Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1903-1960 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent and medium
16 type one boxes and 4 files plus 12 unaccessioned type one boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Royal Tasman Bridges (Roy) (1885-1952), journalist and novelist, was born in Hobart on 23 March 1885, son of Samuel Bridges, basketmaker, and his wife Laura Jane, née Wood, descendants of Tasmanian pioneers. He was educated at Queen's College, Hobart, in 1894-1901, and graduated B.A. from the University of Tasmania in 1905. A small man, shy, sensitive and given to nervous depression, he held a great affection for his mother. From tales retold by her he developed an interest in Tasmanian and family history and an intense attachment to Wood's Farm, near Sorell, the Wood home for over a century. For more information see http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bridges-royal-tasman-roy-5354
Name of creator
Biographical history
Hilda Maggie Bridges (1881-1971), writer, was born in Hobart on 19 October 1881 and educated at Scotch College there. Roy's lifelong companion, housekeeper and amanuensis, she still found time to produce thirteen novels, three children's tales and hundreds of short stories and sketches. Her first novel, Our Neighbours (London, 1922), was a tale of Melbourne suburban families, while her ensuing works were light narratives of mystery and romance set in Victoria or the east coast of Tasmania, the plots frequently depending upon smuggling, hidden treasure, secret caves and unknown identities. The characters are stereotyped, but her prose smooth, with effective, intimate descriptions of interior ornamentation, fashions and small natural scenes. Her main concern is entertainment but in Men Must Live (London, 1938) she touches upon the denudation of land by firewood carters, a matter of considerable personal concern. She died in Hobart on 11 September 1971 and was buried at Sorell. From http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bridges-hilda-maggie-5637
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated by Miss Hilda Bridges for preservation for posterity 1955
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of correspondence, papers, newspaper cuttings, literary manuscripts and other miscellaneous items of Roy Bridges, Tasmanian writer and newspaper reporter Including some correspondence and agreements with publishers and manuscripts or typescripts of much of his work, including unpublished material. The Collection also includes manuscripts of Hilda Bridges, Roy's sister.
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Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available to bona fide students of history or Iiterature of Australia. Quotations from the papers may be made in theses or other publications in accordance with the copyright Act provided due acknowledgment is made of the source of the quotation.
Conditions governing reproduction
This material is made available for personal research and study purposes under the University of Tasmania Standard Copyright Licence. For any further use permission should be obtained from the copyright owners. For assistance please contact Special.Collections@utas.edu.au
When reusing this material, please provide the following acknowledgement:
“Courtesy of the UTAS Library Special & Rare Collections -B4”
Language of material
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Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Original inventory and descriptive notes can be found at https://eprints.utas.edu.au/10852/2/Bridges.pdf
Existence and location of originals
Also 12 type one boxes of unaccessioned material relating to Hilda Bridges
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Dates of creation revision deletion
December 2017 PP