Following the untimely death of John Cooper in 1998, his family asked me to serve as the literary executor of his estate, and to locate a repository for his extensive library and archives. Stringent conditions were to be imposed on any recipient: the collection must be maintained as a special collection; it must be properly catalogued and preserved; nothing from the collection could be dispersed or disposed of which my permission; and any material not required (for example, duplicates) must be returned to me. Various institutions were approached, and the National Library of Australia was chosen as the most appropriate recipient. Staff from the Library and I spent several days working through John’s collection and arranging its packing and transport to the National Library in Canberra.
John’s collection had, in part, been accumulated as part of his research for two theses:
“The Theosophical crisis in Australia : the story of the breakup of the Theosophical Society in Sydney from 1913 until 1923” – a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in the School of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, 1986. 428 leaves :ill.
“The Letters of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky 1862-1882” – a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Religious Studies at the University of Sydney, 1998. 2 v. (lxxxiv, viii, 878 leaves). Includes text of 357 of over 900 known letters, edited, annotated, and with introductory chapters by Alfred John Cooper. Dr Cooper died prior to his graduation, and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy was awarded posthumously.
“(Alfred) John Cooper (1930-1998) was born in Sydney and educated at Christian Brothers College, Manly, and the University of New England. His career was spent in the field of arts administration. He served as state administrator and director of the Arts Council of New South Wales, as chairman of the New South Wales Opera Council, and secretary of the Professional Drama Council. He was associated with the Australia Council as director of its Entrepreneurial Program, the International Program and the Special Services Program.
John Cooper had a lifelong interest in religions and taught courses in Hinduism, Buddhism, the Gnostic tradition and Indian thought. In 1987 he gained a Master of Arts degree at the University of Sydney with a thesis entitled ‘The Theosophical crisis in Australia: the story of the break-up of the Theosophical Society in Sydney from 1913-1923’. Shortly before his death, he completed his doctoral thesis on the letters of H.P. Blavatsky.
After his retirement Cooper and his wife bought a farm near Bega. It was here that he developed his great library and archives. He had travelled widely as a lecturer on Theosophy and invariably returned with books and documents. He was also helped by fellow-scholars throughout the world.
Acquisition
Shirley Cooper, the wife of John Cooper, donated the collection to the Library under the Cultural Gifts Program in 2004
Description
Printed materials
The collection contains 3874 books and pamphlets and 251 serials. The books fall into the following categories:
Theosophy, 1851-1997
Indian philosophy and religion, 1794-1996
Comparative religion, 1792-1997 Esoteric, 1878-1997
Buddhism, 1908-1997
Krishnamurti, 1910-1996
Helena Blavatsky, 1823-1997
Zen, 1874-1991
Tibet, 1879-1996
Yoga, 1930-90
Liberal Catholic Church, 1904-90
Reference, 1949-97
The Theosophical books, about 1500 in total, include works of Annie Besant, C.W. Leadbeater, G.S. Arundale, Krishnamurti, Helena Blavatsky, William Judge, C. Jinarajadasa and Katherine Tingley. Other writers represented in the collection are Marie Byles, C.J. Jinarajadasa, Alice Bailey, Mircea Elaide, Geoffrey Hodson, A.P. Sinnett, Rudolf Steiner, Aleister Crowley, Dervla Murphy, Kathleen Raine, Colin Wilson and W.B. Yeats.
The serials, dating from 1979-1998, were mostly published in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and India, but there are also publications from many other countries.
Manuscripts and personal papers
These include correspondence, manuscripts, notebooks, photographs, photocopies of articles, reference files, circulars, newsletters and other publications. The principal subjects are the history of Theosophy in Australia, the lives of Helena Blavatsky and Krishnamurti, the Liberal Catholic Church in Sydney, and Theosophical history generally. There is a small amount of material relating to the Australia Council and arts festivals.
Organisation
The books in the Cooper Collection have been kept together as a collection, while the serials have been integrated into the general serials collection. The books have been individually catalogued; the call numbers have the prefix COOP.
The manuscripts and papers in the Cooper Collection are housed in the Manuscripts Collection at MS Acc02/113
Reference
Jackson, Philip, “Historian’s Theosophy collection acquired”, “Gateways”, no. 57, June 2002, p. 1
Tillett, Gregory, “John Cooper: obituary”, “Theosophical History”, vol. 7 (4), Oct. 1998, pp 120-2”
https://www.nla.gov.au/selected-library-collections/john-cooper-theosophy-collection
To search the catalogue of the Library: http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/
The National Library of Australia is located on Parkes Place, in Canberra’s Parliamentary triangle in the Australian Capital Territory.
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