Diaries

We hold 44 of Donald Friend’s diaries (1942-1987). 

The collection includes two earlier diaries from 1930–31, written during his adolescence. There is a gap in the sequence between January 1968 and October 1969. The diary from this period is held by the National Gallery of Australia. Another early diary from 1929 is held by the State Library of Queensland.Two volumes contain a few entries from 1988, when Friend’s health was in serious decline. It’s unclear if he kept diaries between 1932 and 1942.

Manuscripts

We hold 4 of Friend’s manuscript books: 

• Bumbooziana (1975)
• Birds from the Magic Mountain (1977)
• The Story of Jonah (1979) 
• Ayam Kesayangan III – the Prodigal Son’s Return (1980-82).

Letters

Letters to Donald Murray

The main collection of Donald Friend's letters includes around 80 written to Donald Murray (MS 8209). These letters span locations such as Sydney, Albury, Brisbane, Cairns, London, Florence, Portofino, Ikerre, and Singapore. While many are undated and some are incomplete, they are believed to be from the period 1938–1950.

Albums of Richard Griffin

Seven albums compiled by Richard Griffin (1937–1991)—a Sydney bookseller, publisher, and owner of Gryphon Press—offer valuable insights into Donald Friend's later years.

We hold 4 oral history interviews with Donald Friend:

• Donald Friend interviewed by Hazel de Berg in the Hazel de Berg collection, 1963 (1 reel)
• Donald Friend interviewed by Ken Russell Henderson for the Hemisphere Magazine collection, 1970 (1 cassette)
• Donald Friend interviewed by Barbara Blackman, 1984 (3 cassettes)
• Donald Friend interviewed by Lou Klepac, 1980-84 (15 cassettes)

Early Australian primitive: boy with a poodle by Michael Collins

We hold one painting by Friend, a photomontage with oil, created as a hoax to illustrate an article written by Friend in 1940 on Australian primitive colonial art. 

In 1978, we purchased from the manuscript of Birds from the Magic Mountain from Melbourne dealer Joseph Brown. The other 3 illustrated manuscripts of Donald Friend were acquired from Friend in 1983. 

In 1984, Friend began to donate his diaries to the Library under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme, and by the time of his death, 34 volumes (covering 1930-59) had been acquired. 

The remaining 10 diaries and 2 notebooks were purchased from Friend’s executor in 1992. A manuscript on Balinese bronzes was bought from Peter Krantz of Sydney in 1994. The papers of Richard Griffin were acquired in 1991.

This guide was prepared using these references:

• Anne Grey, Donald Stuart Leslie Friend (1915–1989), Australian Dictionary of Biography online