General correspondence, 1949-87
- Component identifier:
- Series 1
- Content Summary:
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Apart from the last five files in this series, the correspondence was loose and in no order and has been arranged chronologically by Library staff. Although it covers a long period, it only becomes relatively extensive in the final years of Plimsoll's life. In many earlier years there are only a handful of letters. There are only a small number of copies of Plimsoll's own letters. A few of the papers were badly damaged in 1977 in the fire at the Australian Embassy in Moscow and photocopies have been substituted.
The subject matter of the correspondence is necessarily varied and ranges from congratulatory letters on Plimsoll's honours in 1956, 1962 and 1978 and on his many appointments, expressions of sympathy following his heart attack in 1985, business matters and orders for the supply of books to discussions about Australian and international politics, diplomatic appointments, social events at Government House in Hobart, and the roles of governors and the governor-general. Among the correspondents are Lord Casey, Lady Casey, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir Laurence Macintyre, Lady Macintyre, Sir Douglas Copland, Joyce McConnell, Evelyn Dutton, Sir John Kerr, Cecily Osborne, Sir Peter Heydon, Sir Daryl Lindsay, Richard Krygier, Francis Stuart, Sir Walter Crocker, Sir Bruce Williams, Marion O'Dea, Lady Cawthorn, Hugh Gilchrist, Barrie Dexter, Ruth Dobson, Peter Curtis, Max Loveday, Warren Reed, Sir William Heseltine, Lady Gore-Booth, Stewart Jamieson and James Mollison.
Other personal letters can be found attached to Christmas cards in Series 9. There are also many personal letters in the files created when Plimsoll was Governor of Tasmania (Series 21).
- Immediate source of acquisition:
- Sir James Plimsoll, who died on 8 May 1987, bequeathed his papers and books to the National Library. Following intervention by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the executors were informed that some of the papers were Commonwealth records and others were records of the Tasmanian Government. Consequently, the papers were transferred to the Australian Archives for detailed examination. It was finally determined that 149 boxes would come to the National Library, four boxes would be sent to the Tasmanian State Archives, and the remaining boxes would be retained by the Australian Archives. The papers were received by the National Library in March 1990.
- Names:
- Sir James Plimsoll
Contents
Access and use
- Parent Restrictions:
- Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1769030).
- 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: