A passion for knowledge and understanding...
Books and book collecting
Philip Jones. Bob Edwards Eulogy. St Mary's Church. 14 June 2023:
"...Bob's first intellectual passion was book collecting, primarily focused upon South Australian history. He told me of a small bookshop in Rundle Street where he bought his first antiquarian book, aged 14 or 15, something he saved for, securing it at a price which, even at that tender age, he was able to negotiate downwards. He maintained that interest throughout his life, and was still acquiring significant works in his 80's.
His early reading made him aware of the Aboriginal prehistory of the Adelaide Plains and led him to an informed awareness of the archaeological record. He began recognising the main types of stone tools still evident on the family farm along the Sturt Creek.
His curiosity drew him to seek more information about these objects at the South Australian Museum, and before long he had made contact with archaeologists and anthropologists for whom the Museum was a research base - Thomas Draper Campbell, Charles Mountford and Norman Tindale. Both Mountford and Campbell took Bob under their wing. Bob accompanied them on field trips, becoming familiar with rock engravings in the north-east of South Australia, and surface archaeological sites in the south-east, for example.
He read extensively in the anthropological and historical literature, collecting books as he did so, and so, by the time of Norman Tindale's retirement in 1965 (October), he had transformed himself into the front-runner as his successor."
Books and book collecting
"Over my life as an antiquarian bookseller one of the great pleasures has been meeting charming and wise people. The shared interest in historically important books, paintings and manuscripts has always helped to form a link that bites countries and cultures and makes conversations flow easily. Such exchanges have been deeply enriching for me and note more so that the long friendship I have enjoyed with Bob Edwards.
Bob's gentle demeanour veils a strong character; he is an intelligent collector and an insightful man. Over the decades we have been friends, our shared bookshop cups of tea have always been accompanied by wide-ranging and fascinating discussions - anthropology, Aboriginal art, museum exhibitions, development of new museums and galleries, books, politics and our families - nothing has been too big or too small for us to discuss. Bob has a open mind and a generous spirit and I have been fortunate to see him at times when he has been taking small breaks from his hectic work life.
Like all good collectors Bob considered his library central to his own development, in his career as a public figure in the Australian fine arts world. His books have been his road maps: not only did they chart historical events, but they showed him a way forward on his personal journey. For Hordern House now to have the honour of offering his fine antiquarian collection to a wide audience brings me great pleasure. We hope that this catalougue, and the catalogues to follow, will help ensure that Bob's lifetime passion for rare books is justly celebrated."
Anne McCormick
Hordern House
From: The Collection of Robert Edwards AO. Hordern House, Sydney NSW 2011.
Timeline
- 1930
Born (April 7) Robert Edwards Adelaide, South Australia - 1943
Began attending meetings of the Royal Society of South Australia and developing interests in history, archaeology, and rare books at age 13. - 1945
Left Thebarton Technical High School (age 15) to work with his family on their Marion market garden. - 1952
Married Catherine Allison Raeburn Alexander (Kath) at St Mary's on the Sturt, Marion (July 12). - 1954-55
Published his first paper, a historical pamphlet on St Mary’s On-the-Sturt Church. - 1957
Leased Orange Grove market garden; found Aboriginal stone tools (Kartan type) along the Sturt River, inspiring his research interests. - 1961
Embarked on a 3-year survey of aboriginal rock engravings in north-east South Australia with mentor, Charles Mountford. - 1963
Published with Charles Mountford: Rock engravings of Panaramitee Station, North-eastern South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of SA, vol. 86. - 1964
Published a paper describing: A former Aboriginal Camp-site on the Sturt River at Marion. Mankind, Vol. 6, No. 4. - 1965
Before taking up the job as curator of the South Australian Museum embarked on six months of fieldwork across Arnhem Land and Central Australia with John Mulvaney. - 1962–1965
Worked as Marketing Director for the Apple and Pear Board. - 1965
Appointed Curator of Anthropology at the South Australian Museum, succeeding Norman B. Tindale.
Heartfelt Tributes
Bob's legacy continues to inspire us all.
"Bob has been a wonderful friend, confidant and mentor. I have had the great luck and pleasure of working with him on a range of projects for over four decades."
"Bob had his own sense of time, I think. Nothing seemed hurried. His constant and infectious optimism had it that, despite the forces of darkness, we were making good progress, and life was still a worthwhile adventure. And that's the way I'd like to remember him. "