Archival collections

Hawke collection

The Bob Hawke collection was transferred to the UniSA library by the National Archives of Australia in 1997. It is located at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library, City West campus.

Bob Hawke was Western Australia's Rhodes Scholar of 1953 and studied at Oxford University from 1953 to 1955, graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Letters. He returned to Australian in 1956 and became president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). In 1983 Mr Hawke was elected as the first South Australian born Prime Minister of Australia. He lead the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in winning three successive elections, becoming Australia’s longest serving Labor Prime Minister. He ceased to be Prime Minister in December 1991 and resigned from the Parliament in February 1992.

This archival collection includes: personal papers, speeches, photographs, realia including campaign material, and books and audio-visual materials. It also contains replicas of well-known items such as the ‘America’s Cup’ jacket which Mr Hawke wore in 1983 and the Panther motorcycle which he rode when he was a student at the University of Western Australia. It is a unique collection of scholarly and research materials and memorabilia relating to Mr Hawke’s life and career, and includes recent items from the post-Prime Ministerial era. The material complements the collection of Commonwealth records which were created by Bob Hawke during his official capacity as Prime Minister. These are held by the National Archives of Australia in Canberra.

The collection is not for loan.

For further information, please contact staff at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library or search our Archival Database.

Chris Hurford collection

The Chris Hurford collection was transferred to the UniSA library by the National Archives of Australia in 2001. It is located at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library, City West campus.

After studying at the London School of Economics, Chris Hurford worked in accountancy before entering parliament in 1969 as MHR. for Adelaide, a seat he held until his retirement in 1987.

He served as a Labor Shadow Minister for seven years and a Minister of the Hawke Government for five years. After a career spanning thirty years Chris resigned from politics and served as Australia’s Consul General in New York for four years. In retirement, Chris continues his interest in political matters, particularly the Australian Constitutional Reform.

The Hurford Collection includes: personal papers from student days until retirement from Federal Parliament, photographs, realia and audio-visual material.

The collection is not for loan.

For further information, please contact staff at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library or search our Archival Database.

Rosemary Crowley collection

The Rosemary Crowley collection was established in 2002 and is currently located at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library, City West campus.

Rosemary was the first South Australian female ALP Senator in federal parliament. She was elected in May 1983 and served until her retirement in June 2002. She was Minister for Family Services from 1993 to 1996 and was Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women in 1993.

Rosemary trained as a medical practitioner and has always been involved in community health, childcare, parent education, women's health and had a distinguished career in the political arena. She demonstrates a dedication to the principles of social justice and democracy.

She is currently a Visiting Research Fellow with the Hawke Research Institute for Sustainable Societies.

The Rosemary Crowley Collection provides evidence of a career reflecting service and commitment to the community, and includes: personal papers relating to her political life including 10 years as a member of the Hawke government and three years as a Minister, realia, books, photographs and audio-visual material.

The collection is not for loan.

For further information, please contact staff at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library or search our Archival database.

Dr Basil Hetzel collection

The Basil Hetzel Collection was established in 2003 and is located at the University’s City East campus library.

The primary purpose of the collection is to provide access for researchers to a consolidated record of the distinguished contribution by the Hon Dr Basil Hetzel AC to public health, both national and international, including his contribution to the elimination of iodine deficiency disorders through the work of the International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders.

In the 1960s Dr Hetzel led research that identified the link between iodine deficiency and brain damage in unborn children. The second half of his life has been consumed with his efforts as a public health campaigner working towards the global prevention of this problem.

Dr Hetzel has spent most of his life in Adelaide and was Chancellor of the University of South Australia from 1992 to 1998. He is the Chair and a patron of the University’s Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre.

The collection contains reports, correspondence, programs, conference proceedings, journal articles, meeting notes, photographs and other documents.

The collection is not for loan.

For further information, please contact staff at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library or search our Archival Database.

Sir Eric Neal collection

The University of South Australia established the Sir Eric Neal Collection in the University Library at Mawson Lakes in 2001. The Memorandum of Understanding for the collection was signed by Sir Eric Neal and the Vice Chancellor, Professor Denise Bradley at the ceremony for the naming of the Library as the Sir Eric Neal Library on 10 April 2001.

Sir Eric Neal trained and worked as an engineer before he served as a member of the board of several companies including Boral, John Fairfax Ltd and BHP. He was Chief Commissioner of Sydney at the end of the 1980s and was the first businessman to be appointed to the office of Governor of South Australia in 1996.

The main purpose of the collection is to provide a consolidated record of the distinguished contribution by Sir Eric Neal to Australian business and society, and to the South Australian community.

The collection is primarily for access by researchers and is located at the Sir Eric Neal Library, Mawson Lakes Campus.

The collection contains reports, correspondence, programs, invitations, photographs, books and other documents. The books on gas and engineering date from the 1860s and include items Sir Eric Neal has collected and others inherited from his father.

The collection is not for loan.

For further information, please contact staff at the Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Library or search our Archival Database.

Latest content revision: Thursday, 8 March 2012