Manning Clark, the famous Australian historian who passed away in 1991, did much of his work from a desk at his Canberra home. He wrote the six-volume A History of Australia, which was published between 1962 and 1987.

He also used to be a regular fixture at the State Library, located at NSW's original Mitchell Library Reading Room.

On Monday, Brian Matthews was declared the winner of Australia's National Biography Award, making him $20,000 richer because of his biological writing and memoir. The announcement was done in the Mitchell Library Reading Room.

Mr Matthew was very dilligent and exerted great effort in researching papers, manuscripts and diaries at the National Library of Canberra to be able to write Manning Clark: A Life.

He told the AAP that Axel, a good mate at the university, also helped him. Axel is Mr Clark's third son.

During his acceptance speech, Mr Matthews said that he was "absolutley knocked to win this award."

"It's a terrifically important award," he said.

Mr Matthews adds, "I'm absolutely delighted to be standing here. Reasonably surprised as well."

He took note that Mr Clark became a university professor when he was 34. Mr Clark's works gained him many prizes, as well as strong criticisms.

"And some of the criticisms were very severe," Mr Matthews revealed.

"Although he didn't publicly acknowledge this very often, privately he was deeply wounded by some of these criticisms.

"Behind the mask was a story of pain (and) fears," he said.

"Above all, this was a man who brought his dream into being, over 25 slogging, sometimes triumphant, often acrimonious years, who wrote in more than a billion words and six chunky volumes, a history of his own land."

62 books, with six books shortlisted, were considered for this year's National Biography Award including: Andrew Fisher: Prime Minister of Australia, by David Day; Doing Life: A Biography of Elizabeth Jolley, by Brian Dibble; House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrick Mann and Nelly Kroeger-Mann, by Evelyn Juers; Jill Roe's Stella Miles Franklin: A Biography; and Catherine Therese's The Weight of Silence: A Memoir.