Series 02: Fairfax Family history, ca. 1671-ca. 1997

MLMSS 9534/Boxes 38-65
PXB 770
PXB 771
MIN 528
MIN 529
MIN 530
MIN 531
MIN 532
ON 610

series

ca. 1671-ca. 1997

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Photographs

1071059

4.95 metres of textual and graphic material (27 boxes, 1 outsize box)
1 photographic print - 21 x 16 cm - albumen
1 photographic print - 23.5 x 18.5 cm - albumen
2 photographs - 12 x 9.5 cm - glass
1 photographic print - 12 x 10 cm - albumen
1 photograph - 15 x 12 cm - glass
1 negative - 10 x 10 cm - glass

James Reading Fairfax (1834-1819)
James Reading Fairfax, Caroline Simpson's great-grandfather, was a partner in John Fairfax and Sons from 1856 to 1916 and a director of John Fairfax and Sons Ltd from 1916 until his death in 1919. He became the senior proprietor after the death of his father John Fairfax in 1875. He and his wife Lucy lived at Ginahgulla, a Gothic Revival house at Bellevue Hill, and had a summer residence at Woodside, near Moss Vale. Together, at first accompanied by their seven children they made four extended overseas tours: in 1872 (for one year), 1881 (two and a half years), 1889 (two and a half years) and 1899 (three years). In the course of their travels they visited every continent of the world. Sir James, in Gavin Souter's words, was 'a pillar not only of the Congregational Church, but also of Sydney's commercial, social and artistic life'.

James Oswald Fairfax
Caroline Simpson's grandfather Sir James Oswald Fairfax (1863-1928) married Mabel Hixson (1871-1965). He was a partner in the family company from 1889 to 1916 and a director from 1916 to 1928. Like his father James Reading Fairfax, James Oswald was a prominent figure in Sydney business and society. His wife Mabel was the great-granddaughter of Simeon Lord and the daughter of Captain Francis Hixson, commandant of the New South Wales Naval Brigade.

BOXES 38-39
Sydney Morning Herald material. Four photograph albums of events (approx. 40-50 pp. of photographs in each album) commemorating The Sydney Morning Herald's sesquicentenary, 14 April 1981. Events in Albums: Opening of Decades of Australian Art exhibition, 9 April 1981. Sydney Morning Herald 150th Anniversary Employees' Picnic, 5 April 1981. Opening of Fairfax Lookout, North Head, 26 April 1981. Sydney Morning Herald 150th Anniversary Supplement, 14 April 1981. 1 large envelope of press clippings, reports, some prospectuses regarding Warwick Fairfax's attempted takeover, late 1980s

BOX 40
Betty Fairfax, Wilson and Budge Family material. Documents relating to Betty Fairfax (Sir Warwick Fairfax's first wife) and her relations the Wilson and Budge families. Contents: Approximately 200 loose, family photographs, some captioned, ca. 1900 onwards
Invitations to Fairfax family functions. Six small prayer books for church services (1 inscribed 'Clair Budge, Cartona, Liverpool Road, Summer Hill'. General family history documents - burial locations, birth certificates, settlement of estates. Small amount of documentation regarding Warwick Fairfax and attempted takeover, late 1980s

BOXES 41-49
Sydney Morning Herald and Fairfax Family material including: 14 folders and letter boxes of research material regarding the Fairfaxes: copies of photographs, press clippings, correspondence, family tree, articles, and ephemera. 1 letter box re Heralds and Angels by Gavin Souter, correspondence, ephemera, press clippings, 1991 (the book was commissioned by John Fairfax Ltd to commemorate 150 years of the Fairfax family proprietorship, Warwick Fairfax's takeover bid discussed in the book resulted in the newspaper going into receivership and the family lost control after 149 years, 10 months and 2 days). 'A Defence of a Treatise Entitled the Gospel of Christ' by Andrew Fuller, 1787. John Fairfax's copy with his signature. Three 19th century postcard albums of portraits of famous people, Fairfax family members, some images with handwritten captions. Albums are not full, bindings are cracked and loose and clasps broken. 1 photograph album (approx. 60 photographs) of street scenes, some portraits from Australia; most labelled. Portraits not identified. 1 photograph album containing mostly postcards, most of scenes in Europe, some labelled; remaining photographs in album not labelled. Album in very poor condition, with no binding.

