Guide to the Papers of Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson (Lord Novar), 1912-1935

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 696
Creator:
Munro-Ferguson, Ronald Craufurd, Sir
Extent:
(16 ms boxes + 1 archive box + 2 small tubes + 1 packet + 2 map folios)
Language:
English and English
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:
The bulk of the collection falls within the period 1914-1920 when Lord Novar of Raith (Sir Ronald Craufurd Munro-Ferguson) was Governor-General. It includes official despatches from Novar to the King, private letters from Novar to the King's Private Secretaries and their replies, both personal and official despatches to the Secretaries of State for the Colonies and their replies and correspondence relating to Novar's official duties as Governor-General. Voluminous personal correspondence includes letters with W.M. Hughes, G.F. Pearce and leading military and political figures in Australia and England. The subject matter of both personal and official files includes the war, including recruiting and conscription, Australian political events at State and Commonwealth levels, the Australian economy, and Australian, Japanese, and British interests in the Pacific region. Correspondents include L.S. Amery, Sir James W. Barrett, Sir Edmund Barton, General W.R. Birdwood, Sir William Bridges, Sir James Burns, Bede Clifford, Sir Joseph Cook, Andrew Fisher, Lord Forrest, Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, L.V. Harcourt, A. Bonar Law, Walter Long, Sir Alfred Milner, Lord Stamfordham, Sir George Steward, Sir Gerald Strickland, Sir Henry MacMahon, Sir John Maxwell, J.G. Legge, Sir George Houston Reid, W. Watt, and E.D. Millen.
Biographical Note:

The papers cover the years 1912-1935, but are concerned almost entirely with the years 1914-1920, when Novar was Governor-General. They include official despatches from Novar to the King, private letters from Novar to the King's Private Secretaries and their replies, both personal and official despatches to the Secretaries of State for the Colonies and their replies, and correspondence relating to Novar's official duties as Governor-General. Voluminous personal correspondence includes correspondence with W.M. Hughes, G.F. Pearce, and leading military and political figures in Australia and England. The subject-matter of both personal and official files includes the War, including recruiting and conscription, Australian political events at State and Commonwealth levels, the Australian economy, and Australian, Japanese, and British interests in the Pacific region. The official despatches from Novar to the King, his personal letters to the King's Private Secretaries, and their replies, have been filed together, as have the three types of official despatches to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, these being in ascending order of importance, despatches giving details of the general political and economic position of Australia, despatches giving an inside picture of Federal and State politics, and Novar's personal despatches to the Secretary of State alone giving confidential information about Australian politics and politicians. The replies from the Secretaries of State have also been filed together.

Official papers relating to Novar's general duties as Governor-General have been collected into bundles in no particular order, probably by a later hand. Of his personal correspondence, that with W.M. Hughes and G.F. Pearce has been filed separately, but the remainder has mostly been filed indiscriminately, although a portion is in alphabetical order, and some military and political correspondence has been grouped together. Most of the official correspondence and despatches are in typescript, or include typescript copies and duplicates and typescript copies have been made of some of the more important personal letters, notably from W.M. Hughes. The final bundle, received from Lady Scott in 1955 and formerly part of the papers of Sir Ernest Scott, duplicates material in earlier files.

The collection also includes six diaries, kept by Lord Novar while he was Governor General of Australia between 1915 and 1920.

Provenance:

The papers were received in 1961 from Mr A.B.L. Munro Ferguson and the Trustees of the late Viscount Novar. Thirty photographs copied from the Novar albums in the possession of Mr Munro Ferguson were added to the collection in 1985. Subsequent additions include five illuminated manuscripts purchased from a dealer in 1990 and transcripts of extracts from Novar's diaries donated by Professor John Poynter in 1997.

Six volumes of diaries, on long-term loan from Mr Ronald Munro Ferguson (great nephew of Lord Novar), were added to the collection on 12 January 2004. The diaries were kept by Lord Novar while he was Governor General of Australia between 1915 and 1920.

Access and use

Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
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