Amelia Batistich typescript and clippings of short stories
Content Description
Collection contains an annotated typescript for a novel titled The Dreamtime
. The typescript contains handwritten notes throughout, including on the following on the title page:'River come back to my door' and 'To Darganelle [?] with love'.The Dreamtime
was published in 1981 in Croation as Pjevaj Vilo u Planini and in 1987 in English as Sing Vila in the Mountains by Hodder and Stoughton.
Collection also contains clippings of published short stories by Batistich, collected and annotated by the author. Some of these have been annotated including a copy of Three wise men of the west
which was published in the Auckland Star in December 1956. This clipping has a type-written note attached detailing the last lines of the story.
Dates
- 1956 - 1987
Creator
- Batistich, Amelia (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Not restricted
Biographical / Historical
Amelia Batistich (1915–2004) was a New Zealand fiction writer of Croatian descent.
In the 1940s, Batistich began to write poems and stories about her family and community, and the hardships faced by early settlers. These were initially published in The Listener magazine and the New Zealand School Journal. She also wrote about other ethnic minorities in New Zealand, such as Chinese in the Otago Gold Rush.
In 1981, Batistich's novel Pjevaj Vilo u Planini won first prize in an international competition in the former Yugoslavia for migrant writers, and she was invited to visit Croatia by the Croatian Writers' Guild.
In the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours, Batistich was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service. She has been credited with leading the way for other ethnic groups, such as Māori, to also express their outlook on the community they were living in.
Extent
0.02 metres (two folders. )
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Unknown.
- Title
- Inventory of Amelia Batistich typescript and clippings of short stories
- Author
- Nigel Bond
- Date
- March 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections, University of Auckland Repository
5 Alfred Street
Private Bag 92019
Auckland 1142 New Zealand
specialcollections@auckland.ac.nz