Collection B4 - Roy Bridges Archives

Index to B4

Identity area

Reference code

AU TAS UTAS SPARC B4

Title

Roy Bridges Archives

Date(s)

  • 1903-1960 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

16 type one boxes and 4 files plus 12 unaccessioned type one boxes

Context area

Name of creator

(1885-1952)

Biographical history

Royal Tasman Bridges (Roy) (1885-1952), journalist and novelist, was born in Hobart on 23 March 1885, son of Samuel Bridges, basketmaker, and his wife Laura Jane, née Wood, descendants of Tasmanian pioneers. He was educated at Queen's College, Hobart, in 1894-1901, and graduated B.A. from the University of Tasmania in 1905. A small man, shy, sensitive and given to nervous depression, he held a great affection for his mother. From tales retold by her he developed an interest in Tasmanian and family history and an intense attachment to Wood's Farm, near Sorell, the Wood home for over a century. For more information see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bridges-royal-tasman-roy-5354

Name of creator

(1881-1971)

Biographical history

Hilda Maggie Bridges (1881-1971), writer, was born in Hobart on 19 October 1881 and educated at Scotch College there. Roy's lifelong companion, housekeeper and amanuensis, she still found time to produce thirteen novels, three children's tales and hundreds of short stories and sketches. Her first novel, Our Neighbours (London, 1922), was a tale of Melbourne suburban families, while her ensuing works were light narratives of mystery and romance set in Victoria or the east coast of Tasmania, the plots frequently depending upon smuggling, hidden treasure, secret caves and unknown identities. The characters are stereotyped, but her prose smooth, with effective, intimate descriptions of interior ornamentation, fashions and small natural scenes. Her main concern is entertainment but in Men Must Live (London, 1938) she touches upon the denudation of land by firewood carters, a matter of considerable personal concern. She died in Hobart on 11 September 1971 and was buried at Sorell. From http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bridges-hilda-maggie-5637

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Donated by Miss Hilda Bridges for preservation for posterity 1955

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The collection consists of correspondence, papers, newspaper cuttings, literary manuscripts and other miscellaneous items of Roy Bridges, Tasmanian writer and newspaper reporter Including some correspondence and agreements with publishers and manuscripts or typescripts of much of his work, including unpublished material. The Collection also includes manuscripts of Hilda Bridges, Roy's sister.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Available to bona fide students of history or Iiterature of Australia. Quotations from the papers may be made in theses or other publications in accordance with the copyright Act provided due acknowledgment is made of the source of the quotation.

Conditions governing reproduction

This material is made available for personal research and study purposes under the University of Tasmania Standard Copyright Licence. For any further use permission should be obtained from the copyright owners. For assistance please contact Special.Collections@utas.edu.au

When reusing this material, please provide the following acknowledgement:
“Courtesy of the UTAS Library Special & Rare Collections -B4”

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Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Existence and location of originals

Also 12 type one boxes of unaccessioned material relating to Hilda Bridges

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Dates of creation revision deletion

December 2017 PP

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