Holmes Collection

The Holmes Collection contains more than 5000 books, pamphlets, broadsides, posters, periodicals, newspapers and some manuscripts. Its strengths include material on Federation, political and constitutional history, early Australiana, aviation, local histories, crime and criminals, novels, plays, poetry and World War I.

Key items in the collection

Highlights from this collection demonstrate its historical significance and variety.

The Holmes Collection contains over 5000 books, pamphlets, broadsides, posters, periodicals and newspapers. It has a strong core of material relating to Federation in its widest sense, embracing not only the Federation movement but literature on customs duties, boundaries and Asian immigration, as well as general political and constitutional history. Among the strengths of the collection are:

early Australiana
parliamentary and legal publications
aviation
local histories
crime and criminals
novels and plays
poetry
World War I
biography
an extensive set of New South Wales Bookstall Company publications.

Holmes acquired a miscellaneous collection of Australian manuscripts, with a particular focus on Federation. They include:

William Clennon, Two letterbooks recording the engagement of Pacific Islanders, mainly from Mackay and the surrounding district (1891–92)
Log of American brigantine Malta on voyage from Boston to Sydney (1833–35)
Donald Cormack, Notes, cuttings and circulars on Federation, federal finance and the 1896 People’s Federal Convention at Bathurst
Joseph McDonagh, Diary kept during the shearers’ strike at Wilcannia (1894), scrapbooks
Voltaire Molesworth, Letters received by Molesworth while serving in World War I.
John Dunmore Lang, Four letters from Francis Forbes to Lang (1831–35); a manuscript by Lang on Federation; questions submitted to Sir Thomas Mitchell (1854)
J Allan Padman, Accounts of experiences as a wheat farmer in Western Australia (1928–29)
Andrew Ross, Manuscript on Aboriginal tribal fights
Andrew Ross, Chronicles of the book of Federation
Andrew Ross, Notes of speeches made during the Federation campaign in New South Wales; newspaper cuttings

Holmes collection

The Holmes collection includes:

the unpublished Bibliography of Federation (1841–1901)
a bibliography of the New South Wales Bookstall Company
notes on the Polynesian labour traffic
the New State movement
the Anglican Church in Australia
letters from collectors and booksellers.

Transcripts of selected High Court cases (1932–45) are held separately.

The papers of John Dashwood Holmes contains:

some correspondence by Holmes (1940–42)
miscellaneous notes
documents
transcripts
photographs
and a cutting book containing articles and verse by Holmes (1926–34).

About John Holmes

John Dashwood Holmes (1907–1973) was born in Sydney and educated at Christian Brothers College, Waverley, and the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1933 and built up a large practice, specialising in constitutional law, commercial law and equity.

Academic and legal career

Holmes lectured in constitutional law at the University of Sydney from 1940 to 1950 and wrote several textbooks. He was appointed KC in 1948, and in the same year served as junior counsel for the Commonwealth in the Bank Nationalisation Case. He was appointed a judge of the New South Wales Supreme Court in 1965 and elevated to the Court of Appeal in 1966.

Personal life and collecting interests

Holmes’ first wife was the daughter of noted book collector George Mackaness. In the 1930s, Holmes began collecting Australian books, pamphlets, broadsides and newspapers. He also compiled a bibliography on the growth of Australian Federation, although it was never published.

Background to the collection

The Holmes Collection was purchased in 1952. Holmes donated further material in 1953 and 1957.

The printed material in the Holmes Collection was integrated into the Newspaper collections. At the request of Sir John Ferguson, the New South Wales Bookstall Company publications were kept together and shelved with the Ferguson Collection.

Manuscripts collected by Holmes have mostly been catalogued individually.

This guide was prepared using these references: