Secretary, Department of External Affairs, 1965-70

Component identifier:

Series 15

Content Summary:

Plimsoll succeeded Sir Arthur Tange as Secretary of the Department of External Affairs in April 1965 and remained in the position for five years. His personal papers contain very little documentation of his work as Secretary, which would mostly be recorded on official files, but there are official programs, speeches and menus and invitations which record many of the functions that he was required to attend. The programs include visits to Laos in December 1965, Israel in April 1966, the United States in November 1966, the United States in April 1967, Vietnam in October 1967, the Philippines, Malaysia and Ceylon in June 1968, Canada in September 1968, the United States in May 1969 and the Philippines in December 1969. The Vietnam papers relate to the inauguration of Nguyen Van Thieu as President in October 1967. Many of the photographs depict Sir Paul Hasluck, the Minister for External Affairs in 1964-69.

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

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