Guide to the Papers of Sir John McEwen, 1943-1980

Summary

Collection number:

MS 4654

Creator:

Sir John McEwen

Extent:

25.2 metres and (180 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sir John McEwen, National Library of Australia, MS 4654, [series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

There are no papers relating to McEwen's early life and, apart from some election papers, virtually nothing on the first twenty years of his political career. The great bulk of the papers date from the late 1950s to 1971, when McEwen retired from Parliament.

There are also papers relating to his activities in his retirement.

There is a great range of material in the collection: correspondence, minutes, appointment diaries, invitations, speeches, notes for speeches, press releases, cuttings, leaflets, publications, and a small number of photographs. Apart from personal correspondence, the largest series relate to the Australian Country Party, Federal elections, the electorate of Murray, and McEwen's activities as Minister for Trade (1956-63) and Minister for Trade and Industry (1963-71).

Biographical Note:

John McEwen was born at Chiltern in Victoria on 29 March 1900. Both his parents died by the time he was seven. He left school at the age of 13 and worked for a Melbourne pharmaceutical firm, before joining the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915. In 1918 he enlisted in the AIF, but the War ended before he could go overseas. He acquired a soldier settlement block in the Stanhope district, started dairy farming and joined the Country Party. By the 1930s, having sold his original block, he had turned to sheep farming.

After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Victorian Parliament in 1932, McEwen was elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Echuca in 1934. Following electoral redistributions, he became the Member for Indi in 1937 and the Member for Murray in 1949. In 1938 he was appointed Minister for the Interior in the Lyons Government. He gave up office when Menzies came to power in April 1939, but was appointed Minister for External Affairs in March 1940. In October 1940 he became Minister for Air and Civil Aviation and held the post until the defeat of the Fadden Government in October 1941. He was a member of the Australian Advisory War Council until the end of the War. In 1943 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Country Party.

From December 1949 until February 1971 McEwen was continuously in office. He was Minister for Commerce and Agriculture until January 1956, when he became Minister for Trade. In March 1958 he succeeded Fadden as Leader of the Country Party and thereby became Deputy Prime Minister. In December 1963 his portfolio was changed to Minister for Trade and Industry and he retained that post in the Holt and Gorton governments. Following the death of Holt, he was Prime Minister from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968. He resigned from the Government and Parliament on 1 February 1971.

McEwen married Annie McLeod in 1921. Dame Annie died in 1967 and McEwen married Mary Byrne in 1968. He was made a Companion of Honour in 1969 and knighted in 1971. He died in Melbourne on 20 November 1980.

Provenance:

The first instalments of the McEwen Papers were presented to the Library by the Country Party Secretariat in December 1972 and April 1975. In March 1979 Sir John McEwen presented a large group of papers and he made further donations in July 1979 and September 1980. The remaining papers were received from Lady McEwen in 1981 and 1982.

Indexed terms

Names:

Sir John McEwen

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn536937).

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 Sir John McEwen, National Library of Australia, MS 4654, [series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

Contact us