The remarkable story of the University of New England's Heritage Centre 1 - beginnings

Dr J P Belshaw, October 1940. As head of history and economics at the newly established New England University College, Belshaw needed archival records for student use and to allow the College to fulfil its role in the promotion of economic, social and cultural development across Northern NSW. This is the first in a short series on the remarkable story of the University of New England's Heritage Centre and Regional Archives. 

Back in October 1919 I wrote on the economic, cultural and social benefits of family, local and regional history:

• Web of history revealed
• Connecting to our past
• Maximising value from local and regional history - the case of mining history

Achievement of these benefits depends upon a network of historical societies, family history groups, museums and archives spread across Northern NSW. Within that network, the University of New England’s Heritage Centre occupies a very particular place.

The Centre’s history is a remarkable one. I will share a little of that history with you over the next few columns

In 1938, the still small staff at the newly established New England University College faced considerable challenges. The College was founded to become the Sydney University of the North. It was expected to contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of the North. It was expected to provide a high quality university education to its new students.

 Staff took these responsibilities seriously, but lacked access to books and other resources necessary to support teaching, research and extension activities. An effort began to build local resources that students could use and that would also support research. This extended from history and economics into other disciplines including geology and geography.

 Initially progress was slow, but momentum did build. The first Master of Economic on New England’s history appeared in 1940, followed by Desmond Long’s BA Honours thesis, the History of New England 1832-1861.  With time, these theses in history and other disciplines would become a critical resource.

 Long went onto a Master’s thesis on the history of colonial New England, in so doing building up descriptions of source resources in various locations. He also wrote on the professional issues involved in the writing of regional history.

 In 1946, the Northern Daily Leader and other papers reporting on Long’s work carried an appeal for old records from any area of Northern NSW to be supplied to the History Department. The appeal noted that such records were often stacked away in homesteads, often brought out only to be destroyed.

In 1943, Jim Belshaw (Head History & Economics) and Alan Voisey (Head Geology & Geography) had attempted to establish a NEUC Research Bureau. This failed because of lack of money, but with the ending of the war, funding became available to fund a series of research monographs focused especially on the history of mining.

Writing in 1951 in the NEUC Regional Research Report, Belshaw described the area of geographic coverage as the Tablelands, North Coast, Upper Hunter and Western Slopes and Plains. This remains the formal coverage of the Heritage Centre today.

Belshaw also expressed the hope that, with time, the NEUC might be able to make some contribution to the welfare of Northern New South Wales. 

Note to readers: This post was prepared as a column for the on-line edition of the Armidale Express. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019, here 2020 

Battles in the bush - David Drummond and the rise of the Progressive Party

David Drummond, Inverell, 1910s. The young share farmer was not expected to be elected to Parliament in March 1920, but with what was described as support from a handful of cockies and a newspaper he was.

Back in May 2020 I began an Armidale Express series on the history of the country press in NSW with a particular focus on New England. It seemed an appropriate time given that the combination of existing trends with the impact of covid-19 was likely to complete destruction of the press that we had known, a press whose role and influence had already declined. 

2020 also marked 100 years since the emergence of the Progressive Party, later Country now National Party, in the NSW Parliament at the March 1920 elections. The Federal Party really began in 1919 with the election of farmer representatives to the National Parliament. In Northern NSW, the history of the Country Party and the country press are inextricably entwined. 

What began as a series on the history of the country press was effectively hijacked by the March 1920 election campaign. There I focused especially on one man, David Drummond, the share farmer from Inverell who was not expected to win but did. 

In this post I am providing links to the posts on Drummond and that first election campaign that saw the emergence of the Progressive Party as a major political force, Later, I will return to the story of the country press.

