Guide to the Family papers of Robert Garran, 1842-1957

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 2001
Creator:
Garran Family
Extent:
6.08 metres and (2 ms boxes + 17 archive boxes + 2 small folio boxes + 2 medium folio boxes + 1 large folio box + 2 small phase boxes + 2 map folios)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Family papers of Robert Garran, National Library of Australia, MS 2001, [series and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection comprises diaries, notebooks, correspondence, opinion books, newspaper cuttings, notes, photographs and printed material.

The diaries and other papers of Andrew Garran were used by Sir Robert in his autobiography, Prosper the Commonwealth, which he completed just before his death.

Sir Robert Garran's papers relate to the Federation movement, the drafting and development of the Australian Constitution, the work of the Attorney-General's Department, the 1919 and 1929 Imperial Conferences, the League of Nations, the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and the 1932 Indian Military Defence Tribunal. There are also papers documenting Garran's various interests and activities, such as the Rotary Foundation, together with family correspondence and papers. The collection also includes Garran's official GCMG regalia, medals and other awards.

Biographical Note:

Andrew Garran: A journalist and politician, Garran was born in London in 1825. He left for Australia in 1850, and in 1856 became assistant editor of the Sydney Morning Herald. Between 1873 and 1885 he was the paper's editor, but in 1885 resigned because of ill health. Garran was nominated to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1887, and in 1892 was appointed president of the Council of Arbitration. In 1894 he returned to the Legislative Council, until his retirement in 1898. Garran remained Sydney correspondent for The Times (London) until his death in 1901. Sir Robert Garran was Andrew Garran's only son.

Sir Robert Randolph Garran: Born in Sydney in 1867, Garran studied law at Sydney University and was called to the New South Wales Bar in 1890. Taking an active role in the campaign for federation, he published The Coming Commonwealth in 1897 and collaborated with Sir John Quick in producing The Annotated Constitution of the Australian Commonwealth in 1901. At this time he was made secretary to the Federal Attorney-General and Parliamentary Draftsman. From 1916 to 1932 he was also the Solicitor General to the Commonwealth. Garran accompanied W. M. Hughes to the Peace Conference of 1918-1919 and S.M. Bruce to the Imperial Conference of 1923. After his retirement from office in 1932, he headed a tribunal established in England to determine the United Kingdom's relative expenditure on the defence of India. Garran also played an important role in the Rotary International movement, and was Chancellor of the Diocese of Goulburn from 1939 to 1947. He was knighted in 1917, and died in January 1957.

See also: Garran, Sir Robert. Prosper the Commonwealth. Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1958.

Collection Retrieval Advice:

Please note: each class in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there are multiple Box 1's). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.

Provenance:

The bulk of the Garran Papers were obtained shortly before and immediately after Sir Robert Garran's death in 1957, from Garran's son, John Garran. Further papers were located in 1968 in the possession of another son, Richard Garran.

Arrangement:

The papers of Andrew Garran are featured in Series 1, 2 and 19, while the remainder of the collection largely concerns Sir Robert Garran's life and career, together with some family papers.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn554456).
Conditions Governing Use:
Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Family papers of Robert Garran, National Library of Australia, MS 2001, [series and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
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