Guide to the Papers of Allan Fleming, 1926-2000

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9862

Creator:

Allan Percy Fleming

Extent:

4.05 metres and (25 boxes + 1 folio item)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Allan Fleming, National Library of Australia, MS 9862, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers, which were mainly accumulated in the last thirty years of Fleming's life, comprise correspondence, personal documents, notes, official papers, speeches, newspaper cuttings, photographs and publications. Although there is little original material on his service in World War II and in the Commonwealth Public Service, there are many papers written or acquired in his retirement relating to earlier phases of his life. The papers deal with journalism, military campaigns in the Middle East and New Guinea, espionage, security, terrorism, international trade, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library and the National Library of Australia.

The correspondents include Sir John McEwen, Sir Magnus Cormack, Sir Frank Berryman, H. Philip Braddock, John Balfe, Roland Griffiths-Marsh, David Horner, Des Ball, Sir Harold White, Harold Williams, Björn Tell, Jean Whyte, Hillas MacLean, Warren Horton, Pierre Hutton, Neil Manton and Peter Ryan.

Biographical Note:

Allan Percy Fleming was born on 5 March 1912 in Melbourne. During World War I, while his father was serving abroad, he moved with his mother to the King Valley in northern Victoria, where both sides of his family lived. He went to school at Whitfield. Following the divorce of his parents, he moved to Melbourne to live with his father and stepmother and attended Lee Street State School in North Carlton. He gained a Junior Scholarship and in 1926 enrolled at Scotch College, where he remained for five years. In 1931 he enrolled at the University of Melbourne, but for a time also worked as a housemaster at Scotch College. He was editor of the University newspaper Farrago and pursued his university studies in a desultory way, finally graduating as a Bachelor of Arts in 1949.

In 1932 Fleming was offered a job on the Melbourne Argus and became a reporter. In 1938 he moved to Brisbane to work on the Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail. Following the outbreak of War, he enlisted in the Army and served in the Middle East, Greece, North Africa, New Guinea, the Dutch East Indies and the Philippines. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, was twice mentioned in despatches, and was awarded the OBE. On his return to Australia he was employed by Keith Murdoch as a special writer, columnist and magazine editor on the Melbourne Sun. On 19 June 1940 Fleming married Margaret Morell, née Patterson, in Jaffa, Palestine. They had one daughter, Alannah. Margaret Fleming died in 1999.

In 1947 Fleming began a long career in the Commonwealth Government when he joined the Department of Defence as Director of the Joint Intelligence Bureau. He was Assistant Secretary in 1949-53 and Controller of Joint Service Organisations in 1953-58. He then transferred to the Trade Commissioner Service and was Trade Commissioner in Paris in 1959-62. He returned to Australia as First Assistant Secretary in the Department of Trade and Industry and in 1967 he went to London as the Special Commercial Adviser at the Australian High Commission. In 1968 he made another sharp career change when he was appointed Commonwealth Parliamentary Librarian. In June 1970 he succeeded Sir Harold White as the National Library. He retired from the National Library in October 1973. After living in France for a period, he returned to Canberra and in 1976 was asked to set up the Protective Services Coordination Centre. He retired from this position and was awarded the CBE in 1978.

In his later years Fleming lived in Albert Park in Melbourne. He served on a number of committees, including the Advisory Board of Parliament's Bicentenary Publications Project. He did some historical research and was strongly interested in the history of World War II and espionage. He died on 18 January 2001.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers were donated to the Library in 2001 by Alannah Buchanan, the daughter of Allan Fleming

Arrangement:

In his last years Fleming had rearranged many of the papers and when they came to the Library they were generally loose and were in considerable disorder. Library staff filed the papers and imposed the existing arrangement. The papers have been placed in 16 series, most of which correspond with a phase of Fleming's career.

Indexed terms

Names:

Allan Percy Fleming

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1597069).

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], Papers of Allan Fleming, National Library of Australia, MS 9862, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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