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Bookplate of
James R Tyrell |
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Bookplate of
Herman Radin
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Introduction and Biography |
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Father Edward Leo Hayes,
prior to his ordination as a priest, 1918 |
Father Edward Leo Hayes was born on 23 November 1889 in Frederickton, New South Wales to Edward Hayes, schoolteacher, and his wife Bridget.
He finished school at age 15, working in an auctioneer's office and as a clerk for the Darling Downs Co-operative Association. From 1911 he studied at St Columba's Seminary in Springwood, New South Wales. From there he proceeded to St Patrick's College, Manly.
The photo at left shows him a few weeks short of his 29th birthday, five weeks before his ordination as a priest for the Brisbane archdiocese. That ceremony took place at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, on November 30, 1918.
As a seminary student, Hayes won the oratory prize three times - twice at St Columba's and once at St Patrick's.
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Pictured at right is the inscription from a copy of George Essex Evans' book The Secret Key and other verses presented to Hayes as first prize in the oratory competition at St Columba's in 1911. |
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Throughout his life he was known as an excellent orator, both at the altar for Sunday services, and at various functions and gatherings which he addressed.
Hayes ministered as a priest in Queensland for his entire career. He started at Ipswich as assistant priest in 1918, moving on to Kilcoy, Taroom, Chinchilla, Toowoomba, Crows Nest and finally Oakey. He touched many lives in his career, which spanned nearly 50 years as evidenced by the fact that more than 800 people of all faiths and walks of life paid their respects to Hayes at two masses in Oakey after his death. His fame as a book collector and 'bower-bird' was even greater. Hayes had bought his first book at the age of 7 Captured by Indians by Edward S. Ellis, for which he paid £1/6d. and had collected bird eggs as a boy. His collecting interests were many and varied broadly defined as 'Australiana', but in reality extending well beyond that.
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Hayes himself reflects on his interests in the following letter to William Gall written at Crow's Nest in 1934:
My Library of Australian, Pacific Islands and New Zealand Literature comprises approximately 10,000 volumes. I collect also Bookplates, coins (especially the early trading tokens of Australia), old newspapers, early almanacs, autographs, 'letters of prominent identities', excerpts bearing on Australia from Home and Foreign magazines, war medals, magazines, school annuals, etc... |
 Click on image to view full text of letter
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I have also a large collection of Aboriginal stone and wooden implements - the largest private collection in Queensland I am told. Of Minerals, I have about 4000/5000 specimens and of Gems some very fine cut and uncut specimens... It would be better to wait for a time until I have my Library on suitable shelves at present, much of it reposes on the floor. Sometime this year I must arrange it decently...
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Housing his rapidly growing collection was to remain a problem for Father Hayes. In response to being asked where he kept it all, when interviewed for a November 1947 article in The Bulletin Hayes said:
All over the presbytery. Books everywhere. Shelves everywhere. And cupboards. They're overflowing. I've even books under my bed. And more coming in all the time. Take poetry now. I have between 2000 and 3000 volumes of Australian and New Zealand poetry...
By this time, Father Hayes estimated that he owned approximately 60,000 items of Australiana.
The following pages contain a small, representative sample of this material, held in the Leo Hayes collection in Fryer Library at the University of Queensland. It is broadly divided into the main subject areas Father Hayes was interested in, but by no means covers them all.
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Caricature used to illustrate article in
“The Bulletin” November 1947 |
It is intended that, while there is some explanatory text, by and large the items will speak for themselves - both to their own uniqueness, and also to the unique interests of Father Edward Leo Hayes in assembling such a collection.
Penny Whiteway, Fryer Library |
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Historical Australia |
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