Nancy Nivison Collection

A comprehensive personal and family collection documenting the life of Nancy Nivison (née Munro, 1905-1973), focusing on her World War II service as Commandant of the Walcha Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) and her participation in the Royal Navy repatriation voyage aboard HMS Glory (September-December 1945). The collection spans three generations, including materials relating to Nancy's mother Grace Munro (founder of the Country Women's Association) and Nancy's children June, Jillian, and Peter Nivison.

WWII and HMS Glory materials include Nancy's diary "A Glorious Trip" (26 September-12 December 1945), two photograph albums documenting the voyage and Japanese surrender ceremony (6 September 1945), extensive correspondence exchanged during the voyage between Nancy and her family (husband Poss, children, mother Grace Munro, housekeeper Zillah Pateman), shipboard newsletters (Glory News), Red Cross VAD certificates and training records (1940-1946), travel documents including Commonwealth Document of Identity, Canadian and Hawaiian travel brochures and memorabilia, and post-voyage correspondence with Captain Anthony Buzzard and patients from HMS Glory. The collection includes significant correspondence (20 letters, 1944-1955) from Italian prisoners of war Giuseppe Cerrassan and Peter Serino who worked at the Nivison property "Mirani" during the war, documenting positive relationships between Australians and Italian POWs.

Personal and family correspondence includes letters from family members, friends, and grandchildren at boarding school; wedding plans for daughter June (1952); correspondence regarding daughter Jillian's marriage to Herbert Oppenheimer (1954); letters from journalist Alan Herbert (AP Herbert) of the Daily Telegraph UK (1925-1926); and correspondence received while Nancy was hospitalized prior to her death (1972-1973).

Family history and genealogical materials document the Nivison, Perry, and Munro families including birth, marriage, baptism and death certificates (1849-1930s) and estate papers. 

Horticultural and community involvement materials feature Walcha Garden Club records, Association of Horticultural Societies of New England constitution (1970), Walcha Town & District Beautification Committee minutes (1971), nursery catalogues (1956-1972), and Nancy's foreword to "Decorative Work for the Beginner" (1959). Memorabilia includes three New England flags, wedding garter (1927), hand-made nails, curl of hair (1905), tartan ribbons, unfinished drawings, and miscellaneous ephemera from travel and events.

Visual materials comprise nine photograph albums documenting Walcha VAD activities (1940-1946), HMS Glory voyage including Japanese surrender, overseas trips (1925, 1940s), Nivison family life at Mirani, Jillian at Frensham (1941-1944), polo matches and family gatherings (1920s), formal portraits, wedding photographs (1927), and framed photographs of family members and unknown subjects.

Printed materials and publications include travel guides and maps, souvenir programs (Keera Highland Gathering 1962), Ohio Polo Carnival program (1926), newspaper clippings documenting Nancy's death (March 1973), unveiling of Nancy Nivison Memorial Fountain in Walcha (December 1975), obituary by daughter Jillian Oppenheimer, wedding announcement (1927), and CWA founder Grace Munro tribute (1966). Also includes unrelated items: Wesley's hymns (1866), small ledger (c.1880s), and journal of station near Jindabyne with wages records (1880-1889).