Guide to the Papers of William Douglass Forsyth, 1875-1993

Summary

Collection number:

MS 5700

Creator:

William Douglass Forsyth

Extent:

(102 ms boxes + 1 medium folio box + 1 large folio box)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of William Douglass Forsyth, National Library of Australia, MS 5700, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Forsyth made a particular point of collecting and keeping papers and other materials that he wrote and received throughout his life. The result is a large and varied collection of papers comprising a comprehensive record of his life and career.

Forsyth's first job after post-graduate study at Melbourne and Oxford Universities was as a Research Secretary with the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Victorian Branch. He wrote reviews of Pacific affairs and edited the Austral Asiatic Bulletin published by the Institute. On the outbreak of the Pacific war, William Macmahon Ball, then in charge of radio for the Department of Information, asked Forsyth to take the position of officer-in-charge of the Department's 'background service'. Forsyth collected and compiled secret and confidential intelligence information from the three Service Intelligence Departments and External Affairs. Papers from this period of his life include articles on Pacific and international affairs, research papers on migration and population, copies of the Austral Asiatic Bulletin and correspondence and papers from the Department of Information.

In 1942 Forsyth joined the fledgling Department of External Affairs where he stayed until his retirement in 1969; his career effectively paralleling the growth of the Department and the associated development of Australian foreign policy. This period of his life is well documented by a large collection of general and personal correspondence as well as a substantial amount of reports, research and policy papers, despatches and other working materials. Forsyth's correspondence is a lively mixture of official, personal and unofficial letters and gives a vivid first-hand account of what was happening in the Department both officially and behind the scenes. He kept carbon copies of all his personal letters, typed and handwritten, as well as file copies of official memoranda, reports and so on. He was adept at the use of unofficial channels of communication via handwritten or personally typed letters marked 'personal and confidential' which were not usually destined to form part of the official record. Forsyth not only kept copies of his own 'off the record' letters, he also kept 'personal and confidential' letters he received from colleagues.

Correspondence starts with his first research papers on the Pacific, special assignments in the 1940s, through his long period as Australia's Permanent Representative with the United Nations General Assembly, two terms as Secretary-General with the South Pacific Commission, and his Ambassadorial postings in Vietnam and Lebanon. Correspondents include Joy Forsyth, Russell Forsyth, Sir Ernest Scott, William Macmahon Ball, Sir Frederic Eggleston, T.W. Cutts, Brian Hill, Sir James Plimsoll, Sir Walter Crocker, Sir John Crawford, John Gunther, H.E. Maude, Guy Harriott and other journalists, academics and colleagues from the Department of External Affairs.

After retirement in 1969 Forsyth wrote numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the Pacific Islands affairs. He worked as an occasional consultant to the Department of Foreign Affairs on Pacific islands issues (1973-74). From 1971-73 he wrote a book 'Post Colonial Pacific' for the Australian Institute of International Affairs. The unpublished manuscript was given to the Library in 1981 along with the associated research materials. There is a substantial and comprehensive body of material on the South Pacific Commission and the Pacific islands. The material covers the early history of the Commission, its expansion in the 1960's and the 'de-colonisation' of the Commission in the 1970s.

From the late 1970s until his death in 1993, Forsyth's major project was researching and writing his three-part autobiography: 'Recollections of a maverick diplomat'. The first book, 'In old Australia', 1841-1941, was completed in 1982. It records Forsyth's family history and the early part of his life in the Western District of Victoria. He drew upon his extensive collection of family and local history documents in writing this book. The second book, 'The Evatt years', 1942-51, was largely written although not completed before his death. His primary source material was the large correspondence and other materials he had accumulated during his career. He also obtained copies of additional source material from the Australian Archives and the Department of Foreign Affairs historical documents section. The third book 'Pride and fall', 1951-69 was not written apart from a draft introduction and a small collection of notes.

In the 1990s, Forsyth had difficulty in typing and writing and resorted to taping information for his autobiography. The tapes have been transcribed but not all have been edited. The tapes contain additional material for some chapters of 'The Evatt years'. The introduction to the third book 'Pride and fall', 1951-69, exists only in a transcribed tape. Forsyth lodged the manuscripts, research materials, drafts, tape recordings and transcriptions of 'Recollections of a maverick diplomat' with the Library.

Forsyth's remained interested in international, national and local issues during his retirement and post retirement correspondence reflects this range of interests. There is material on Pacific islands consultancy work and various writing projects undertaken in retirement. There are a number of requests for and referral of information used in the writing of 'Recollections' usually 'The Evatt years' which involved exchanges with academics and journalists on political and policy aspects of the 'Evatt' years. There is correspondence with former colleagues, friends and family and .

In retirement Forsyth accumulated many folders of press clippings (often annotating them extensively). He wrote many letters to newspapers, he jotted down notes and opinions, collected quotations, book reviews and copies of magazine articles or extracts from books. He wrote a number of newspaper articles many of which were published, these articles have been placed with associated papers and subjects, for example, writings on the Pacific Islands are with Pacific materials. There is a small series of writings comprising published post - graduate theses and miscellaneous writings.

This collection also features a sizeable and varied selection of official and personal photographs from Forsyth's career including the United Nations, Vietnam, Lebanon, the South Pacific Commission and the Pacific islands. There are some early photographs from special assignments in the 1940s notably Japanese surrender at Timor and the Far Eastern Advisory Commission.

Biographical Note:

William Douglass Forsyth was born in Casterton, Western Victoria, on 5 January 1909 and died in Canberra on 3 March 1993.

Early lifeDepartment of External AffairsRetirement

Provenance:

The papers were donated to the Library in several small instalments during the 1970s and 1980s and one large instalment after Forsyth's death in March 1993.

Arrangement:

The Library has arranged Forsyth's general and personal correspondence in a broad chronological order following his career in the Department.

Family letters were usually but not always kept in separate sequences. Most family letters are included with Forsyth's personal documents, however, some family letters can be found in personal and general correspondence. Sometimes Forsyth marked runs of correspondence 'personal' or 'confidential' or 'general'. This marking is not always an indicator of the nature of the material; the Library has retained Forsyth's markings noting that there is major overlapping between the categories.

The Library has integrated the photographs with their associated papers, for example, United Nations photographs are with United Nations papers

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1104502).

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 William Douglass Forsyth, National Library of Australia, MS 5700, [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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