Researcher biography
I’m the Fryer Librarian at UQ’s Fryer Library. After completing an honours degree in English literature at UQ I taught overseas before completing librarianship qualifications at QUT.
Prior to coming to the Fryer Library, I was Manager, Heritage Information Services and Curator, Military Collections at The State Library of Queensland from 2003-2014. I have also worked as an archivist at the Queensland State Archives.
I am the Queensland representative on the Council of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand and Editor of our journal Fryer Folios.
The Fryer Memorial Library of Australian Literature was founded in 1927 in memory of John Denis Fryer, a student of the University who passed away in 1923 of WWI-related injuries.
The Fryer Library’s collecting focus is on materials whose form, function and content are likely to advance scholarship, teaching and learning in the fields of book history, Australian literature and drama, Queensland architectural history, and Australian cultural and social history. Holdings include significant collections that document Indigenous history, language, and culture. Along with the UQ Archives the Fryer Library also plays a key role in documenting the history of The University of Queensland.
Books chapters:
Farley, Simon (2020) Foreword Remember Me to all Old Friends by Melanie Piddocke. Brisbane: Boolarong Press.
Farley, Simon (2017) Foreword Helen Haenke at Rockton: a Creative Life. Brisbane: The University of Queensland Press.
Journal Articles:
Farley, Simon (2018). Scenes of Faith and Sacrifice: The Gallipoli Diary of Padre George Green of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. Queensland History Journal 23 (8) 522-533.
Farley, Simon (2018). Vale Nancy Bonnin, nee Crowe (7/9/1922 - 21/9/2017) Indomitably gentle writer, librarian, and collector of enduring treasures. Alumni News: journal of the Alumni Friends of The University of Queensland 17-17.
Farley, Simon (2017). A Weight of Learning: The Hayes Collection 50 years on. Fryer Folios 11 (1) 30-35.
Farley, Simon (2016). Last words: the Gallipoli diary of Allan William Nash. Fryer Folios 10 (1) 3-5.
Farley, Simon (2015). Years of agony and joy: The Sadie and Xavier Herbert Collection. Queensland Review 22 (1) 96-98.
Farley, Simon (2009). A Personal Journey into the Past. State Library of Queensland Magazine (6) 12-13.
Conference Papers:
Farley, Simon (2019). Apostle of the flesh: memories of Charles Kingsley in the Fryer Library. Tradition and Innovation: Readers, Books and Libraries. Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand. The University of Melbourne, Australia, 28-29 November 2019.
Farley, Simon (2018). The Surgeon’s Hand: Annotations in Hawkesworth’s Edition of Commodore John Byron’s Account of His Voyage Around the World 1764–66. Marginalia: Bibliography at the Margins. Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, 28-30 November 2018.
Farley, Simon and Johnston, Anna (2017). Collections and print culture in the wake of Cook's Endeavour voyage. The Australian Consortium of Humanities Research Centres Annual Conference: GLAMorous Humanities: Working with Collecting and Cultural Institutions. Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, 8-10 November 2017.
Farley, Simon (2017). Notes from Empire's End: the diary of a Turkish soldier. Connecting the Colonies: Empires and Networks in the History of the Book. The Annual conference of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand. Hobart , Australia, 22-24 November 2017.
Farley, Simon (2016). 18th Century Publications in the Wake of Cook's Endeavour Voyage: Rare Holdings in Queensland Collections. The Deepening Stream: The Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand. University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 21-22 November 2016.