Agency:
Geoffrey Thomas Stilwell
Agency Number:
Start Date:
07 Jan 1931
End Date:
11 Mar 2000
Description:
Geoffrey Thomas Stilwell, AM, BA, ALIA was the Curator of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts at the State Library of Tasmania, Hobart. He was born in 1931 and died in Hobart 11 March 2000. ;;He grew up at Ranelagh, where his family farmed apples and hops. He was educated at The Hutchins School and from a very early age developed a great interest in and deep genealogical knowledge of Tasmanian colonial families. His interests were expressed in later life in the restoration of his home, an elegant stone Georgian cottage at 351 Liverpool Street, Hobart which he purchased in 1963. ;;His encyclopaedic knowledge of Tasmanian art, decorative arts as well as history and genealogy was an invaluable resource to historians.;;He first joined the staff of the State Library of Tasmania on 21 February 1949 but resigned to undertake an Arts degree in 1954 at the University of Tasmania. He then worked as a cataloguer in the Mitchell Library in Sydney and at Bathurst Teachers College, before a working holiday in Europe. He joined the staff of the Archives Office at the State Library of Tasmania in 1959, and on the sudden death of the State Archivist Peter Eldershaw in 1967 he was acting State Archivist for some months. In 1966 he was appointed Special Collections Librarian in charge of the W. L. Crowther and Tasmanian Collection and the recently acquired Allport bequest which he supervised moving from 'Cedar Court' in Sandy Bay to a purpose-built museum within the State Library of Tasmania building. The acquisition of items for the State Library's collection from the Launceston- based Tasmanian collection of Dr Clifford Craig in 1975 was also a major undertaking. He was appointed Curator of the Allport collection in 1984, a position he held until his retirement in 1995.;;His leisure time was largely spent on historical matters. He was a founding member of the Southern Regional Committee of the National Trust in 1963, where he made a notable contribution to the Building Classification and the 'Runnymede' Committees and was a co-author of the trust's book 'Priceless Heritage', a trustee at Narryna Folk Museum from 1979, a founding member of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association in 1951 and a committee member since 1959, secretary from 1961 - 1968 and later vice-chairman, a member of the working party of the Australian Dictionary of Biography and a member of the Nomenclature Board from 1972 and Liaison Officer for Tasmania for the Australian Dictionary of Australian Artists from 1980 until publication in 1992.;;In 1988 he was awarded an AM and the following year the State Library organised an oral history recording program conducted with Geoffrey by Joan Buckie. In 1992 'Tasmanian Insights, a festschrift', a collection of essays by local, interstate and overseas authors who had benefitted from Geoffrey's research and editorial assistance, was published by the State Library of Tasmania.;;;;This agency registration includes many series that were given to Geoffrey by friends and acquaintances because of his well-known interest in Tasmanian history. Many such donations he passed to the Archives Office in his official capacity and he was able to provide details of the donors. If that is the case the records have been registered under the relevant creating agency. Where Geoffrey acquired material in a private capacity these have been included here and in this respect Geoffrey Stilwell maybe seen as a "Collector"
Information Sources:
THRA Papers and Proceedings Vol47 No3;;State Library of Tasmania Newsletter - April 2000 - page 10 article by Gillian Winter, Tasmaniana Library.
Related Agencies:
Francomb Family (NG390) | 01 Jan 1870 |
State Library of Tasmania (TA34) | 01 Jan 1943 | 31 Dec 2007 |
Series Created By Agency:
NS6232 Hollow Book |
NS2825 Card Index Compiled by G.T. Stilwell of Tasmanian Birth, Death and Marriage Notices in Hobart Town Courier and Some Other Colonial Newpapers. | 01 Jan 1816 | 31 Dec 1908 |
NS1152 Summary of the Title to Land Kelly Street Weelington (Later Waterloo) Streets Battery Point | 08 Apr 1839 |
NS6188 Deeds to 351 Liverpool Street | 17 Apr 1845 | 07 Nov 1968 |
NS932 Plan of Cottage Green, Property of Dr Richardson - to Be Auctioned by Thomas Lowes | 29 Dec 1852 |
NS6193 Family Diaries | 01 Jan 1853 | 31 Oct 1956 |
NS453 Copies of Letters from Lady Jane Franklin to Mr Thomas Stilwell | 01 Jan 1863 | 31 Dec 1865 |
NS1383 Notes for an Article, Letters and Photographs of the Francomb/ Stilwell Families | 01 Jan 1870 | 31 Dec 1974 |
NS858 Diary of Mr Bacon of Oatlands | 01 Jan 1873 | 31 Dec 1879 |
NS2824 Card Index to International Exhibition Season Ticket Holders, Hobart 1894 - 1895 | 01 Jan 1894 | 31 Dec 1895 |
NS6197 Family Photographs | 01 Jan 1897 | 31 Dec 1989 |
NS6195 Personal Papers | 01 Aug 1906 | 31 Dec 2000 |
NS696 Family Photograph Albums | 01 Jan 1915 | 31 Dec 1925 |
NS6194 Notebooks and Albums | 01 Jan 1920 | 31 Dec 1959 |
NS697 Notebook of Notices Read in Church by a Roman Catholic Minister in the Forth Area | 14 Apr 1946 | 01 Dec 1946 |
NS6191 Genealogical Research Notes | 01 Jan 1950 | 31 Dec 1969 |
NS6231 General Colour Transparencies | 01 Nov 1958 | 31 Dec 1962 |
NS6190 Transparencies of Tasmanian Colonial Buildings | 01 Jan 1959 | 31 Dec 1970 |
NS6196 Photographs of Tasmanian Buildings | 01 Jan 1960 | 31 Dec 1981 |
NS1750 35Mm Colour Slides of 1963 Royal Visit | 01 Jan 1963 | 31 Dec 1963 |
NS5691 Correspondence - Geoffrey Stilwell and Clifford Craig | 05 Nov 1966 | 06 Aug 1982 |
NS6189 Geoffrey Stilwell's Diaries | 13 Mar 1968 | 05 Jun 1979 |
NS1677 Cassette Tape of Lecture on Mary Morton Allport Presented at the University by Geoffrey Stilwell | 01 Jan 1987 |
NS1436 Audio Tapes of Oral History Interviews with Geoffrey Stilwell, Conducted by Joan Buckie | 01 Feb 1989 | 08 May 1989 |