Labor legend Rob Schwarten’s eye-watering book deal

A legendary Labor strongman is hoarding an enormous private collection of political books — and he’s giving them away.

Rob Schwarten wants to find a new owner for his vast collection of books.

When it comes to politics, Robert Schwarten was never short of a word, or books on that subject it seems.

The legendary Labor strongman, who lit up Queensland Parliament for two decades with his colourful political barbs, possesses an enormous private collection of political books numbering between 700 and 800 titles.

But it’s time to find them a new home.

The 70-year-old former Member for Rockhampton is preparing to downsize from his Park Avenue house and his political library, which takes up an entire room, has got to go so he’s giving it away.

Rob Schwarten looks over the collection of political books at his Park Avenue home.

“It’s a unique collection that’s been in private hands for over a century now,” Rob said as he stood among the stacks and shelves of books.

“I don’t care where it goes as long as it’s to somebody who’s going to value it because the reality is it shouldn’t be kept in private hands any longer.”

Walking around the piles of books, some dating back to the 1890s, Rob picks up an old copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

“Not many people would have this at home,” he said about Hitler’s manifesto which has been getting referred to in recent times due to current political upheavals.

Everywhere you look, the big names of Australian and global politics of the past two centuries jump out at you from the dust covers.

Robert Menzies, Bill Hayden, Bob Hawke, Gough Whitlam, Edmund Barton, Billy Hughes are among the well-known Australian names that feature while international leaders such as Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair and John F Kennedy also dot the shelves.

Rob Schwarten looks over a book by Rockhampton author J H Wood.

And so do more obscure names, as Rob demonstrates as selects Through the Window by J H Wood.

“He was a Rockhampton window cleaner, a local bloke with a shop in East Street, extremely well read,” he said of the author as he thumbed through the pages.

“That’s his history how he came from England and he was part of the Window Shoppers Union. A very interesting story. His nickname was Brasso Woods because he used to polish all the brass works and he was still around here in 1950s.

“Some of these (books in the collection) are unique that no one else would have kept. It’s an eclectic collection that goes back to my great-grandfather.”

When asked what his favourite book was out of entire collection, Rob points at Roy Jenkin’s book Churchill.

“Probably the best written book,” he said.

“Jenkins was an interesting character who was a politician who formed the Social Democrats in the UK. He actually died writing that book there on (Teddy) Roosevelt.”

Roy Jenkin’s book Churchill is highly regarded by Rob Schwarten.

Rob smiled as flicked through a copy of a Short History of the British Working Class 1789 to 1927 by GDH Cole.

“That would be a good read wouldn’t it,” he chuckled.

Another good read is Socialism at Work from 1918 by an Unknown Author.

“That’s a great story from (around 1918) when the Brisbane fish markets were controlled by British interests and (in 1914) they dropped 900 tons of fish back into the ocean rather than glut the market with it,” Rob said.

“When (Premier Tom) Ryan got in (1915) they built these fish markets at Wynnum and they lowered the price of fish by about 60 per cent. It wasn’t socialism. It was capitalism, competition in the market and they drove the price of fish down.”

Rob Schwarten looks over the book collection which fills a room at his home.

Rob said the collection started with his great grandparents in the late 1800s who were great readers with a good number of books based on the formation of the Labor Party, but the range of subject matter across the collection was vast.

“Basically, this exercise is find someone out there who wants a very good collection of political history that embraces all manner of topics and flavour,” he said.

As for writing a book himself, Rob says he has been working on a few pages but that undertaking needs serious time and dedication and that will only come after they downsize.

So what better way to finish than with a sample of a Schwartenism from his days in the Queensland Parliament when Labor was in Opposition.

“Let us look at what we have: a Minister who could not teach a pig to be dirty and a director-general who could not lead a choko vine over a fence,” Rob said back in 1997.

If you’re interested in Rob’s offer, contact Frazer Pearce at [e-mail] or [e-mail].

Originally published as Labor legend Rob Schwarten’s eye-watering book deal