Collection 22: John Gerard Hardy papers, 1938-1996

MLMSS 9183

sub-fonds

1938-1996

Textual Records, Clippings

457584

1.19 metres of textual material (7 boxes)

John Gerard Hardy (1907-1996), businessman, poultry farmer and journalist, born Hans-Gerhardt Hirthe in Germany, arrived in Australia in 1939. He had studied at Leipzig, Oxford and Heidelberg Universities having graduated in Economics and Law. He was briefly interned during the war, then released to support the war effort in food production. He started a poultry farm near Liverpool, in south-western Sydney, and after the war moved to Cromer where he expanded his thriving business. He drew on his commercial ventures to publish Laying Batteries in Australia in 1954. An injury to his back forced him to give up farming. Hardy turned to the field of public relations and became Research Director of Eric White & Associates. He spoke English, French, German and Italian fluently. In 1962 he travelled to Europe to study economic conditions and scout for opportunities to publicise business information about Australia. During his tour he became Australasian Correspondent for the German newspapers Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung and Neue Zuricher Zeitung. In 1963 he edited the International Report, published by the Australian Foreign News Service. Aryan Apocrypha is Hardy's account of his harrowing experiences with the Nazi regime that precipitated his exodus from Germany, written under the nom-de-plume of William Parson and published after his death by his widow, Lilian Hardy, in 1999.

Collection 22: John Gerard Hardy papers, 1938-1996. The collection comprises personal and business correspondence, literary papers, appointment diaries and notebooks. Several folders include correspondence with Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung, 1965-1985, and associated newscuttings of articles and notes submitted by Hardy.

BOX 1
Australian Foreign News Services account book, 1963-1965
Correspondence and payment statements in German and English, mainly relating to German newspapers Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung and Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1962-1985
Typescript draft with annotations: ‘Laying Batteries in Australia’ / John G. Hardy, n.d.
Published copy of ‘Laying Batteries in Australia’ / by John G. Hardy, Sydney : Poultry Pty. Ltd, [1954]
Typescript literary manuscript with annotations: 'Alfred Nobel: radio portrait of a practical idealist’ by John Gerard Hardy, 1945
'Aryan Apocrypha' by John G. Hardy, photocopy of typescript manuscript with annotations: foreword and pages 1-50
Account book: income tax returns, from 1978-79 to 1983-84
Folder of newscuttings, mainly items submitted by Hardy to Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1966-1972
Photocopies of business cards, being Hardy’s business contacts, n.d.
Folder of Hardy’s biographies of Disraeli, Wakefield etc., n.d.
Photocopy of birth certificate for Hans Gerhard Hirthe, born 1907, issued 19 June 1938

BOX 2
Folder of newscuttings, mainly items submitted by Hardy to Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1963-1971
Folder of papers concerning the Swiss Australian Society including correspondence, membership and address lists, financial statements, 1964-1966
Folder of newscuttings and correspondence mainly relating to items submitted by Hardy to Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung and Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1962-1986

BOX 3
Newscuttings, mainly items submitted by Hardy to Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung and Neue Zuricher Zeitung, 1982-1986

BOX 4
Folder of newscuttings, mainly items submitted by Hardy to Frankfuerter Allegemeiner Zeitung, 1974-1976

BOX 5
Appointment diaries, 1960; 1984; 1991-1992
Account book: income from eggs, 1 July 1953-30 June 1959; loose pages for 1962-1963
3 folders of correspondence and notes concerning stamp auctions and sales, 1979-1988
Newscuttings concerning the Australian share market, 1982-1987
Miscellaneous correspondence, newsletters and notebooks, including PNG visit, 1976-1995

BOX 6
Copies of ‘International report: a supplement devoted exclusively to foreign news for Australia’, edited by Hardy, 17 May 1963-30 Apr. 1965
General personal and business correspondence in German and English, 1969-1996
Folder of correspondence labelled ‘West-German embassy’, 1968-1973

BOX 7
Correspondence and reports relating to the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, including ‘Half-yearly economic abstracts for Australia and New Zealand’, market research and surveys relating to the Australian economy and travel, 1977-1982
Typescript literary manuscript with annotations ‘The time factor: a play in one or three acts’ by John Gerard Hardy, 1959
‘Technique of writing for radio’ study units, n.d.
List of ‘Foreign correspondents in Australia’, Public Information Office, Dept. of Foreign Affairs, Canberra, July 1976

English, German

Copyright status:: In copyright
Approval for reproduction required:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Information upgraded as part of the Manuscripts Unprocessed eRecords project 2013-2014

A copy of the book, Aryan Apocrypha (Henley Beach, S. Aust. : Seaview Press, 1999), is held in the Mitchell Library printed collection at 940.548143/2