1993/068

This collection consists of 12 films and 3 diaries recording Knowles' time in Africa in the latter part of the 1950s. She documents her travels around South Africa, Nyasaland (Malawi) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), taking footage of wildlife and local scenes, making notes and the occasional sketch in her diaries. Knowles also donated a number of artefacts, including carvings, shells and rocks, plus several of her paintings to the collection. There is also an oral history interview recording with Knowles (ref OH 0074).

12 films, 3 volumes

Open

None

Collection

Theresa Cunningham Knowles was born in Cornwall in 1929. She trained as a teacher and travelled out to South Africa from Southampton on 30 December 1954. She initially took a post teaching music at St. John’s High School, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. In late 1955 she starts a new job as Senior Music and Arts teacher at Chisipile in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. Knowles was a keen violinist and pianist, and also painted in oils. There was an exhibition of her works in Salisbury in the late 1950s, and she was awarded a scholarship by the Italian government to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence during 1960 to 1961. On her return to England, Knowles moved to Clifton, Bristol, and continued to paint. She died in 2005.