Guide to the Papers of Alan Wilkinson, 1977-1984

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9860

Extent:

0.62 metres and (2 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Alan Wilkinson, National Library of Australia, MS 9860, [file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers mostly comprise file copies of correspondence, minutes and other documents that Wilkinson wrote or drafted for ministers and other officials during the seven years that he served in the Papua New Guinea Government.

The collection includes letters, memoranda, minutes, telexes, policy submissions and statements, interim reports, departmental circulars, briefing notes, draft agreements, joint communiqués, press releases, information sheets, transcripts of speeches, and summaries of press conferences. Recipients of letters include senior officials of both the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and of other government departments, senior diplomatic staff both in Papua New Guinea and overseas, Australian Members of Parliament, and staff of overseas aid organisations and banks. Most of the letters were written or drafted by Wilkinson himself or by other officers of the Branch in which he was currently working.

Biographical Note:

Alan Elliot Wilkinson was born on 15 November 1939. Studying at the University of Western Australia, he gained an engineering degree in 1962, and went on to work as an electrical engineer in the Postmaster General's Department in Perth. He later completed an Honours degree in political science and history, also at the University of Western Australia, and in 1975 gained his doctorate in international relations at the Australian National University, with a thesis on the politics of Australian foreign aid policy from 1950 to 1972.

Wilkinson's years as a student were followed by two brief periods of employment as a research assistant, first with the Australia-Japan Economic Relations Research Project at the ANU, and then with the Australian Council for Overseas Aid. Through this work, combined with his doctoral research, his knowledge of political and economic development issues in the South Pacific region increased considerably. In 1977 he successfully sought appointment to an administrative position with the Papua New Guinea Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and in September of that year he left Canberra with his wife and four children for Port Moresby.

In his new situation he became involved in the formulation of development assistance policy, and was soon promoted to the post of Acting Assistant Secretary in the newly-established Development Assistance Branch. During the course of his time in Papua New Guinea his employment contract was renewed twice. In December 1982 he became First Assistant Secretary of the Trade and Economic Relations Branch, and held that position until late 1984.

In the course of his official duties Wilkinson was always closely engaged with the coordination of foreign aid policy and procedures. Also, as an expatriate officer occupying a senior management position in the government, he was concerned to implement staffing arrangements which would lay the foundation for the promotion of Papua New Guinea nationals to senior administrative posts, and his papers reveal the importance which he attached to this objective. He left Papua New Guinea with his family to return to Canberra on the expiry of his last contract in November 1984.

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Alan Wilkinson to the Library on 23 April 2004.

Arrangement:

The collection has been largely left in original order. The papers are contained in six large lever arch files and one additional file of miscellaneous material. There is also one bound document.

The papers of each of the large files are arranged in approximately reverse date order, and originate from the period between September 1977 and November 1984. The miscellaneous papers contained in the last file are not arranged in any order of date.

Box List:

File/Item	Box
1-3	1
4-8	2

Conditions Governing Access:

The collection is available for reference.

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 Alan Wilkinson, National Library of Australia, MS 9860, [file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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