GEM OF TIME RECIPIENT - RUTH MARCHANT JAMES 2006

Leading Western Australian historian, author and research, Ruth Marchant James has earned a place in the history of Western Australia for her outstanding body of work.

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Western Australia's history has long fascinated Ruth and with the encouragement of her family she began to research and write the history of Cottesloe. A Heritage of Pines: A history of Cottesloe was published in 1977 and reprinted in 1978 and 1992, and she is currently working on a revised social history of the town.

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Also among her many publications, are The Meath Story published in 1982; Untamed By Time; Cork to Capricorn: a History of the Presentation Sisters of WA 1891-1991; and Fields of Gold, as well as numerous articles, research papers, lectures and presentations. Ruth also wrote the lyrics for the songs Here's to the West and Southward Bound. In 1995, Celebrate WA asked Ruth to write a series of short articles tracing Western Australia's history from Foundation Day on 1 June 1829 to Proclamation Day on 21 October 1890. The Our Western Land series is now used in schools around the state.

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Ruth is a Fellow of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (WA), a founding member of the History Council of Western Australia, a member, and at various times, an office bearer, of the Australian Society of Authors, the Royal Western Australian History Society, PEN International, Friends of Battye Library, and the Cottesloe Society.

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A Generous supporter of the Battye Library, Ruth has donated many valuable works and her own research material and manuscripts to the collection. She is a regular visitor to the reading room for her own research and encourages the use of the Western Australian collections by other researchers. Her gentleness, intelligence and sense of humour has endeared her to her many colleagues, friends and fans.

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Friends of Battye Library would like to add to your many honours, Ruth, by listing you as a "Gem of Time" - a list that will last to acknowledge the contribution of outstanding men and women to the recording, collection and preservation of Western Australia's history