Guide to the Papers of Atlee Hunt, 1900-1930

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 52
Creator:
Atlee Arthur Hunt
Extent:
(7 ms boxes)
Language:
English and English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Atlee Hunt, National Library of Australia, MS 52, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Atlee Hunt's papers consist chiefly of correspondence, both semi-official and private, written in the period 1901-21 when he was Secretary of the Department of External Affairs and, subsequently, the Department of Home and Territories. There are no papers relating to his early career as a lawyer or his involvement in the Federation movement. There are some personal letters written in the late 1920s, but virtually nothing on his work as Public Service Arbitrator.

The correspondence is extensive, with letters from many political figures, government officials and representatives of commercial organizations. They deal mostly with imperial relations (including Australian representation in the United Kingdom), political and commercial relations with the New Hebrides and other Pacific Islands, and the administration of the Australian territories: Norfolk Island, the Northern Territory and Papua.

The principal correspondents include Sir Edmund Barton, Captain F.R. Barton, E.L. Batchelor, Thomas Bavin, Colonel James Burns, A.M. Campbell, H.E. Carey, Captain R. Muirhead Collins, Alfred Deakin, Patrick McMahon Glynn, Merton King, Sir George Le Hunte, Walter H. Lucas, Hugh Mahon, M.V. Murphy, Hubert Murray, Judge T.E. Roseby, H.C. Smart and Miles Staniforth Smith.

Biographical Note:

Arthur Atlee Hunt was born on 7 November 1864 at Baroonda Station on the Fitzroy River, Queensland. He was educated at Balmain Public School and Sydney Grammar School. In 1879 he was appointed as a clerk in the New South Wales Lands Department. He visited England in 1887 and on his return studied law. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1892. He took an active part in the Federation movement and was Secretary of the New South Wales Federal Association (1898) and General Secretary of the Federal League of Australasia (1899). He was one of a number of young men, including Robert Garran and Thomas Bavin, who strongly supported the leadership of Edmund Barton.

On Barton's appointment as Prime Minister in January 1901, Hunt became his private secretary and managed his electoral campaign. In May 1901 he was appointed the first Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, a position he held for 15 years. He made official visits to British New Guinea in 1905 and the Northern Territory in 1915 and attended the Imperial Conferences in London in 1907 and 1911. He was appointed a CMG in 1910.

In 1916 Hunt was appointed Secretary of the Department of Home and Territories. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the mandated territories in New Guinea in 1919. In 1921 he was appointed the first Public Service Arbitrator. He retired in 1930.

Atlee Hunt married Lilian Hunt in 1897. He died in Perth on 19 September 1935.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers were donated to the Commonwealth National Library by Hunt's daughter, Miss Marion Hunt, in 1936.

Some other papers of Atlee Hunt, including three diaries, were donated by Mr Bruce Hunt in 1964 and are housed at MS 1100.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1299291).
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 Atlee Hunt, National Library of Australia, MS 52, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
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