Audray Bateman Randle

The Audray Bateman Randle Lecture Series of the Austin History Center Association honors Audray Bateman Randle, who served as Curator of the Austin History Center from 1975 to 1988. During Mrs. Randle’s tenure, the Austin-Travis County Collection grew from a local history collection housed in one room in the east wing of the old central Austin Public Library building to a nationally recognized local history archives occupying almost the entire building. With civic leader Sue McBee, Mrs. Randle was instrumental in creating the Austin History Center Guild, later renamed the Austin History Center Association, which led the campaign to save the old central public library building from the wrecking ball and restored and refurbished the architecturally-significant 1933 Italian Renaissance building, reopening it in 1983 as the Austin History Center.

Mrs. Randle’s well-known weekly column, Waterloo Scrapbook, published in the Austin American-Statesman, provided historical insight into Austin’s heritage, people, buildings, and events and made Austin citizens more knowledgeable of our history and the importance of its preservation. Mrs. Randle also authored the Waterloo Press book, An Austin Album, in 1978, which featured portraits of Austin citizens taken from the Austin History Center’s photography collection and co-authored two other books, The Governor’s Mansion of Texas, A Historic Tour and University Methodist Church, 1887-1987, A Brief History.

Upon retirement, Mrs. Randle served as an honorary officer in the Austin History Center Association, provided consultation services to other local history archives, and enjoyed retirement with her husband, Gibson Randle. Mrs. Randle died in 2002. Her son, Mark Bateman, lives in Mountain View, California.