The posts are:

• History of the New England newspaper press 9 - Drummond, Sommerlad and the emergence of the Country Party in New England 
• History of the New England newspaper press 10 - A country party to serve country interests
• History of the New England newspaper press 11 - Drummond emerges on the political stage
• History of the New England newspaper press 12 - Hard Times: the early life of David Drummond
• History of the New England newspaper press 14 - putting farming ideas into practice
• History of the New England newspaper press 15 - Northern Tableland Progressive Party Electoral Council formed in 1919 but what next?
• History of the New England newspaper press 16 - Drummond points to neglect of country
• History of the New England newspaper press 17 - How the battle for pre-selection happened in 1920
• History of the New England newspaper press 18 - Candidate pulled no punches in 1920
• History of the New England newspaper press 19 - David Drummond and rivals for election in 1920
• History of the New England newspaper press 20 - Drummond goes to the circus
• History of the New England newspaper press 21 - How David Drummond won the election

For those who are interested to find out more, Decentralisation, Development and Decent Government: the life and times of David Henry Drummond, 1890-1941 - introduction, provides links to my biography on Drummond's life and times. If you are interested, you can follow the story through in more detail up to 1942.    

History of the New England newspaper press 21 - How David Drummond won the election

 

Tattersalls Hotel Emmavillel. Campaigning at Emmaville, Bruxner finally got Drummond into a pub where he drank a soda water! 

This is the twenty first in a series on the history of the media and especially the newspaper press in New England, the fourteenth column on the emergence of the NSW Country Party. I am resting the series for a little while to focus on other things. It has become very long! 

As the other candidates in the March 1920 elections swung to the countryside Drummond turned his attention to the towns. There he made one major tactical error.

Certain that Bruxner would have a large surplus vote in his Tenterfield home base, Drummond decided to campaign heavily in Tenterfield hoping to pick up Bruxner's second preferences.

Although Bruxner did poll well, he did not secure a quota till the sixth count and Drummond's Tenterfield campaign was wasted.

The two men seem to have had considerable contact during the campaign. Bruxner liked Drummond immediately, but there were considerable differences in outlook between the polished grazier and the young farmer. At one point Ray Doolin organised a combined meeting for them at the mining village of Emmaville.

 “Anxious that our two colts would work together, I asked the Colonel how he was getting on with Dave. He replied ‘Oh Dave is coming on, I got him into the Pub and he drank a soda water.’ After the meeting I asked about the Colonel - Dave replied ‘Ray, he is a very fine and able man, but I think he is a bit of a lad!’"

 The difference in temperament between the two men did result in at least one clash, but after that “temperate but straight speaking episode” the two became firm friends and allies.

The Northern press played an important role in the Progressive's campaign, as did a resurgent campaign for Northern self-government. The two were linked, because most newspapers were supporting the self government cause.

While the separatist campaign was non-party, it benefited the Progressives most. They supported self-government and could campaign for it without the entanglements affecting Labor and Nationalist candidates.

Press support was particularly important for the lesser known Drummond. Drummond's old friend, Ernest Sommerlad, campaigned for him strongly through the Glen Innes Examiner. Sommerlad was also able to persuade the supporters of sitting member F.J. Thomas to grant preferences to Drummond.

Election day, 20 March 1920, saw the Progressives poll well, with 49 per cent of the vote as compared with Labor's 37.2 per cent and the Nationalists' meagre 13.8 per cent. As expected, Bruxner, with 23.5 per cent of the vote, was the second candidate elected after Labor's McClelland.

This left Drummond with 10 per cent of the vote competing for the third spot against the remaining candidates. In the end, it was enough.

The result was a surprise to many. As the The Land put it some years later:

 Mr Drummond was a young farmer of Inverell. He had ideas, and had been active in the Farmers and Settlers' Association. No one knew much about him, but that was of no consequence. He proceeded to tell them. There were no widely signed requisitions for him to contest Northern Tablelands. They were not required. He had made up his mind. He informed the electors he knew about politics, and would be able to run the country as it ought to be run. At first he was not taken seriously, but he was quite confident the people would elect him to Parliament, and they did.

Note to readers: This post was prepared as a column for the on-line edition of the Armidale Express. I am repeating the columns here with a lag because they are not all on line outside subscription. You can see all the Belshaw World and History Revisited/History Matters columns by clicking here for 2009, here for 2010, here for 2011, here for 2012, here for 2013, here for 2014, here for 2015,  here for 2016, here  2017, here 2018, here 2019, here 2020