Constitutional reform, 1915-46
- Component identifier:
- Series 7
- Content Summary:
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As editor of Historical Records of Australia, Watson became deeply interested in the constitutional history of Australia and constitutional reform became one of his abiding interests in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1924 he appeared before the New South Wales Royal Commission on New States, setting out in great detail the history of colonial boundaries. In 1927 he gave evidence to the Royal Commission on the Constitution, again arguing in favour of New States and also calling for uniform State constitutions. The economic and political turmoil of the Depression heightened his interest: he gave a paper on constitutional reform and economic reconstruction to the Economic Society of Australia and New Zealand in 1931 and the following year published a book entitled Constitutional reform as the basis for the permanent economic reconstruction of Australia.
In addition to his 1931 address, the series contains two volumes of correspondence, cuttings, notes, manuscripts and pamphlets on a number of constitutional subjects, such as New States, electoral reform, the abolition of Upper Houses, the powers of governors, and Commonwealth-State financial relations. Correspondents include Earle Page, Justice John Cohen, Sir Thomas Henley, Sir Josiah Symon, A. Berriedale Keith, Sir John Latham, John M. White, W.M. Killen, S. McKellar White, J.H. Scullin, Lieutenant Colonel E.J. Munro and H.R. Redding.
- 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- Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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: