Papers Relating to Marjorie Jacobs's New Guinea Research (Series 1795)

Marjorie Jacob's (MGJ) early major research work was in Pacific History, especially the history of German colonisation with focus on German New Guinea. She undertook research at the Public Records Office, the British Museum, the New Zealand Archives and libraries and archives in Germany and Australia. She then delayed her research due to the inaccessibility of the German archives which were located in East Germany as well as family commitments. During her sabbatical leave in 1966-67 she resumed her research on New Guinea as a Visiting Fellow of the Australian National University. She spent two months in New Guinea and travelled to Germany where she was able to gain permission to access the German archives held in the Deutsches Zentralarchiv Potsdam. Based on her research at the time, MGJ completed the section on the history of German New Guinea for the Encyclopedia of Papua and New Guinea.

This series consists of MGJ's research papers relating to her interests in German New Guinea (NG), her search for records, corr. relating to her gaining access to the records of the German Colonial Office in the Zentralarchiv in Potsdam, and her involvement in the Microfilm Exchange Project concerning German Records. Also included is private correspondence with members of the families of Dr Wilhelm Solf and Dr Albert Hahl, as well as of acquaintances met at the Potsdam Archives. Some of the letters received provide a glimpse into life in the postwar German Democratic Republic.

There is no discernible arrangement to these papers and items have been listed by their file title. Some files have been refoldered with the file title being transferred to the new folder. Papers on file are not in date order.

Some of the correspondence is in German. There is photo with a request if MGJ could identify the person as Hahl, which she was not able to do.

The papers include:

1) Research on Missions, typescript, n.d.; 2) German Archives: NG, Samoa, corr. re arrangement of and access to Microfilms of German records, lists of German records located in different counties, some no longer to be found, ca. 1954 o 1973; 3) corr. re MGJ's encyclopedia articles on New Guinea, 1968-69; 4) Corr. re NG, microfilms, MGJ's access and visits to the Archives in Potsdam and her experiences, 1965-68; 5) Corr. re research in Potsdam, microfilm exchange, 1967-76; 6) FO 72, handwritten notes taken from file (Caroline Island Dispute 1885), n.d.; 7) Germany Research: incl. corr. with children of Dr Albert Hahl, first Governor of German NG, 1958-59; 8) NG references (NAA, ANU source material on microfilm), n.d., 1965; 9) corr. re Potsdam microfilms, 1956-63; 10) British Museum, Hoover Library microfilm holdings, n.d.; 11) incl. copy Bibliography of Bibliographies relevant to a study of Papua and New Guinea by E Wolfers, 1967; 12) & 13): 2 brown envelopes containing copies from German microfilm; 14) handwritten notes and typescripts of various papers written by MGJ on NG;

15) Corr. research trip re Potsdam visit Germany 1958-59; 16) ext. from Nachlass Solf, Bundesarchiv, n.d.; 17) The Colonial Office and New Guinea, 1874-84, typescript, n.d.; 18) Corr. re Potsdam visit, incl. permission dated Mar 1967 to visit the Zentralarchiv, 1965-1970; 19) New Guinea research papers, incl. typescripts: German Archives Relating to New Guinea, German Records on Micronesia in the National Archives, Canberra, 1947-70; 20) File (papers seemingly still to be filed) Corr. re New Guinea records, microfilm, 1972-80; 21) Corr. with (and re) New Guinea, 1967-71; 22) Journal of Pacific History, corr. and typescripts of articles, 1970-75; 23) Corr. re access to German Records, 1950-54; 24) Typescript and handwritten notes: Hahl - Gouverneursjahre, Jahrbuch, n.d., 25) New Guinea, corr.; 1966-73; 26) Muenster, typescript research notes -1967 visit; 27) Corr. re visit to NG 1966; 28) German Solf letters (Hanna S. and Lagi von Ballestrem Solf) 1948-59; 29) Corr. re NG, 1960-84; 30) Corr. German NG, Potsdam, microfilming project, 1947-92; 31) 'Photograph/Slides' slides: Berlin 1958, NG n.d.; 31) Loose Items, New Guinea lecture notes, corr. re Solf papers, letter from Hahl's daughter, from a Potsdam Zentralarchiv acquaintance, hand drawn map of Kokopo, news cuttings, 1955-67; 8 Research Notebooks: 32) Hamburg 1958; 33) Berlin 1958; 34) Kavieng 1966; 35) Madang Rabaul 1966; 36) Rabaul 1966; 37) Rabaul 1966; 38) Rabaul 1966; 39) Rabaul 1966.