(Budge Family portraits transferred from BOX 43 to PXB 770 and PXB 771. BOX 48 Fairfax Family framed miniatures and Wilson Family glass plate negative transferred to MIN 528-532 and ON 610)

BOXES 50-55
James R. Fairfax diaries:
24 August 1881 to 23 May 1882, 223 pp.
23 May 1882 to 3 February 1883, 178 pp.
4 February 1883 - 9 August 1883, 182 pp.
9 August 1883 - 27 March 1884, 135 pp.
2 November 1888-29 June 1889, 130 pp.
4 February 1891 to 10 November 1891, 148 pp.
2 December 1899 to 29 August 1900, 60 pp.
30 August 1900 to 30 December 1901, 148 pp.
1 January 1902 to 16 October 1902, 104 pp.

James Reading Fairfax research material. Handwritten 19th and 20th century Fairfax material - exercise books, notebooks. Copies - Private letter book of J. R. Fairfax, 1881-1887, 500 pp., indexed. Copies of letters from J. R. Fairfax to his father, 31st January 1865-2nd June 1865, approx. 100 pp. Copies of letters from J. R. Fairfax to his father, 2nd June 1865-22nd September 1865, approx. 100 pp. Copies and carbons of letters by James R. Fairfax, 1912, approx. 50 pp. Diary of James R. Fairfax beginning 'Journal of a Passage to Europe', 8th October 1872-29th November 1873, 172 pp. 7 exercise books of handwritten notes, in what appears to be James R. Fairfax's hand, on his father James Fairfax (2 books) and his brother Charles Fairfax; 3 books of memoirs beginning 'My birth and childhood...', and another shorter book beginning 'Prince Alfred Hospital Ball...' Travel journal beginning 1872 - foolscap book with printed single column down the left hand side of the page and handwritten corrections facing the printed text. Notebook marked "Diary of Church Services 1820-1850", [water damaged]. Privately printed commemorative book for the service of Sir James Reading Fairfax, 17th October 1834- 28th March 1919, 36 pp. 2 bundles of loose family letters, condolences, travel, family news, approx. 150 letters, ca. 1850s-1920s. 8 bundles of photocopied research material on Fairfax family. 1 bundle of research material re 'Woodside', Moss Vale.

BOXES 56-59
James Oswald Fairfax material
Folder 1: Simeon Lord and the Hixson family research material. Folder 2: Family history information regarding the Fairfax and Hixson families; also documents relating to Fairwater where the Fairfaxes lived. Folder 3: Photographs of Sir James Oswald and Lady Fairfax and of Fairwater; also Will of Lady Fairfax. Folder 4: Research material re Fairwater, Double Bay, a Horbury Hunt designed home. Envelope re the Fairfax holiday house Sospel at Leura; press clippings and photographs. Typescript report re Fairwater, no author, undated. Photocopies of articles re death of Sir James Fairfax. Mabel Hixson's sketchbook. Framed photograph of Lady Fairfax. Box of menu cards, place cards and similar items. Small box of negatives taken by Mabel Fairfax in the 1930s at Fairwater and Sospel showing Warwick Fairfax and his children Caroline and James. Envelope of letters received by Lady Fairfax and documents relating to her, 1880s-1951, approx. 30 items including cards. Small box of notes, press clippings and letters relating to Lady Fairfax. Birthday Book with a few annotations, e.g. 'Archie birthday' [binding disintegrated]
Mabel Hixson diary, 2 March to 12 November 1886 of trip and visit to England. Publications: Mabel's Holy Bible and Mabel's Book of Common Prayer; two other copies of the Book of Common Prayer, one a miniature version. Box file: Fairwater and Joseph Family

