Meta Truscott (3 June 1917 – 27 November 2014) was an Australian

diarist A diary is a writing, written or audiovisual Memorabilia, memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date, date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwriti ...

and Ashgrove historian. For over 80 years, she wrote a daily diary and collected scrapbooks, with pasted-in newspaper clippings and other

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

(1934–2014). The diaries record the day-to-day life of a woman who had lived in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

all her life. The collection (97 boxes) is in the Fryer Library,

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Life

Born Meta Frances Hurley in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

. Meta Truscott attended St Joseph's Convent School,

Nundah Nundah (previously called German Station) is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Toombul. In the , Nundah had a population of 13,098 people. Prior to European settlement, Nundah was ...

where she later completed a business course. For ten years, she worked in the office of a furniture firm and then five years in an accountant's office. Married in 1947, she had three children, including James Francis Truscott. In 1994, the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

name
Meta Truscott Lane
in Ashgrove to honour her contribution to Ashgrove local history
The Ashgrove Historical Society
appointed her co-patron with Manfred Cross.

Diaries

On 1 January 1934, aged sixteen and a half, Truscott née Hurley began her first diary; a Christmas gift from her maternal uncle, Christopher Dunne, Station Master at

Toowoomba railway station Toowoomba railway station is a heritage-listed railway station on the Western railway line, Queensland, Western line at Russell Street, Toowoomba, Queensland, Toowoomba, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the city of Toowoomba, w ...

. During September that year, her saddest entry recorded the sudden death of her father aged 63 in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Brisbane. On completing her first year, she was "hooked" and wrote a daily diary until her death. Notable entries include her witness account of a suicide. On Monday afternoon, 20 April 1936, while visiting The Gap, Sydney with her uncle, Christopher Dunne, they by chance shared a bench with a well-dressed, middle-aged man. He was later identified as William Albert Swivell. The three watched a ship sail through the

Sydney Heads The Sydney Heads (also simply known as the Heads) are a series of headlands that form the wide entrance to Sydney Harbour in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. North Head and Quarantine Head are to the north; South Head and Dunbar Head are to ...

. Dunne asked Swivell if he knew the name of the ship. He answered,
The Nieuw Holland
" Soon after, Swivell walked away; he climbed to the top of the cliff and jumped to his death. Other significant entries describe the beginning and the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The diaries record the stillness, the state of shock when war was declared and how

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

city went wild with joy the day the war ended. Her busiest year was 1988. Alongside writing her regular diary, she wrote two extra diaries: one for the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

now lodged in the Ashgrove library and another for her two older grandchildren. She wrote two further diaries, one for her two younger grandchildren (1998) and one for her daughter (2003).

Published works

* Truscott, M. ''Diaries'' (1934–2014) University of Queensland Library OCLC Number: 505956985 * Truscott, M. (1977) ''Ashgrove district and its schools: information.'' Brisbane. OCLC Number: 224670801 * Truscott, M. (1977) ''Alexander Stewart, 1868–1918, and Glenlyon House, Ashgrove'' Brisbane. OCLC Number: 224643125 * Truscott, M. ''Talk given at the Diamond Jubilee, 1873–1933, of The Gap Methodist Church'' Ashgrove, Qld (Date?) OCLC Number: 224574713 * Truscott, M. (1987) ''Parish of St John's Wood The Gap: Golden Jubilee History 1937–1987'' St John’s Wood, the Gap Catholic Church. OCLC Number: 746584795 * Truscott, M. (1990). A portrait of Ashgrove. In M. Farrelly, ''Canvas of dreams: A history of Marist College Ashgrove, to 1990'' (pp. 249–258). Brisbane: Watson Ferguson & Company. * Truscott, M and Jackson, C. (2000) ''Enjoying historic Ashgrove.'' Brisbane Qld: Brisbane City Council. OCLC Number: 505727321 * Segment on diaries in Simon Townsend ''Wonder world'', June 1985

Contributed to historical research of

Marist College Ashgrove Marist College Ashgrove (abbreviated as MCA) is an Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding primary school, primary and secondary school, secondary school for Sin ...

Marist Fathers The Society of Mary (), better known as the Marists, is a Catholic religious congregation of pontifical right. Founded in Cerdon, France, by Jean-Claude Colin, the Society of Mary was recognized by an apostolic brief on April 29, 1836, and is ...

* Ashgrove State School * Brisbane Bicentenary * Mount St Michael's School * Mater Dei School, St John's Wood * Provided primary source material to historical research on Irish migration to AustraliaFitzpatrick, P., & Polirtelir, C. (Composers). (1995). Oceans of consolation: readings from Irish-Australian letters. udiobook on cassette Dublin, Ireland: C. Polirtelir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truscott, Meta 1917 births Writers from Queensland 20th-century Australian diarists Australian historians Women diarists Australian women historians Australian women memoirists Australian women autobiographers People from Toowoomba Writers from Brisbane 2014 deaths 21st-century diarists