Abstract
A collection of illustrated letters sent by South Australian born poster artist, sign painter, cartoonist, black-and-white artist, showman, buckjumper, roughrider, musician, ventriloquist, and inventor George Arthur White, mostly while living an itinerant lifestyle in Queensland, 1908-1910. The letters were sent to Harriet Amy Purvis 'Bubs' (1894-1977), who's recently-widowed mother, Emma Purvis née Woolley (1857-1951), had been hostess to George White and his friends, Dick Hall and Percy, at her Sydney home Chiddingfold. The majority of the letters describe and illustrate White's travels in Queensland, portraying the sights he saw, people he met, and the ways in which he earned a living. Also included are miscellaneous correspondence to Harriet including a letter from her mother, 1919; a letter from Ian Christian Maydwell who served during the First World War with the Australian Army Medical Corps, and portraits of him in uniform (ca 1916-19); printed material including a card for St John's Bishopthorpe Girls' Guild; an Imperial Hyde Park Roller Rink musical program (July 1912); and a menu, 'Welcome Home Dinner By Executive Staff Grace Bros. Pty. Ltd. To Mr. B. A. Grace Wednesday, 8th September, 1937', with autographs in pencil, including by Grace family members.
Administrative / Biographical history
George Arthur White was bom on 14 October 1878 at Templers, near Gawler, South Australia, the son of Edward White, a schoolteacher, and his wife Louisa née Hart. His father died when George was about 15, and the family moved to Clare. Aged 17, George went to Broken Hill and later worked in Westem Australia at the mines at Kalgoorlie and with his brother in a grocery business on the goldfields at Trafalgar. Subsequently he adopted an itinerant lifestyle, travelling the eastern states of Australia and New Zealand picking up work with circuses, rodeos, vaudeville shows, agricultural shows and occasional painting jobs. From 1908 to 1910, George pursued his itinerant life in Queensland, sending letters detailing his exploits - in both words and pictures - to young Harriet Purvis. On returning to Clare, White was widely known as "Broncho George" and became something of a folk hero in South Australia, famous as a rough rider, horse trainer, entertainer, comic poet, and artist. (Description supplied)
Preferred citation
32751, George White letters, John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland