Guide to the Records of the Harkness Fellowships of the Commonwealth Fund, Australian Division, 1938-1997

 

Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
MS 9258, MS Acc09.006
Extent:
8.25 metres and (53 boxes + 1 carton + 13 digital carriers)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Records of the Harkness Fellowships of the Commonwealth Fund, Australian Division, National Library of Australia, MS 9258, [series and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Not for loan
Access conditions:
Part available for research; part requires permission for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:
MS 9258 comprises correspondence, applications for Fellowships, press releases, minutes of meetings, financial records, Commonwealth Fund Handbooks and printed material. Correspondents include Keith Kirby, J.T. Larkin, H.C. Forster, E.K. Wickham, Lansing Hammond, J. Melville, Gorley Putt, R.L. Johnson, Eric G. Saint, L.T. Hinde, Howland Sargeant, Carleton Chapman, Roger Beale, Margaret E. Mahoney, Sheila Widra, Gordon Stephenson, H.C. Coombs, Owen Dixon, Roland Wilson, Ninian Stephen, Quigg Newton, Tracey Baxter and Gail Potter Neale.The records have been arranged in the following series: 1. Fellowship files: current Fellows (F5), 1938-1996. 2. Fellowship files: deceased Fellows, 1953-1995. 3. Fellowship files: former Fellows (F4), 1966-1977. 4. Historical files (H1-H7), 1953-1996. 5. Continuing files: numerical order (C1-C25), 1954-1987. 6. Miscellaneous files, 1983-1996. 7. Fellowship applications, 1989-1997. 8. Printed material (50 boxes, 1 carton).
Biographical / Historical:

The Commonwealth Fund is a philanthropic foundation set up in the United States by Anna Harkness in 1918. In 1925 her son, Edward Harkness, initiated the Commonwealth Fund Fellowships which were intended to reciprocate the Rhodes Scholarships by enabling British graduates to study in the United States. In 1927 the scheme was widened by the creation of Dominion Fellowships available to graduates from universities in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa. In 1929 a further category of Dominion Civil Service Fellowships was established. The awards were tenable from nine to fifteen months and candidates were to be under the age of 40.

In 1961 the Fellowships were renamed the Harkness Fellowships. In addition to the Civil Service Fellowships, a new category of General Fellowships was set up, open to people in the fields of business, banking, politics, creative arts and journalism. The maximum tenure period was extended to 21 months. In 1966 the distinction between Public Service and General Fellowships was abandoned. In 1970 the upper age limit was reduced to 30. On the completion of their tenure, Harkness Fellows were required to return to Australia for at least two years.

Until 1953 applications for all awards were handled by the London office of the Commonwealth Fund. In 1953 an Australian Nomination Committee was formed and local correspondents were appointed in each State and the ACT to answer inquiries and encourage applications. Sir Owen Dixon was the first Chairman of the Committee. The Executive Officers were H.C. Forster (1953-72), L.T. Hinde (1972-85) and Roger Beale (1985-97).

Since June 1997, the activities of the Harkness Fellowships in Australia have been limited to the field of health care. The present Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy Representative is Dr Jane Hall.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the National Library in February 1998 by the Australian Representative of the Harkness Fellowships.

Arrangement:

The records have been kept in files and wherever possible this arrangement and the file titles have been retained by the Library.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Partly closed: Series 1, 2 (files 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8), 3 and 7 are closed for 60 years from the date of creation.
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], Records of the Harkness Fellowships of the Commonwealth Fund, Australian Division, National Library of Australia, MS 9258, [series and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: