The National Gallery of Victoria’s current exhibition Japonisme: Japan and the Birth of Modern Art (closing on 28th October) explores and showcases the influence of Japanese art in the West, with displays of art from England, Paris, the United States and even Australia.
Raymond Priestley was a significant figure across a number of fields. He was born on 20 July 1886 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Educated at Tewkesbury Grammar School, where his father was headmaster, Priestley went on to read geology at University College, Bristol (1905-1907). Before the completion of his degree, he was invited to serve as a geologist working in association with Edgeworth David upon the British Antarctica ‘Nimrod’ Expedition (1907-1909) led by Sir Ernest Shackleton. Continue reading “The Raymond Priestley diaries”
Ravando
Despite his short period (1935-38) in Melbourne, Sir Raymond Priestley made significant reforms at the University of Melbourne. As the first salaried Vice-Chancellor, his boldness and visionary ideas completely changed the direction of the University during the tumultuous years of the 1930s and established his prominence as the country’s most charismatic, enigmatic, and invigorating educationist. Many stories and achievements shine through his diaries.
Christopher Orrell
To some a diary may serve as a memory aid, or as a place to collect their innermost thoughts. To others it may function as a type of autobiography, written for an audience with the intention of future publication. Raymond Priestley’s diary is of this latter type. It records the daily happenings of Priestley’s life but they carry the conviction that they will at some time be presented to future readers. Indeed, the diaries were eventually edited and published as The Diary of a Vice-Chancellor.[1] Continue reading “Diary Entry Dated February 3rd, 1935”
Alice Margrison
Antarctic explorer and University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Raymond Priestley (1886-1974) kept a meticulous diary detailing his daily activities. This entry comes from the first volume of his “Australian diary” (item no. 1973.0079.00002), covering his activities on Wednesday January 30, 1935. The diary is typewritten, on one side of each page. It appears that Priestly added his own page numbers in handwriting in the top right-hand corner of each page. He also seems have been having trouble with his typewriter, as words have been corrected by hand, with blue ink, replacing letters skipped by the typewriter or cropped by the pages’ edges. Continue reading “An Antarctic joke and the journey to Australia”
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