The Coombs : A House of Memories

Abstract

Our grateful thanks go to many people who helped us bring this project to fruition. Jim Fox provided the initial support and encouragement which Robin Jeffrey, his successor as the Director of the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, continued. Pennie Pemberton at the ANU Archives provided assistance with the documentary material, and Doug Munro, F.B. (Barry) Smith, Anthony Low, Stephen Foster, Hugh Laracy and Hank Nelson helped with recollections and pointers for further work. Paul D'Arcy read the entire manuscript with care. We are grateful to Darren Boyd and the Noel Butlin Archives Centre for the photographs. Maxine McArthur both edited the volume and prepared the index with exemplary care and speed. Oanh Collins, of the Division of Pacific and Asian History, prepared the manuscript for publication with her legendary generosity and efficiency. Lorena Kanellopoulos, Duncan Beard and Jude Shanahan gave wise advice during the production stage. Our greatest debt is, of course, to our contributors without whom this book would not exist. Their warm support and affection for the project, despite its somewhat eccentric character-an anthology on a building rather than an institution or a discipline-made our task as editors very agreeable. But then Coombs people are an unconventional lot, and this is appropriately and unapologetically an unconventional book. Our pleasure at completing this project is tinged only with the regret that we were not able to include more contributions from colleagues both inside and outside Coombs. We hope nonethelss that they will recognize markers of their own special moments and echoes of their individual footsteps in the recollections here.