Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1895-1922 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
5 folders
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Denis (Jack) Fryer was born on 11 September 1895 at Springsure, Queensland, son of Charles George Fryer and Rosina Fryer (née Richards). Charles and Rosina had seven children: Elizabeth Stuart (later Gilmour), William Thomas, Charles George, Henry Hardy, John Denis, Richard Alexander James and Walter Ponsonby. Jack won a scholarship to the University of Queensland and commenced study in 1915. By the end of first term, Jack decided to volunteer for military service in the first Australian Imperial Force. He was commissioned in 1916 and went to France. On 4 August 1918 the Fifty-First Battalion was in the line near Amiens when they were attacked; among the casualties was Lieutenant Fryer who had wounds to his arm, leg and thighs. After being hospitalised in Britain, Jack returned to Australian in July 1919. He re-enrolled at the University of Queensland for the first term of 1920 to complete his English honours examinations. While at University he was engaged in extra-curricular activities such as cricket, rugby, editing magazines including Galmahra with P. R. 'Inky' Stephensen, the Dramatic Society, contributed to the recently-founded St. John's College magazine Argo (using the pseudonym 'Chut'). In September 1922 he was hospitalised for tuberculosis. His mother travelled from Brisbane in December 1922 and took him home to Springsure in early January 1923. He died on 7 February 1923. In 1926, as a memorial to their former member and vice-president, members of the University of Queensland Dramatic Society donated £10 to establish a collection of works in Australian literature. The Fryer collection was maintained in the English Department until the 1950s when it became part of the University of Queensland Library.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The series is comprised of letters from and to John (Jack) Fryer; and documents relating to him such as birth and death certificates, educational reports and results.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copyright expired.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Box 1 Folders 1a, 1b, 1c and 9, Box 2 Folder 4
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Minimal
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Linda Justo, 12-May-2023.