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| 2018.0063 [AUSTRALIA AND CAVE CREEK] |
| Date Range of Records: |
1961-2012 |
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The Greer Archive has been made available due to its historical and research importance. Statements which form part of the collection are not made on behalf of the University and do not represent the University’s views. It contains material that some researchers might find confronting. This includes: Explicit language and images that reflect either the attitudes of the era in which the material was originally published or the views of the creators of the material but may not be considered appropriate today. Names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in published and unpublished printed material, audio recordings and photographs. Graphic descriptions of medical conditions and treatment.
This series contains records that document Germaine Greer’s work in and about Australia, including the 2002 purchase and development of 65 hectares of ‘steep country, surrounded on the north by the Natural Bridge section of the Springbrook National Park’. Greer called the property Cave Creek and the series holds records about the activities of the Cave Creek Rainforest Rehabilitation Scheme staff, including work diaries, plant lists and instructions from Greer. One document begins ‘Fax from your Leader’ (2018.0063.00026). Several folders relate to plans for a house on the site.
The other strand of records are remnants of a chronological series of files Greer labelled ‘Australia’ – a title that designated either content related to Australia and Australians or work done in Australia itself – and Greer’s 1997 inventory suggests that these records were once housed together in what she called Australia drawers. These files did not remain co-located and the Australia files for 1971-75 are held in the Early Years series (2014.0044) while Australia files for 1979 and 1987-89 are in Major works (2014.0045).
The earliest Australia file is Australia 1969 and it holds newsletters, flyers and other ephemera relating to Australians and New Zealanders Against the Vietnam War (ANZVW), a group of London-based activists who also supported Aboriginal land rights movements. Other Australia files contain multiple copies of schedules for Greer’s trips to Australia for professional commitments, such as an invitation to deliver a keynote at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 1997 or a gig filling in for John Laws on his 2GB News Talk show in 1987. Australia 1982 contains drafts of 'The Reality Behind Australomania', an article Greer wrote for The Observer.
A file Greer labelled Australia 86 and R. V. Short contains letters between Germaine Greer and Professor Roger Short, a reproductive biologist at Monash University as well as copies of Professor Short’s research papers on fertility and infertility.
The series contains a large amount of material relating to Aboriginal Australians and Aboriginal Australia. Predominant themes are Aboriginal land rights (including the 1996 Wik decision), Aboriginal art and Aboriginal artists and reconciliation. Greer has kept catalogues of art shows and auctions and significant amounts of ephemera produced by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AITSIC), National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title and by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who were campaigning to protect country from uranium mining, nuclear waste dumps, disrespectful tourists and more.
Several files hold records relating to Beauty and Consolation, a TV documentary (for Dutch station VPRO) that explored the wildflowers of Western Australia, the batik textile works of Aboriginal women artists at Utopia in the Northern Territory, and Greer’s relationship with her sister Jane. Further records on this program are in the Television series (2017.0002.00319).
Records in this series connect with other material across the archive. For instance, Greer’s book White Beech: The Rainforest Years (Bloomsbury, 2014) tells the story of Greer’s hunt for a suitable property in Australia and the establishment of a rehabilitation scheme for the forest. Records relating to the research and production of this book are held in the Major Works series (see, especially 2014.0045.00530-571) and Cave Creek is both a site for recording and a subject of discussion in many records in Audio Recordings Produced and Received by Greer series (2014.0040). Papers from Cave Creek (2018.0061) contains correspondence with the rainforest workforce and related administrative paperwork. |
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| 4 units (0.68m) |
| Collection Category: |
Culture and the Arts, individuals |
| Access Conditions: |
Access: Restricted |
| Finding Aids: |
Yes listed ONLINE |
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