comment in The Advertiser). Articles on geology and geography in The Advertiser, April 1929.
D Long article in The Advertiser on CF’s papers on the geography of South Australia.
E Note in The Herald (Melbourne) on the AAAS meeting in Brisbane in May 1930, at which CF was President of the Section on Geography and Oceanography.
3 1931.
A Article in Geographical Review, New York, of three papers published in Trans R. Soc. S.A., 1927 to 1930, on the geography of South Australia.
B Long article in The Advertiser, 25 July 1931, on the geology of South Australia.
4 1933.
A Comments in The News and The Advertiser about agricultural potential and population of South Australia.
B The Mail and The Advertiser, comments on lectures by CF on a port at Goolwa, at the mouth of the River Murray.
C Long article in Progress in Australia on the Bacchus Marsh Basin, in Victoria.
D Letter from Sir Edgeworth David
5 1934.
A Article: ‘The Murray River Basin’ in Geographical Review (New York), January 1934.
B Comments in The Advertiser and The Australasian on CF’s article on the River Murray in Geographical Review.
C Comments in The Advertiser, The Mail and The News on geography books for schools.
D Article in The South Australian Naturalist on ‘The Study and Love of Nature. An Appeal to Youth’.
E Articles in The Public Service Review on the climate of South Australia and the S.A. Teachers Journal on the climate and on Kangaroo Island.
6 1935.
A Comments in The Advertiser, The Argus and The Herald (Melbourne) on the size of the continent of Australia, over geological time.
B Comments in The Advertiser on the work of the Royal Geographical Society.
C Article in Progress in Australia on ‘Myths and Superstitions’.
7 1936, 1938, 1940, 1943.
A Comment in The News, February 1936, on Australia’s population problem.
B Article in The Argus Week-end Magazine, January 1938, on Spitzbergen.
C Article in The Advertiser, July 1940, on water supply and industries in South Australia.
D Comments in The News, The Mail and The Herald (Melbourne) on meteorites and australites.
8 1946, 1947, 1949.
A Comments in The Advertiser, December 1946, on state regional planning.
B The John Lewis Memorial Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia. CF was the first recipient, in 1947, for ‘Literary Work in Geography’.
1 Comment in The Advertiser, October 1947.
2 Conditions and recipients of the award.
C Comments in The Advertiser, 1949, on climate, examiners, and CF’s visit to the Northern Territory.
9 1954.
A Article by CF in The Advertiser, March 1954, on monotremes.
B Comment in The Advertiser, April 1954, on Goyder’s line.
C The Advertiser, August 1954: comment and photo of CF (in hospital with a stroke), and very large australite.
10 Bound scientific papers, geological and geographical, 1914 to 1937.
178/9. Scientific writing; Science Notes, by Tellurian, in The Australasian, a Melbourne weekly.
CF commenced these fortnightly articles in 1920 and continued them regularly until he was appointed Acting Director of Education in 1939 (Director of Education in 1940). Unfortunately, the books into which copies of these articles were pasted have been lost, only an index (filed here) remains. Comments on maintaining a stream of these articles occur in the 1931 and 1937 diaries (see 178/6/3A5 and 178/6/5B) and they form the basis of his three popular books: Bunyips and Billabongs, Mostly Australian, and Gathered Moss (see files 178/11/1, 178/11/2 and 178/11/3 respectively).
178/10. Scientific writing, Australites.
Australites are a variety of tektites that are found in Australia. CF was long interested in them, and classified a major collection for the South Australian Museum. He thought that they were meteorites; in fact it is now thought that they were produced after the impact of a large meteorite with Planet Earth. Among tektites, australites had a unique structure because the rocks of which they were composed solidified as a glass.
CF wrote a number of papers on australites that were published in the scientific literature and articles published in the popular press.
1 Photograph of cross-section of a button-shaped australite.
2 Popular article on australites in Sky –Magazine of Cosmic News, June 1939.
3 Popular articles on australites in The News, 1936, 1939, The Advertiser, 1953, 1954, 1955, Walkabout, 1953, The Bulletin, 1955.
