30. Despatches to Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1914-1919

Containers:

Box 12, Box 13

Component identifier:

Series

Content Summary:

Copies of 'Secret' despatches to the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1914-1919); Most, if not all, despatches drafted by Novar's staff member, Major George Steward, deal with financial and economic matters to give a general analysis of Australian affairs to the Colonial Office. Reverse date order and incomplete. Includes acknowledgement of receipt. Other matters covered are finance and economics; Federal politics; Commonwealth-States relation;, conduct of the war, recruiting, repatriation, trade shipping, Papua, wartime profits; Novar's comments on Parties and leading politicians; political crisis of 1917; Industrial Workers of the World; conscription referenda; German version of Emden-Sydney fight; and irregular recruiting of New Guinea natives. Special despatches cover removal of German influence from Australian metal industry; Frank Anstey's successful attempt to force the Government to release soldiers gaoled for looting material in New Guinea (1915); High Court decision on the New South Wales Wheat Acquisition Act (1915). Comprises Items 9553-10265.

Immediate source of acquisition:

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