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Herbert C. Jaffa Archive

At the age of twenty-one, Herbert Jaffa (12 May 1920 - 30 December 2013) was stationed in Townsville for eight months during 1942 with his US Army Signals Unit. In 1980, as Emeritus Professor of Humanities at New York University, he returned to Townsville to present a lecture series on Australian literature at James Cook University.

These records consist of the manuscript of “The Townsville Lectures” (published in 1992 as Townsville at War: a Soldier Remembers), correspondence relating to the manuscript, negotiations concerning its publication and other research material.

Archive Location: 288L

 

Detailed Listing

Correspondence:

HJ/CORR/1 Letter to Professor Donat Gallagher offering mss of The Townsville Lectures to the Delamothe [North Queensland] Collection. 17 June 1991. 1p.

HJ/CORR/2 Letter to Professor Donat Gallagher confirming intended donation of mss. 15 July 1991. 1p.

HJ/CORR/3 Photocopy of letter to Professor A.J. Hassall approving publication of The Townsville Lectures by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies. 7 February 1992. 1p.

HJ/CORR/4 Handwritten memorandum from Don Gallagher to Mr. R. Store, accompanying donation of Herbert Jaffa's letters and confirming Jaffa's current address. 28 February 1992. 1p.

HJ/CORR/5 Letter to Professor Donat Gallagher commenting on: publication of an excerpt from Townsville at War in 50 something [magazine]; Antipodes (published by the American Association of Australian Literary Studies) in particular a recent issue containing work relating to Kenneth Slessor; the editing of Townsville at War; the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies; a proposed donation of his correspondence with Australian writers and others. 30 March 1 992. 2p.

HJ/CORR/6 Letter to Shiranthi Siyambalapitiya, James Cook University Library, accompanying donation of research material relating to the mss of Townsville at War. 8 March 1993. 2p.

HJ/CORR/7-17 Correspondence between the Dinsmore and Jaffa families, 1943 to about 1960. Herbert Jaffa has accompanied each letter or fragment with an explanatory note, written in 1993. Item Number 17 includes three (3) postcards of Townsville around 1960.

Other research material:

HJ/MAG Magazine 50 something Number 2, February/March 1992 containing 'A wartime memory' on pp. 9 and 32, being an excerpt from Townsville at War.

HJ/PP/1 Invitation to Professor and Mrs. Jaffa to attend a Reception to Commemorate the Battle of the Coral Sea, on 11 May [1992] at Brooklyn, New York. Also resume of the Battle of the Coral Sea. Invitation enclosed in folded card.

HJ/PP/2 Photocopy of dedication to Harry Dinsmore's family, in Jaffa's book, Kenneth Slessor. 1p.

HJ/PP/3-4 Newspaper clippings concerning Harry Dinsmore. Approximate date 1960. 2p. Plus explanatory note written by Jaffa in 1993.

HJ/PP/5 Jaffa's handwritten notes (presumably made in 1980) taken from Townsville City Council minutes of meetings in 1942. 9p. Plus explanatory note written in 1993.

HJ/PP/6 Typewritten report establishing dates of U.S. Army Force's presence in Townsville during World War 2. 18 June 1960. 1p.

HJ/PP/7 USAF regulation Number 10-10, concerning marriage of Military personnel. 27 March 1943. 1p. (Including verso).

Book Reviews:

HJ/REV/1 Photocopy of review by Clement Semmler of Townsville at War in The Courier Mail, 11 July 1992. 1p.

HJ/REV/2 Photocopy of review by Thomas Shapcott of Townsville at War in Australian Book Review, Number 143, August 1992. 1p.

HJ/REV/3 Photocopy of publisher's press release including summaries of reviews of Kenneth Slessor, by Herbert Jaffa. 1971. 2p.

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