Aboriginal glossaries and music scores are among the historical treasures being unearthed from the diaries of one of Australia’s early settlers, Bishop Rosendo Salvado.
The Spanish Benedictine monk co-founded the Western Australian monastic town, New Norcia, in 1846 and was its Abbot until 1900.
The Benedictine Community of New Norcia has commissioned University of Queensland Spanish scholar, Dr Roberto Esposto, to transcribe and translate Bishop Salvado’s diaries over the next three years.
The 11 diaries, which were written from 1844 to the Bishop’s death in 1900, are immensely significant to Australia’s history according to Dr Esposto.
“Bishop Salvado’s diaries will be a valuable addition to Western Australia’s history and in a wider context, they form a foundational document of non-English settlement in Australia,” he said
“They offer us an opportunity to rescue a Spanish memory lost to Australian history.”
In addition to the Bishops’ transcription of Aboriginal music, his diaries contain intimate details of his life, including numerous fundraising trips to Europe, as well as New Norcia’s accounts, agricultural and business pursuits.
While Dr Esposto said that while has only just begun transcribing the diaries, he had already developed a strong admiration for the Bishop.
“Bishop Salvado was a cultured man who spoke five European languages fluently, as well as local Aboriginal languages; he was also a musician, naturopath, merchant and businessman.”
“His diaries are very personal documents and it’s clear from them that Salvado was a humanitarian devoted to the Aboriginal people. New Norcia became a haven for Aboriginals as he fought for their very right to exist and even their inclusion in the Australian Constitution.
“Salvado was also extremely courageous. He established New Norcia in the middle of the bush through shear strength of will and devised ways for his monks to survive a hand-to-mouth existence. At the same time Salvado successfully garnered support from Western Australian politicians and protestant leaders, and travelled back and forth to lobby Catholic leaders in Europe.”
Dr Esposto eventually hopes the diaries will be published in English and Spanish but said the decision will rest with the monks of New Norcia. The translation of the diaries should be completed in 2009.
UniQuest Manager of Innovation and Development for the Faculty of Arts, Mr David Israel assisted with developing the project. Also contributing to the project were UQ scholars Professor Philip Almond, Susana Furphy and Isolda Rojas along with La Trobe University’s Professor Roy C. Boland.
Professor Boland recently returned from Bishop Salvodo’s birthplace, Galicia in Spain, where preparations are underway for the 160th anniversary of New Norcia’s foundation.
Dr Roberto Esposto has just published a critical study of the famous Argentine novelist, Able Posse.
Media inquiries: Dr Roberto Esposto, Faculty of Arts, UQ (07 3365 7990) or Julia Renaud from UniQuest (07 3365 4037, 0438 436 179)