BOXES 60-62
Fairfax Family material. Two copies of microfilm of Emily Fairfax Album 1846, held by the Mitchell Library. Box file of documents relating to John Hubert Fairfax (brother of James Oswald), his son Sir Vincent Fairfax (1909-1993) and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation. Box file of documents relating to Sir James Oswald Fairfax: press clippings, photographs, speeches. Folder of 20 Fairfax family photographs, some identified on the verso. Loose photocopies. Documents re 'The Jungle', Mt Tomah, Fairfax family property which became a reserve in 1929 and is now part of the Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens. MA thesis by Stuart Johnson, Macquarie University, re John Fairfax and the Sydney Morning Herald, 1841-1877 (1999).

BOXES 63-64
Sir Warwick Fairfax material. Box of documents relating to Caroline Simpson's father. Box file containing typescripts of 3 plays by Warwick Fairfax, 'A Victorian Marriage', 'Vintage for Heroes' and 'The Bishop's Wife', together with programmes for performances of the plays. Envelope containing press clippings, biographical notes and obituaries for Sir Warwick Fairfax. Envelope of programmes and press clippings re ballerina Helen Kirsova with whom Warwick Fairfax had an affair for several years. Typescript copy of James Fairfax, 'Some Recollections of Old Sydney', paper presented to Royal Australian Historical Society 1918, 31 pp. Typescript manuscript by Warwick Fairfax, 'The Fairfaxes of Barford', 31 pp., original plus photocopy. Publication: Warwick Fairfax, 'Metaphysics of the Mystic', Sydney, April, 1947. Box file re Fairfax family reunion, 25 March 2001, organised by Caroline and Phillip Simpson. Contents include correspondence, photographs, speeches.

BOX 65
Portrait of Thomas Fairfax, ca. 1671. Large photographic portrait of James Reading and Lucy Fairfax with their family, ca. 1915. Samuel Cook research material in large envelope, including farewell concert program, 1906. Rookwood cemetery invoices, a. 1996. Large photographic portrait of James Fairfax with dog, 'Juno', by Rex Dupain, 1997.

PXB 770
Hand painted albumen print portrait of Mrs Alexander Budge (b. ca. 1850) Image is housed in an oval frame, 21 x 16 cm, ca. 1891

PXB 771
Hand painted albumen print portrait of Mrs Alexander Budge (b. ca. 1850) Image is housed in an oval frame, 23.5 x 18.5 cm, ca. 1891

MIN 528
Ambrotype portrait of David Ramsay (b. ca. 1830) Image is housed in a leather case frame with clasps, missing its front cover, 12 x 9.5 cm., ca. 1860

MIN 529
Ambrotype portrait of Lindsay or Robert Wilson (b. ca. 1884) Certified by Caroline Simpson in 1973. Image is housed in an embossed thermoplastic case with clasps, 12 x 9.5 cm, ca. 1905

MIN 530
Hand tinted albumen print portrait of a unidentified young woman. Image is housed in a hinged leather case, 12 x 10 cm, ca. 1900

MIN 531
Hand tinted Ambrotype family portrait of Felix Wilson or his son William Joshua Wilson (b. 1843) and Jessie Elizabeth nee Shepherd with two young girls and and infant boy, ca. 1882. Certified by Caroline Simpson in 1973, and annotated 'two girls died of Diptheria, David Wilson (b. ca. 1879), W. Hardy Wilson Family.' Image is housed in a leather case with clasps, 15 x 12 cm.

MIN 532
Four minature black and white photographs in brass oval frames, ca. 1966 - ca. 1976. Portraits of unidentified children, possibly Caroline Simpson's four children, Louise, Alice, Emily and Edward. With a brass stand fashioned as a tree.

ON 610
Glass negative of Wilson Family, ca. 1900, 10 x 10 cm.

This material is held offsite and is usually available after 4pm on the next business day. Please submit your request through Ask a Librarian - Applies to MLMSS 9534/Boxes 38-65
Access via appointment - Applies to MIN 528-MIN 532