Historical records of Australia, 1911-41
- Component identifier:
- Series 5
- Content Summary:
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The Commonwealth Parliamentary Library Committee appointed Watson as the first editor of Historical Records of Australia in August 1912. He proposed to publish seven series of predominantly official documents covering the years 1787 to 1855. In fact, only volumes in three series were published:
Series 1. NSW Governor's despatches, 1787-1849 (26 vols.)
Series 3. Despatches and papers relating to the settlement of the states, 1803-30 (6 vols.)
Series 4. Legal papers, 1786-1827 (1 vol.)
Publication ceased in 1926 following a dispute between Watson and the Library Committee arising from the failure of the Government Printer to publish four volumes in 1925. No other editor was ever appointed.
The principal papers in this series are three volumes of correspondence between Watson and members of the Parliamentary Library Committee, librarians and historians, dating from 1911-41. They largely deal with the administration, funding and printing of Historical Records of Australia, but also discuss such matters as the Macquarie Papers acquired by the Mitchell Library in 1913, the King Papers, the location of records in Tasmania, and the possible resumption of publication in the 1930s. Correspondents include Charles McDonald, W. Elliott Johnson, G.A. Wood, Arthur Wadsworth, J. Keating, W.H. Ifould, J.M. Robinson, W.G. Robertson, J.W. Beattie, Kenneth Binns and Ida Leeson.
Among other important material in the series are correspondence with G.A. Wood and J.B. Peden concerning Watson's introductions to each volume (further letters on the same subject are contained in Series 1); a volume of manuscript entitled 'The birth of civilisation in Australia'; correspondence and other papers relating to the legal suit Watson v. the Commonwealth, which led to the cessation of the publication in 1926; and a set of Historical Records of Australia heavily annotated by Watson. Of special note are a volume of letters from James Bonwick to Alexander Britton, H.C.L. Anderson and F.M. Bladen discussing his transcription of British documents and the publication of Historical Records of New South Wales.
- Immediate source of acquisition:
- The original consignment of Papers of Frederick Watson were purchased from his daughter Pauline Watson in 1989. Further papers were donated by his granddaughter, Patricia Ritter, in 2018.
Contents
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2898873).
- Parent Terms of Access:
- 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.
- Location of this collection:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: