United Australia Party, 1931-1944

Component identifier:

Series 36

Content Summary:

Following his support for a 'No Confidence' vote against Scullin in March 1931, Hughes accepted Latham's invitation to join a new coalition of non-Labour organisations formed under J. A. Lyons and called the United Australia Party (UAP). When Lyons died in April 1939 Hughes was narrowly defeated by Menzies for party leadership and became Deputy Leader. This decision was reversed in a ballot taken after Curtin's accession to power in October 1941, and Hughes remained UAP Leader and Deputy Leader of the Opposition until his resignation following the August 1943 General Election. During 1941-1943 there was disagreement in the Party over Curtin's legislation on uniform taxation and compulsory military service and open clashes with a group of sixteen led by Menzies called the National Service Group. After the 1943 Election Hughes remained as Deputy Leader to Menzies until April 1944, when he was expelled for refusing to accept a UAP decision to withdraw from the Advisory War Council.

This small series almost entirely relates to the period 1941-1943. Other UAP material is in Series 3, Series 28 (especially the 1943 election file) and Series 46. Series 36 consists of letters, telegrams, notes, press statements, reports, circulars and speeches and broadcasts, and mainly refers to the formulation of joint UAP-Country Party (CP) policy and Menzies' actions as National Service Group leader and his criticism of UAP-CP policies.

There are letters from people requesting advice about standing for UAP preselection, letters about policy addressed to Hughes as UAP leader or as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and letters from such people as Fadden, George McLeay, H. W. Horsfield, Jos Francis, Percy Spender, Gwen Wilson, Lindley Walker, Allan Guy, N. Whitefield and UAP branch secretaries. The speeches include several referring to the disloyalty of Menzies including two that were published, Mr Menzies and unity (April 1943) and Tragedy of party strife (July 1943).

Immediate source of acquisition:

The W. M. Hughes Papers were presented to the National Library of Australia by Dame Mary Hughes in 1953. The collection was received in two consignments. One consisted of papers taken from the Perpetual Trustee Company comprising material from Hughes' Lindfield home and from his office rooms at the Commonwealth Offices, Sydney; the other came directly from Lindfield. Lists of the contents of both consignments are held in the Library's Manuscript Branch. With the agreement of the executors and the Library, much of the collection, was for a time, held at the Australian National University by Fitzhardinge. He was permitted sole access to the collection while writing the biography Hughes commissioned in 1951. Fitzhardinge's own papers documenting the writing of the biography are also held by the Library (MS 5400). The papers transferred to the Library in 1953 are by no means the total collection of Hughes' personal papers, although it is impossible to say what proportion has survived. (see Fitzhardinge, p.936).

Names:

Hughes, W. M. (1862-1952)

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