H. G. Kippax papers, 1932-1997

fonds

1932-1997

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Clippings, Drawings, Photographs

910020

1.50 metres of textual material (10 boxes, 2 outsize boxes), some folders contain photographs

Harold Gemmell Kippax (1920-1990), journalist and theatre critic, was born in North Sydney, eldest son of Arthur Craigie Kippax and his wife, Marian Emily, nee Gibson, and nephew of Australian test cricketer Alan Kippax. He was educated at Knox Grammar School, 1933-1937. A year later he became a part-time Arts student at Sydney University, but never graduated, and joined the Sydney Morning Herald as a cadet journalist. After his cadetship he joined the Second AIF and served in the Corps of Signals, 1942-1945. He rejoined the Herald as a war correspondent in 1945 and spent the rest of his journalistic career with that newspaper until his retirement in 1989.

Kippax was posted to the Herald London office, 1946-1950, serving as a foreign correspondent in Germany, Greece, Spain and Portugal. He was London editor and manager, 1949-1950, before returning to Sydney as News Editor, 1950-1954. From 1954-1957 he was again abroad reporting from London, Russia, the Middle East, covering the Suez Crisis in 1956, and France. From 1958 he held a number of senior positions at the Herald: theatre critic, 1966-1974, 1977-1989; literary editor, 1965-1968; associate editor, 1971-1979; and editorial page editor, 1979-1983. He was drama critic, writing under the pseudonym Brek, for the independent fortnightly journal Nation, 1958-1966. During the 1980s he began work on an unpublished manuscript, ‘One Man’s View: Sydney Theatres 1958-1984’, a collection of his theatre reviews with commentary.

Kippax served on the advisory boards of the Commonwealth Literary Fund, 1971-1972, and the Encyclopaedia Britannica Awards, 1970-1984. In 1988 he was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for his services to theatre in Australia.

Reference:
Compiled from the collection

This collection documents the career of distinguished Australian print journalist, H. G. Kippax. His correspondence mainly relates to his diverse reporting and commentary for The Sydney Morning Herald, including his role as the newspaper’s leading theatre and drama critic. Among his correspondents are actors, authors, arts administrators, directors and producers, playwrights and politicians. The collection features scrapbooks and newscuttings of his journalism at home, including his reviews, and from abroad, including his reporting as a foreign correspondent in the early postwar years in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Central Asia and America.

SERIES 01
H. G. Kippax correspondence, 1936-1992

SERIES 02
H. G. Kippax scrapbooks of journalism, 1939-1950

SERIES 03
Series 03: H. G. Kippax papers relating to assignments as a foreign correspondent, 1946-1956

SERIES 04
H. G. Kippax notebooks, 1958-1989

SERIES 05
H. G. Kippax theatre and drama reviews, 1964-1993

SERIES 06
H. G. Kippax papers relating to 'One Man's View: Sydney Theatres 1958-1984', 1958-1997

SERIES 07
H. G. Kippax miscellaneous papers, 1932-1974

Partly restricted: - -