4 Scientific papers on australites. Twelve papers, 1933 to 1953, bound.
178/11. Scientific writing, books on geography
As set out in the bibliography on pages 74 and 75 of file 178/1/5, between 1927 and 1930 CF published three long papers in Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia on various aspects of the geography of South Australia (human geography, growth and distribution of population, structural and physiographic features) and in 1930 a long ANZAAS Report on major structural and physiographic features of South Australia. In 1931 he consolidated this work and other studies in a major book (352 pages), South Australia – A Geographical Study, Structural, Regional and Human, which was published by Whitcombe and Tombs (Basser Library 919.42 FEN). In 1934, some of the chapters of this book, rearranged and rewritten were contained in a second book, An Intermediate Geography of South Australia, designed for secondary school students (seventh printing, Basser Library 919.42 FEN). This went through seven printings before it was revised, rewritten and published in 1956 (just after CF’s death) as A Geography of South Australia and Northern Territory (Basser Library 919.42 FEN), with a second edition in 1960. Copies of these books are available in The State Library of South Australia, The National Library of Australia and the Basser Library of the Australian Academy of Science.
This file contains reviews of South Australia – A Geographical Study, Structural, Regional and Human. Several of these, by experts (Economic Record, Geographical Review), are very complimentary.
1 Reviews in Victorian Education Gazette, Geographical Review, and Economic Record.
2 Short notices in The West Australian, the Launceston Examiner, All About Books (Melbourne), The Argus, The Chronicle, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Advertiser.
178/12. Scientific writing, popular books of essays.
CF was an excellent ‘science communicator’, to use a modern term. He wrote a regular column, Science Notes, for the Melbourne weekly, The Australasian (see file 178/8), and occasionally articles for The Argus, The Advertiser and Walkabout. In the early 1930s he decided to revise some of these essays and publish them as a book, Bunyips and Billabongs: An Australian Out-of-Doors, which was illustrated by his eldest son Lyell and published in 1933. Subsequently he drew on all of the essays that he had published in The Australasian, The Argus and The Advertiser to compile two more books, both of which were illustrated with drawings by artist John Goodchild, Mostly Australian, published in 1944, and Gathered Moss, published in 1946
1 Reviews of Bunyips and Billabongs, An Australian Out-of-Doors, Angus and Robertson, 1933. This book received a very large number of reviews, most very complimentary. The sources are listed below by page, in the order in which they are arranged in this file.
1 Book Review, Sydney, 20-9-33; Daily Leader, Tamworth, 9-12-33; World’s News, 20-12-33.
2 Newcastle Morning Herald, 5-1-34; The Christchurch Times, 13-1-34.
3 The Australian Museum Magazine, v (5); The Catholic Press, 1-2-34; Teachers’ Journal (Melbourne) 20-2-34.
4 The Westralian Judean, 1-3-34; Aberdeen Press & Journal, 26-4-34; The Quarterly Review of Biology, June 1934.
5 British Australian (London), 31-5-34; Education (Sydney), 28-5-34; W.A. Teachers’ Journal, 10-3-34; Honi Soit (Sydney, 12-3-34.
6 The Telegraph, Brisbane, 20-1-34; The Examiner, Launceston, 1933; Bendigo Advertiser, 9-12-33; The Herald (Melbourne), 28-12-33; Leader (Melbourne), 23-12-33; Ballarat Courier, December 1933.
7 The Melbourne Sun, 9-12-33; The Argus (Melbourne), 12-12-33; The Brisbane Courier, 16-12-33.
8 Publishers’ Preliminary Note, June 1933; S.A. Education Gazette, December 1933; The Age, 16-12-33; NSW Education Gazette, February 1934; The Mail (Adelaide), 12-1-34.
