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Trevor Shearston Papers
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Trevor Shearston Papers

  • UQFL485
  • Collection
  • 1966-2015

Drafts, correspondence, research notes, and photographs for novels, screenplays and a short story written by Trevor Shearston. There are drafts for his radio documentary feature 'The New Guinea letters of John Green', aired in 1984. The screenplay for 'Snowdrop' (later filmed as 'Envy') had various working titles. Sticks that kill was initially preceded by a stage play call "Goaribari". A straight young back had the working titles of "The old magic touch" and the "Walk novel".

Arranged into Series :
Series A: Something in the blood [short story collection] (1979)
Series B: Sticks that kill [novel] (1983)
Series C: White lies [novel] (1986)
Series D: Correspondence with University of Queensland Press
Series E: A straight young back [novel] (2000)
Series F: Drafts for 'Walk novel'and 'The old magic touch' (A straight young back [novel])
Series G: Tinder [novel] (2002)
Series H: Dead birds [novel] (2007)
Series I: Concertinas [novel] (1988)
Series J: Snowdrop [screenplay] - filmed as Envy [motion picture] (1999)
Series K: New Guinea letters of John Green [radio documentary] (1984)
Series L: Short stories and dramatic works, published and unpublished, 1966 to 1995
Series M: Research files on Papua New Guinea
Series N: Game [screenplay]
Series O: Game [novel] (2013)
Series P: Photographs for Game [screenplay]
Series Q: Ben Hall realia

Shearston, Trevor

Something in the blood [short story collection] (1979)

This series contains drafts, notes, newspaper cuttings, and correspondence. Something in the blood was published by University of Queensland Press (UQP) in 1979. Consisting of fifteen (15) short stories set in Papua New Guinea before its Independence. The short story Drowning was first published in the New Guinea Quarterly, vol. 10, no. 3, 1975-76. Some stories contain short passages in Pidgin. The stories deal with the themes of local customs, attitudes, acts of aggression, missionaries, loneliness, and racism. Includes drafts, cuttings of reviews from journals and magazine, scripts of radio plays adapted from the stories, and related correspondence.

Sticks that kill [novel] (1983)

This series contains drafts, notes, newspaper cuttings, research material and correspondence. Sticks that kill was published by University of Queensland Press in 1983. Initially the novel was preceded by a stage play called Goaribari. This series includes drafts, handwritten notes, research material, cuttings of reviews from journals and magazines, and material removed or deleted from the novel.

The novel is set in British New Guinea and covers a very short period from 1900 to 1903. The story centers around John Rhys, newly arrived to Port Moresby, who works as clerk to the Government Secretary, Mr Ellison. During Rhys's time there the tensions of colonial government (with Britain and Australia both having responsibility for the region during this time) , missionaries, and the local population are revealed.

Correspondence with University of Queensland Press

This series mostly consists of correspondence between Shearston and University of Queensland Press (UQP) during his time with them, from 1977 to 1998. Included are the memorandum of agreements for his first three works of fiction published with UQP.

White lies [novel] (1986)

This series contains drafts, notes, newspaper cuttings, and correspondence. While lies by Trevor Shearston was published by University of Queensland Press in 1986. It is set on a remote mission station in Papua New Guinea in the early 1970's and tells the story of the conflict between the powerful and primitive forces of the local Gewa sorcerer and healer, Sebo, and the missionary, Richard Wakely. Initial drafts of the novel were titled 'Black sheep', which Shearston also used to write a screenplay by the same name.

New Guinea letters of John Green [radio documentary] (1984)

Featured over two broadcasts on ABC Radio 2 in 1984 was the radio documentary written by Trevor Shearston based on the letters from New Guinea of John Green to his family in Healesville in Victoria. Working titles included: The John Green Letters; Edge of the Empire : the New Guinea letters of John Green; and The John Green letters. John Green, fifth son of John and Mary Green, went to British New Guinea in 1892. In 1897 he was speared and then clubbed to death by Binandere people. During this four years in New Guinea John Green wrote more than 3200 pages of correspondence.

This series contains drafts, agreements and correspondence with ABC regarding scripts and production, and research material for the radio documentary feature.

Concertinas [novel] (1988)

This series contains drafts, notes, newspaper cuttings, research material, and correspondence. Concertinas is told from the alternating points of view of the two main characters, Chris Davage and Ian McCall. Both ex-PNG men have fond and lingering memoirs of the excitement of the expatriate experience. The novel examines the relationship between Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This series contains drafts, notes, research material, and newspaper cuttings.

A straight young back [novel] (2000)

This series contains drafts, notes, photographs and research material. A straight young back is narrated in the first person by David Apps, a cadet government officer who arrives in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in 1963. Apps works for Hal Franklin, a District Commissioner. As the country moves towards self-government and independence, Apps is slowly corrupted by the power of ruling. Based on true story of the assassination in August 1971 of Jack Emanuel, District Commissioner. Emanuel was murdered deep in the the forest on a Rabaul plantation. The working titles for the novel were 'The old magic touch' and the 'Walk novel'.

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