Letters and opinion articles sent by Bruce Whiteside in 1990 as chairman of the organisation Heart of a Nation

Letters received by Bruce Whiteside in 1990 as chairman of the organisation Heart of a Nation

Therese Collie interviews Alice Hughes (née Anear). Alice was born 25 November 1918 in Charters Towers, Queensland. She talks about her early life in Chillagoe and her first involvement with the women's rights movement; her brother Dick Anear and the Communist Party; the formation of the Union of Australian Women; International Women's Day in Australia; Ivy Neilson (Innisfale Branch of the Communist Party); Trade Union movement on women's issues; Labor governments; the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions on equal pay; The Meat Worker’s Reform Committee; Quentin Bryce and the Office of Status of Women; and the current state of the women's movement.

Interview continues on Reel 9: Interview with Alice Hughes and Ivy Neilson, Grange, Brisbane, 25 Nov 1991 (UQFL300, Series A, Item 4).

Therese Collie interviews Francis Bishop, born in Brisbane in 1918.

Francis talks of her early life growing up in Brisbane in a Liberal family; joining the Communist Party and Union of Australian Women, and her involvement with both organisations; her husband Frank, who was the Communist Party Secretary of the Townsville area; Labor Day marches in Brisbane; her opinion on the changes in political activity over the years and lack of interest in unions and the Labor Party; women's issues and work for women's rights; Flo Milburn and Betty Clason.

Poems, published and unpublished, by Judith Rodriguez, most typescript, some printouts from computer, most have handwritten month and year of creation, some with publication details, some with handwritten emendations.

Correspondence by and addressed to Michael White relating to various matters including family history. Also included are some photographs, both prints and saved digitally on a compact disc.

Three architectural drawings (ink line drawings on tracing paper). No Title Block. Client: Real estate entrepreneur. Brief: Design a 'Disney' experience for the whole family with an underlying story to be discovered as part of the experience. Funding was not available (including Architects fees). Not built.

Correspondence, incoming, from 1991:
1991 – 51 letters:
Murray Bail (2);
Alison Clark (3);
Dymphna Clark (1);
Nin Dutton (18 Apr 1991);
Nick Enright (1);
Kate Grenville (1);
Elizabeth Jolley (8 Jul 1991);
David Marr (27 Jun 1991 – ‘I’ve now seen the PW [Patrick White] book […]. I took the first copy round to show Manoly. […] Even though it was cold we had tea on the terrace and M started telling me things I wish I had in the book. He talked about meeting Patrick: that first night they went out for a meal. M said, ‘I found I could talk to him. He understood what I was saying and I understood him […]. We talked for hours. He made me happy at once, and I think I made him happy.’ I’d have given pages of my own prose to have ‘He made me happy at once…’;
Drusilla Modjeska (1);
Frank Moorhouse (6 Nov, 26 Nov 1991);
Janette Turner Hospital (15 Apr, 22 Oct 1991);
Others (35).

Therese Collie interviews Marie Crisp. Marie Crisp worked in the metal trades during the second World War, joined the Vehicle Builders Union, Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union and Queensland Council of Unions, and was a member of the Communist Party of Australia and the Union of Australian Women. She was a lifelong campaigner for the rights of women workers and Aboriginal people.

Marie talks of her early life growing up in Murwillumbah (New South Wales) and central Queensland; working at Monto hospital and being a member of the Australian Workers' Union; moving to Brisbane during the second World War and working at Ford; Amalgamated Electrical Union and Metal Trades Union; joining the the Miscellaneous Workers' Union; being a member of the Communist Party and Union of Australian Women; the rights of women workers and Aboriginal people.

Therese Collie interviews Connie Healy. Constance (Connie) Healy grew up in Brisbane. She worked for the Waterside Workers' Federation, and, from the 1930s, became heavily involved with the Unity/New Theatre and the Communist Party of Australia. After the second World War, which claimed the life of her first husband, she married prominent Queensland union leader, Mick Healy. Her interest in theatre and her involvement in political activity continued throughout the postwar decades. She was particularly active in the struggle for justice for Aboriginal people. (Information from Connie Healy Collection, UQFL191, Fryer Library, The University of Queensland Library).

Connie talks of her early life and working life; the Unity/New Theatre; Waterside Workers' Union, she was Ted Englardt's secretary; joining the Communist Party of Australia; Clerks' Union and Bank Officers' Association; her husband Mick Healy; Secretary of the Eureka Youth League; Daisy Marcositi; prominent political figures like Max Julius, Brian Fitzpatrick, Paul Robeson, and Sir Hewlitt Johnson; and her views of the current issues for women.