Guide to the Papers of Sir Ransley Victor Garland, 1943-2007

Summary

Collection number:

MS 4989; MS Acc01.148; MS Acc07.120;.MS Acc18.057, MS Acc19.013

Creator:

Sir Ransley Victor Garland

Extent:

80.4 metres and (395 Archives Boxes + 26 MS Boxes + 8 Cartons + 3 large folio boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sir Ransley Victor Garland, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part permission required for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Most of the papers in MS 4989 relate to the political career of Garland as a member of the Liberal Party and federal parliamentarian. The wide variety of material includes subject files, correspondence, speeches, press releases, parliamentary committee files, constituency representations and electoral papers, invitations, honours recommendations, briefings and printed material. Six series relate to ministerial portfolios held by Garland, while others concern his period in Opposition from 1972-1975, his role as high commissioner to the United Kingdom, 1981-1983. The collection also comprises files relating to Garland's business and cultural activities in Britain, concert and opera programmes, exhibition catalogues, papers relating to Garland's business travels, company annual reports and art magazines

Biographical Note:

Ransley Victor Garland, politician, accountant and company director, was born in 1934 and grew up in Perth where he was educated at Hale School and the University of Western Australia. The only son of a professional accountant, Garland himself practised as a Chartered Accountant from 1958-69. He became active in community affairs, serving on a number of charities and on the Claremont Town Council from 1963-70 and in the Liberal and Country League of Western Australia (the W.A. Branch of the Liberal Party) where he held the position of Senior Vice President.

In April 1969 Garland was elected to the Federal seat of Curtin in the by-election resulting from Sir Paul Hasluck's resignation. Curtin, a blue-ribbon Liberal electorate, was held by Garland until early 1981.

During his parliamentary career Garland served as a Minister in the McMahon and Fraser Governments and as Chief Opposition Whip in 1974-75. Under McMahon he was Minister for Supply (1971-72) and Minister Assisting the Treasurer, B.M. Snedden (1972). Following the dismissal of the Whitlam Government and return to power of the Coalition in 1975, Garland was again appointed Minister Assisting the Treasurer and also Minister for Post and Telecommunications He resigned from that post following electoral malpractice allegations, of which he was subsequently exonerated in court. After a period on the backbenches he was reinstated by Malcolm Fraser as Minister for Veterans' Affairs (1977-78) and soon afterwards Minister for Special Trade Representations (1977-79), a portfolio which involved him in a number of overseas negotiations and trips to Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia. A Cabinet reshuffle in December 1979 saw Garland appointed Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Commerce.

A feature of Garland's political career was his involvement in numerous party and parliamentary committees including the House of Representatives Expenditure Committee (Chairman 1976-77) and Government Members Committees that he chaired on Foreign Affairs (1970-71), Taxation (1970-71) and Treasury (1977). He was also Parliamentary Adviser to the Australian Mission to the UN General Assembly in 1973.

Following the November 1980 elections, Garland left Parliament to take up the appointment of High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir James Plimsoll. Garland served as High Commissioner from 1981-83. After 1983, Garland worked in London as director of more than thirty public liability companies (including three in the United States of America), some as Chairman. He was also appointed Vice-Chairman of the South Bank Board, established in 1985 to administer the South Bank Royal Festival Hall arts complex in London.

Victor Garland was knighted in 1982.

Provenance:

The first instalments of the Garland Papers were presented to the Library by Victor Garland in 1975. Between 1976 and 1981 eight further instalments of papers were received from Garland's Perth electorate office and his office in Parliament House, Canberra. Further papers were received from Sir Victor in London in 1993.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1093254).

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 Sir Ransley Victor Garland, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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