Box 01-03: Fry family papers of James Arthur Barrett Fry, 1860 - 1926

MLMSS 1159 ADD-ON 2076/Boxes 1-2
MLMSS 1159 ADD-ON 2076/Box 3X

file

1860-1926

127571

James Arthur Barrett Fry (known as Arthur) was born in London, England in 1850, the son of James Knight Fry and Amelia Fry (nee Barrett). In 1861 the family emigrated to New Zealand before coming to Australia in 1866. Arthur Fry worked as a jackaroo at Mitchell's Creek Station in Victoria and then as a shearer (1869-1875) in NSW and Victoria; during this time he taught himself shorthand. He joined the NSW Civil Service in 1876, employed as a correspondence clerk with the General Post Office and from 1896 until retirement in 1917 with the Dept. of Mines and Agriculture. In 1892 he accompanied the NSW governor, the Earl of Jersey, and the Postmaster General, John Kidd on a tour of NSW and Victoria. He was appointed to the Public Service Board of Examiners in 1900. He wrote for the Bulletin in its early years, was a regular contributor to the Public Service Journal (later Red Tape) and, a keen amateur cyclist, was a member of the Sydney Bicycle Club. In May 1890 he married Caroline Fraser McManamey; they had six children, Dorothy, Dene Barrett, Alan Fraser, Hazel, Wilga, and James Rollo. The family lived in Sydney, at Lewisham until 1900, then at Chatswood until 1903 when they moved to "Denegully", the house built for them at Lindfield. Arthur Fry died in Sydney in 1926.

BOX 1
1860 - 1924; Correspondence, mainly letters received, 1880 - 1924; together with letters written by Arthur Fry to his parents: from school, 1860, and from Yanko Station, NSW, 1869; correspondents include : his uncle, John Hall (1873-1890); J.F.Archibald and W.H.Traill of The Bulletin (1880-1902, undated); his wife, Carrie Fry (mainly courtship letters, Dec.1889 - May 1890); his sisters, Edith and Katie Fry (mainly letters written during their trips to Europe in 1888-1889, 1913-1914); John Osborne (1900-1906); D.C.McLachlan (1904); his children, Dorothy [most of the letters from Dorothy are filed with Carrie Fry's papers], Dene, Alan and Rollo (1901-1919); his nephews Reg and Herbert Fry (1917-1918); Ellis Troughton (1918-1919). Most of the letters 1917-1924 concern his son Dene after his death in France and are from Dene's former colleagues and friends at The Australian Museum, The University of Sydney, the Linnean Society of NSW, the Queensland Museum, The Royal Society of Queensland, etc.; some request biographical information for journal articles and obituaries and copies of Arthur Fry's replies are included

1879 - 1922; Poems and articles written by Arthur Fry for newspapers and magazines, including poems published in The Bulletin, articles and poems published in The Public Service Journal under the pseudonym "Arky Parks", an article about his experiences as a shearer, 'Shearing Fifty Years Ago' published in The Sydney Morning Herald in three parts, 1922-23

1916 - 1919; Papers concerning Alan and Dene Fry, mainly re their military service and deaths in WWI, including biographical notes by Arthur Fry, obituaries, telegram reporting of Alan Fry's death, copy of a letter from the hospital in France where Dene died, together with letters written by Alan and Dene, 1916-17, which the recipients sent on to the family after their deaths

1900 - 1926; Papers re purchase of five acres of land at Lindfield and its later subdivision, and 'Denegully', the house built there, including : correspondence and accounts from architect, James Peddle; valuations, receipts, etc, re council rates; together with subdivision plans for Mackenzie Estate, Lindfield, 1907 and Heart of Lindfield Estate, 1911

1915 - 1922; 'War speeches and meetings at Lindfield', being typescript reports of meetings and functions including : 'Farewell to Lindfield Recruits', 18 September 1915; 'Soldiers' Memorial for Lindfield', public meeting, 8 October [1917?], 'Opening the Soldiers' Memorial Gates at Lindfield', 4 November 1922

BOX 2
1860 - 1926; Miscellaneous papers, including : certificates; manuscript maps showing routes travelled when shearing in NSW and Victoria, ca.1869-1875; Civil Service examination papers, 1876; poems collected or copied by Arthur Fry

1887 - 1924; Newscuttings: World War I, 1914-1925; bicycle clubs, 1887-1889; various, 1902-1923

1895 - 1925; Printed material, including : Public Service examination papers for Shorthand Writers, Typists, Clerical Officers, 1899-1903; Sydney Bicycle Club Rules and Annual Report, 1900; 'The Great War - Speech delivered by the Rt. Hon. David Lloyd George, M.P. at the Queen's Hall, London, on September 19th, 1914', Sydney : NSW Bookstall Co.; 'Anzac Bulletin', 18 October 1916; 'The Anzac book / written and illustrated in Gallipoli by The Men of Anzac', Cassell & Co., 1916 'Catalogue of an Exhibition of War Sketches ... By Ex-Bombardier M.N.Waller. Anthony Hordern & Sons Ltd. Fine Art Gallery ... December 1918'; 'The Third Battalion Magazine', August 1918; 'The Cologne Post : a daily paper published by the Army of the Rhine', 3 April, 1919; 'Hermes', November 1917, August 1918; 'Zoology and things / by Charles Turner', Sydney : Gordon & Gotch, 189-?, with a note from J.F.Archibald pasted inside front cover

18--, 1888, 1903; Associated family papers : 'Narrative of my travels and imprisonment in France' [1808-9], original manuscript by Capt. John William Barrett (Arthur Fry's grandfather) with typescript transcription by Arthur Fry [first page of original is missing, title from transcription]; letter, 1888, to Herbert Fry (Arthur's brother) from John Hall; postcards, 1903, to Herbert and Reg Fry from Mabel S-

BOX 3X
1884 - 1900; Official programmes for various bicycle club race meetings, amateur athletic club sports meetings, highland gatherings, etc., including Sydney Bicycle Club, Melbourne Bicycle Club, NSW Cyclists Union, League of NSW Wheelmen, Sydney Amateur Athletic Club, Sydney High School Amateur Athletic Club, Public Schools' Amateur Athletic Club, Teachers' Amateur Athletic Club, Patriotic Sports Club, 21 February 1900

See also James Arthur Fry papers, 1861-1917, at MLMSS 1159/1-6 (CY reels 992, 2131-2132)

Private Lives: Families of N.S.W. - State Library of New South Wales (1 January, 2001 - 3 February, 2002)