Correspondence, 1902-1913

Component identifier:

Subseries 16_1

Content Summary:

Subjects mentioned in the correspondence include Deakin's resignation from office in 1904, the various moves to form a coalition with the two other parties in the same year, the dispute between Sir Josiah Symon and the High Court judges, 1904-1905, Reid's accession to office in 1904, problems of Western Australia, the development of the Northern Territory and the redistribution of electoral boundaries in 1905. In addition, there are letters on the establishment of Canberra, taxation, trade, the Reform League, the Australian Party, trade unions, Deakin's moves to oust Reid in 1905, the change of government in 1908, the events leading up to the Fusion in June 1909, the appointment of a High Commissioner in London, the 1911 Imperial Conference, suffragettes as political prisoners and the consequences of Deakin's retirement.

As with the previous series, the correspondence in Series 16 includes a large number of letters from representatives of all political viewpoints, but particularly from Deakin's colleagues, as well as from businessmen, newspapermen, lawyers, civil servants, Governors-General and feminists.

This subseries contains Items 16/1 - 16/828.

Immediate source of acquisition:

On 3 December 1965 Ivy Brookes, the eldest daughter of Alfred Deakin, formally presented the Deakin Papers to the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, for permanent preservation in the National Library. After Deakin's death in 1919 his papers remained in the possession of his widow, Pattie, until her death in 1934. They were used extensively by Herbert Brookes, and by Professor Walter Murdoch while he was working on the first biography of Deakin, published in 1923. In 1945 the Deakin Papers were examined by an officer of the National Library and it was agreed that the papers would ultimately be deposited in the Library. In 1948 Professor R.M. Crawford of the University of Melbourne became custodian of the papers on the understanding that either an extensive selection of documents or a biography would be based on them. Subsequently his colleague, Professor J.A. La Nauze, began Deakin's biography and the papers remained in his custody until the work was completed in 1965. From time to time other papers relating to Deakin were added to the original collection by Herbert and Ivy Brookes, Lady Rivett and Sir Thomas and Lady White. Professors Crawford and La Nauze also added letters or copies of Deakin letters that they had acquired from other sources.

Names:

Brookes, Ivy

Contents

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