Vietnam and Laos, 1959-1966

Component identifier:

Series 10

Content Summary:

In 1959 Forsyth was appointed Ambassador to South Vietnam and Minister to Laos. With this appointment the Australian legation in South Vietnam became an embassy. That the political situation in South Vietnam was complex and tense at this time is perhaps reflected by the number of political and technical reports, cables and despatches in this series. Much of the personal correspondence is marked as confidential again representing the difficulties of the times. There are a number of photograph albums containing black and white official photographs of Vietnam at that time. Some of the photographs have captions and notes typed by Forsyth. For preservation reasons, photographs from one album have been re housed in protective folders. Correspondents include Lord Casey, Sir Arthur Tange, Tran Van Lam (Ambassador of Vietnam), Sir John G. Crawford, F.J. Blakeney, David Hay and immediate family members.

Immediate source of acquisition:

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.

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