The discovery of Miles Franklin’s last diary in 2015
When an old battered, blue suitcase, passed down through three generations of Stella Miles Franklin’s extended family, was opened in 2015 for the purposes of accessing some of the photos, the discovery of a small, red pocket diary filled with the spidery writing of one of Australia’s most loved authors was cause for considerable excitement.
I’m a distant relative of author and feminist, Miles Franklin, on my mother’s side. Miles’ favourite maternal uncle, William Augustus (Gus) Lampe of Peak Hill, is my great, great grandfather. Miles’ mother was Susannah Lampe, Gus’ sister.
I inherited the diary along with various other family memorabilia from my grandfather, Bill Lampe (grandson of Gus), via my mother. The diary was identified by our family historian, Margaret Francis of Wagga Wagga, while she had these items on loan from the family for the compilation of a third volume of the family’s history. She had seen the diary briefly in the late 1980s when my grandfather had loaned it to her with some photos. However, on the promise to not make it public, it was assumed in the intervening years the diary had made its way to the State Library of NSW.
On 8 March 2018, on behalf of Miles and with the blessing of her extended family from across NSW, who gathered in Dubbo at Macquarie Regional Library (not far from Gus’ farm at Peak Hill), her last diary chronicling the final months of her life in 1954, was gifted to the State Library of NSW to join the other 46 diaries in their collection.
Read Margaret Francis’ speech from the diary handover event. She tells how she rediscovered the diary and explains the many family connections to Miles Franklin.
Speech of Margaret Francis, Miles Franklin diary handover, Dubbo NSW, 8 March 2018
The days leading up to and immediately following the handover were a whirlwind of media interest with coverage by the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC Sydney, ABC Melbourne, ABC Perth/Western Australia, ABC Western Plains, local newspapers, and TV news – WIN, Prime7 and Channel 9. This captures just some of the media coverage about this remarkable, once in a lifetime event.
Sydney Morning Herald: 6 March 2018
ABC Afternoons (Victoria): 7 March 2018 (audio)
State Library of NSW News: 7 March 2018
Dubbo Photo News: 8 March 2018
Prime7 Central West News: 8 March (at the 12:58 mark)
Daily Liberal (Dubbo): 9 March 2018
ABC News Online: 15 March 2018
On Facebook? Check out the video on ABC Western Plains
Thanks to the staff of Macquarie Regional Library Dubbo and the State Library of NSW for their assistance and enthusiasm for ensuring the diary returned to its rightful place and for putting the spotlight on Miles Franklin’s contribution to Australian literature.
Kim V. Goldsmith 