Harold Leslie White
Sir Harold Leslie White CBE (14 June 1905 – 31 August 1992) was the Parliamentary Librarian of Australia from 1947 to 1960, and National Librarian from 1960 until his retirement in 1970.
Career
White joined the staff of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library when he was 18 years old in 1923 at 18.[1] Four years later he became deputy librarian and went on to become Parliamentary Librarian in 1947, while simultaneously holding the title of National Librarian.[1]
National Library
As Parliamentary Librarian and later National Librarian, he was known for his relentless advocacy of a separate home for the National Library of Australia, within the Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra. When Sir Robert Menzies retired as Prime Minister in 1966, he remarked that he "jolly well had to give Harold White the National Library to shut him up".[2]
Honours
He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1962,[3] and knighted in the New Years Honours of 1970.[4]
He was the father of writer Katharine West.
References
- ^ a b "Sir Harold White dies". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, , no. 20, 960. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 September 1992. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Bev Miller, "The 75 Faces of Canberra: Shapers", The Canberra Times, 75th Anniversary Edition, 3 September 2001
- ^ It's an Honour: CBE. Retrieved 23 May 2014
- ^ It's an Honour: Knight Bachelor. Retrieved 23 May 2014
Further reading
- White, Harold, Sir (1968) The National Library in the Australian community, Sydney : Library Association of Australia p. 286-292 : 1 ill. Offprint from the Australian library journal. (Oct. 1968) Speech delivered at the 22nd Annual Conference of CLA-ACB on 22 June, 1967.
External links
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