Francis Lancelot Sutherland Bell
Francis Lancelot Sutherland Bell
| Francis Lancelot Sutherland Bell MA | |||||||
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| Born | 1904 | ||||||
| Died | 1963 | ||||||
| Residence |
164 Prince's Highway, Arncliffe, Sydney, NSW [1933] [and] Sydney Municipal Library, George St. [census] | ||||||
| Occupation | librarian | ||||||
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Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
1933.02.21 proposed by R.W. Firth, seconded by C.O. Blagden
Notes From Elsewhere
b. 24 Aug. 1904. The City Librarian, Sydney
Frank Bell was born on 24th August, 1904, the first born and son of Lancelot Bell and Clara Rose Bell (nee Sutherland). His parents had been married on 22nd January, 1903 at Arncliffe in Sydney. Frank’s father, an ironmoulder, was a 49 year old widower at the time of his 2nd marriage to Clara , aged 28[ he had previously married Jane Matherson at Stockton-on- Tees, County Durham in 1877 but we have found no trace of where or when her death occured ] Frank’s mother Clara, who was an elder sister of our grandmother Alma, had worked as a governess prior to her marriage to Lancelot Bell.
The Bell family home was “Daphne”, 164 Rocky Point Road (later Princes Highway), Arncliffe. Frank most likely attended Arncliffe Primary School and being an excellent scholar obtained a place at Sydney Boys’ High School for his secondary education.
Frank joined the staff of Sydney Public Library in 1922 and studied part-time for an Arts degree . He graduated as a Master of Arts in 1931. Frank’s great love was anthropology and he spent 1933 in Tanga, New Ireland (near New Guinea) living with & conducting research into the lives of the native inhabitants for The Australian National Research Council. Frank was a member of the Council of the Anthropological Society of NSW for over 20 years and edited their journal “Mankind”. He was the society’s president in 1938, 1954 and 1955.
Frank Bell was appointed City Librarian in 1939, a position which he held until his death in December, 1963. In 1937, Frank received a Carnegie Corporation grant to conduct a world survey of public libraries. Frank actively participated in Australia’s war effort by joining the Royal Australian Navy in 1942. Due to his knowledge of the Pacific area, he was transferred to Brisbane to work with Douglas McArthur’s intelligence unit. Frank was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant in November, 1945.
From 1951, Frank was a member of the Australian Advisory Committee for UNESCO. In 1956, he led an Australian delegation to a regional UNESCO conference in Tokyo, Japan. While in Japan, he gave advice to local municipal authorities on the establishment of public libraries.
Frank Bell achieved much in the 59 years of his life ,and in addition was always full of fun and enthusiasm. Frank didn’t marry and lived with his sister, Gwen. When their parents died they continued to live in the family home at Arncliffe. In the 1950’s they bought a weekend house in the NSW Southern Highlands. Both Frank & Gwen loved their home at 32 Cliff Street, Bowral and spent most weekends there, landscaping the grounds with most of the outdoor work being done by Frank himself.
Frank & Gwen sold the Arncliffe house, and re-located their city base to Sydney’s North Shore, firstly a flat at Turramurra, followed by a unit at 321 Pacific Highway, Killara.
Publications
External Publications
editor of the Journal 'Mankind'
House Publications
Sokopana: a Melanesian secret society 1935
104. Rock-Pictures in New Guinea; Man Vol. 40 (May, 1940), pp. 79-80
Related Material Details
RAI Material
census