MISS JOYCE COCKS – SHOT AT IN SYDNEY’S MITCHELL LIBRARY

As a young woman,  Joyce Cocks became an attendant (and later a buyer) at Sydney’s historic  Mitchell Library. The Mitchell now forms part of the  vast Library of New South Wales complex.

The Mitchell in the 1920s

The Mitchell Library Reading Room at the time Joyce Cocks was employed there.

AN ARMED ROBBER INTRUDES

In 1923 an armed man entered the building on Macquarie Street  and removed three  valuable paintings from a wall on the library’s third floor.  Two of the paintings were by the colonial artist Conrad Martens (1801-1878).  The third was by  Frederick Casemero Terry (1825-1869)  One of the Martens targeted by the intruder  was noted  as being The Temple of the Minerva, Island of Aegina (Circa 1852,)

The man  then made his way down to the ground floor.  When he heard Joyce’s footsteps he dropped the pictures and hid in a cupboard.

As Joyce entered the room he leapt out of the cupboard and  fired his revolver at her.  By a great stroke of luck,  the gun failed to discharge properly.  However, before the young woman could escape, the intruder  picked up a piece of shelving and hit her over the head.  He then panicked, running through the Reading Room and out into the street.  The paintings were left behind, as was a badly injured Miss Cocks.  Two fellow attendants came running to her assistance and called the police, but the  assailant and would-be  thief  was never apprehended.

Fortunately Joyce  recovered and  stoically went back to work.  It was not the first time she had been in a dicey situation.

When WWI broke out  in 1914, Joyce had been  studying languages and domestic science at an academy  in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  For many weeks she was  virtually a prisoner-of-war, relying on the goodwill of the American Consulate for protection.  She was forbidden to leave the country, or even to speak English.  When she and an American friend were overheard speaking English in the street one day they were stoned by an angry onlooker.  Eventually a passport was arranged for her by the consulate.  She was able to travel to Holland, and from there catch a steamer to England.

A LIFE OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY FOR JOYCE

Joyce Cocks was always very involved in public life.  Apart from her work at the Mitchell Library she wrote articles and spoke publicly on women’s issues and social affairs.

In 1925 she wrote to past Prime Minister William (Billy) Hughes, offering her support in the next federal election. He responded with a charming letter of appreciation;

Dear Miss Cocks

Thank you very much for your kind letter of the 14th inst. Yes! I do want all the volunteer workers I can gather around me.  

Your letter seems to have precipitated an election. I put you down as one of those rare, gifted women who have “second sight” & rejoice to think that I may count upon your help.

I will be in Sydney at the weekend and will write you from Lindfield.

He signed off and added his  phone number.

In 1928 Joyce wrote a piece for The Sydney Morning Herald using the name Elspeth Mudie. It was titled The Library Assistant and anyone who has worked in libraries, myself included, will thoroughly enjoy it.  CLICK HERE

UNDAUNTED BY PREMIER LANG….BRAVO JOYCE COCKS!

During the years of the Great  Depression Joyce worked on committees to assist the unemployed.

In 1931 she presented herself in Premier Jack Lang’s office. She was on a mission to obtain  a grant for a retired civil servant going through hard times.  Lang was an intimidating figure; well over six foot tall.   Nicknamed ‘The Big Fella’  he had a reputation for  being  abrasive and humorless. There was a somewhat gleeful account of the encounter in the newspaper;

Advancing through the large and terrifying Premier’s room, Miss Cocks found Mr Lang leaning against the mantelpiece. She took her stand at the other end and explained her errand.

The final exchange with the Premier  went like this;

‘Ha! Well it is a matter for Cabinet, not for me.’

I’ve already seen the other members of Cabinet. They are agreeable, if you are.’

‘Ha! Leave no stone unturned, do you? Well, come back and see me tomorrow.’

‘Too busy to come back tomorrow.’

With that Premier  Lang gave up and granted her request.

Another issue that concerned Joyce was the problem of excessive alcohol consumption. In a letter to the Editor of The Sunday Telegraph (October 7 1945) she made some suggestions that seem fairly reasonable to me. Her pseudonym on this occasion was Evelyn Joyce;

In 1947 she travelled  to Philadelphia to represent Australia at an International Women’s Conference. She retired from the Mitchell Library in 1951.

Joyce Cocks died in 1971. An interesting life well lived, by a woman ahead of her time.

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