9 The Worker (Sydney), 10-1-34; Queenslander, 8-12-34; The Geelong Advertiser, 9-12-33; Sydney Morning Herald, 16-12-33.
10 Daily News (Perth), 20-12-33; The Bulletin, 13-1-34; Herald (Auckland), 17-2-34; Dominion (Wellington), 20-1-34
11 The Advertiser, 9-12-33, 16-12-33; The Sun News Pictorial (Melbourne), 17-6-37.
12 Sydney Telegraph, 23-12-33; The Courier (Brisbane), 13-12-33; Country Life, 15-12-33; The Australasian, 16-12-33.
13 Sydney Morning Herald, 2-6-34; The Week (Brisbane), 24-1-34; Star (Auckland), 17-2-34; Star (Dunedin), 17-3-34; Times (Christchurch), 27-1-34.
14 Oceania, December 1933; Sydney Mail, 27-12-33; Melbourne Education Gazette, August 1934.
2 Reviews of Mostly Australian, Georgian House, published 1944. This book received fewer reviews than Bunyips and Billabongs, but they were longer and all very complimentary. The sources are listed below by page, in the order in which they are arranged in this file.
1 Australian Museum Magazine, 1-8-44.
2 The Advertiser, 20-5-44; Journal of the NSW Teachers’ Federation, August 1945; The Bulletin, 2-8-44.
3 The Argus, 30-9-44; The Herald (Melbourne), 10-6-44; The Age, 16-9-44; The Sydney Morning Herald, 29-7-44.
4 The Bulletin, 28-6-44.
5 The South Australian Public Service Review, 31-8-45.
6 Maryborough Advertiser, January 1945.
7 Radio Australia, International (Shortwave) Division. Broadcast by Don Myles.
3 Reviews of Gathered Moss, Georgian House, published 1946.
Like Mostly Australian, this book received fewer reviews than Bunyips and Billabongs, but they were longer and very complimentary. The number of reviews is largely a matter of the number of newspapers, etc. to which the publisher distributed copies. Angus and Robertson were more assiduous than Georgian House in distributing copies, especially to country newspapers. The sources are listed below by page, in the order in which they are arranged in this file.
1 Barrier Miner (Broken Hill), 1-11-46; Bohemia (Bread and Cheese Club, Melbourne), 1-9-46.
2 Wildlife, August 1946.
3 The Argus, 13-7-46; The News, 21-6-46; The Advertiser, 13-7-46.
4 The Herald (Melbourne) 29-7-46, and other reviews (sources unknown).
178/13. Historical interests and writings
CF had an abiding interest in early explorers who worked from or in South Australia, especially Charles Sturt. He was an active member and sometime Secretary and later President of the South Australian Historical Memorials Committee, and the papers available to me contain many references to attempts to save the homes of Sturt and of William Light, who designed the layout of Adelaide. He also wrote about the Burke and Wills expedition. His publications in this area include:
The first discoverers of South Australia: the tercentenary of Nuyts. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch (1925-26) 27, 23-28.
Two historic gum trees associated with the Burke and Wills expedition of 1961. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch (1927-28) 29, 1-21.
Thebarton Cottage the old home of Colonel William Light. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch (1926-27) 28, 25-45.
Colonel Light’s last diary, with introductory notes by Charles Fenner. Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch (1933-34) 35, 93-129.
1 Newspaper clippings referring to Charles Sturt. He was involved in organisation of centenary celebrations of Sturt’s trip down the River Murray in 1829-30 and his trip from Adelaide to Central Australia in 1841, he corresponded with and met Sturt’s relatives in England, and he campaigned tirelessly for the preservation of Sturt’s home, ‘The Grange’, in Adelaide, which was eventually accomplished in the 1980s.
A Comments and correspondence, principally in The Advertiser, between 1930 and 1955, about CF’s work in the Sturt centenary celebrations and the preservation of his Adelaide home, ‘The Grange’.
B Painting by Charles Sturt of his home, ‘The Grange’ at the time he lived there.
C Pamphlet distributed from The Grange after its declaration as a heritage house.
2 Colonel William Light, controversy surrounding his home, ‘Thebarton Cottage’.
3 Burke and Wills expedition, historic gum trees.
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