The East Timor News
Service has circulated a report on the
recent death in
Darwin Hospital of Kevin Sherlock
, 80 ,
who filled his small unit with
an invaluable massive
archive on East
Timor. In part , it said:
Many years ago, Kevin chose to commit his considerable
talent to researching and archiving information on East Timor. Self-funded and
using his compact flat to shelve an ever-increasing collection of documents,
Kevin stuck to his mission over many decades with unflagging commitment,
meticulous attention to detail, and generosity of spirit. Through his efforts,
which included learning Portuguese, travelling to archives in Maucau and Lisbon
to collect and transcribe archival information, preparing detailed
bibliographical materials, making his growing collection available to scholars,
and providing expert commentary on manuscripts, Kevin assisted a succession of
writers to learn about East Timor and communicate its history to others. In
recognition of his work over the years, in 2010 the Parliament of Timor-Leste
awarded him the Princess Grace of Monaco medal.
In a world in which access to information is increasingly characterised by the
internet, email and social media, Kevin remained a hard copy man with a
photocopier in his flat, always ready to copy a document and post it to a
researcher. Kevin bequeathed his valuable collection to the Charles Darwin
University library, through which it will eventually be accessible to
researchers again.
See http://timorarchives.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/visiting-kevin-sherlock/
See http://timorarchives.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/visiting-kevin-sherlock/
Sherlock's ashes were to be scattered in East Timor . Little Darwin plans to start a
series called the
EAST TIMOR PAPERS
in the near
future.
