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- 1895-1921 (Creation)
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1 folder
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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.
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John D Fryer: Certificates and keepsakes
• Three certificates awarded to John D Fryer for academic achievement at the Rockhampton Boys’ Grammar School
• Poster: ‘Female Obelisk. A simple-ton of learning, so aged and wise, Finds fit representation in the obelisk guise’
• John D Fryer, Results of Examinations, Rockhampton Grammar School, 1911 to 1912
• Certificate of Commission as an Officer in the Defence Force of the Commonwealth, 1 Jul 1920
• Invitation to Mr J Fryer from ‘His Excellency the Governor at Home’ 28 Apr [1920?]
• Menu: ‘Dinner tendered to Brisbane University Football Team by the University Amateur League Football Club, Burlington Café, 12 Jun 1920’
• In memoriam card: John Denis Fryer (Lieut. A.I.F) Who Died 7th February, 1923 from the effects of gas received in France, aged 27 years
• Rockhampton Boys’ Grammar School bookplate devised in honour of John D Fryer and awarded for proficiency in French and English
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Box 2 Folder 4
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Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Linda Justo, 11-May-2023.