Ghana Inauguration and "Operation Westbound", 1957-60

 
Component identifier:
Series 18
Content Summary:

The papers in this small series relate to Osborne's role as Commonwealth Government representative at the inauguration of Ghana in March 1957. This mission, "Operation Westbound", involved three RAAF Lockheed Neptune aircraft in a round the world flight, at that time the largest peacetime operation attempted by the RAAF, and the first time an Australian air formation had circled the globe. Osborne flew with the Neptunes as a passenger. The primary purpose of the flight was to represent the Australian Services and Government at the inauguration of Ghana, as well as making stops in a number of countries, and touring various naval air bases across the United States.

The series contains correspondence with Lord Casey, the Department of External Affairs and the Prime Minister's Department regarding arrangements for the visit to Ghana. Other papers include invitations to state dinners and other events in Ghana, programs of events and activities, handwritten notes on the trip, receipts, newspaper clippings and press statements, and reference material such as maps and information brochures.

Photographs of the United States leg of the tour are contained in series 5 and related correspondence in series 17.

Immediate source of acquisition:
Frederick Osborne presented the first instalment of his papers to the Library in 1973, and a second instalment was received from him in 1995.

Contents

Access and use

Parent Restrictions:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2243753).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: