Howard, Campbell (1906-1984)

Campbell Howard (1906–1984) was an educator, academic, and pioneering collector of Australian theatre history. Born in Ballarat and educated at Sydney Teachers’ College, New England University College, and the University of Melbourne, he held a range of roles within the New South Wales Department of Education before joining the University of New England’s Department of Adult Education in 1956. He retired as its Director in 1972.

While preparing an adult education course on Australian drama in 1957, Howard identified the scarcity of published early- to mid-twentieth-century Australian plays. In response, he began actively seeking unpublished or little-known works written between 1920 and 1955, approaching playwrights and their families to source manuscripts. His efforts resulted in the Campbell Howard Collection of Australian Plays in Manuscript, a nationally significant resource that preserves and illuminates an important period in Australia’s theatrical history.