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Salvador , French passport
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From an
impoverished , persecuted region
of Spain , a great man , Salvador Torrents,
set sail for
Australia aboard the Osprey
in 1915 , seeking a new life as the
world was rushing headlong into
the maelstrom of World War l .
From a
North Queensland cane farm, armed
with a prolific
pen, he toiled
and tilted against the real dragons of the world...warmongers , poverty ,
racial intolerance , social injustice , religious , political,
and union organisations which
failed the people
. His aim for
humanity is succinctly summed up
in the English
translation of his only
daughter’s name - Peace
Liberty Universal . Advice he gave to a male member of the family was to treat your wife as your equal , not as a maid.
Drawing on his personal possessions in the Special Collections section of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library at James Cook University , Townsville , Darwin research and other sources , a wide ranging series has been prepared about this fearless , self-educated campaigner who wrote passionate letters to international anarchist publications and Australian newspapers , composed poetry and short stories.
Drawing on his personal possessions in the Special Collections section of the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library at James Cook University , Townsville , Darwin research and other sources , a wide ranging series has been prepared about this fearless , self-educated campaigner who wrote passionate letters to international anarchist publications and Australian newspapers , composed poetry and short stories.
Near the
end of his life ,
he set out in an
exercise book his
philosophy while holidaying
at Mission Beach , saying it should
become the Miami
of North Queensland , in a
nation he considered a working man's paradise. This special series includes an unusual connection with the Northern Territory, correspondence with prominent Australian writers , early postcards of Australia , a special plea to the people of Australia about the fascists in the Spanish Civil War . His extensive library included books in several languages, a novel by journalist William Lane who set up the utopian New Australia settlement in Paraguay , trade union history, religion critiques.
Torrents was the subject of a recent talk on the ABC by the Special Collections Librarian at James Cook University , Bronwyn McBurnie .
