Guide to the Records of the Dominions Office (as filmed by the AJCP), 1697-1963

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Summary

Collection number:

Creator:

Dominions Office. Great Britain.

Extent:

9906 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material (The National Archives of the UK) and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Citation of items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material at the National Archives of the UK and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: TNA Series: CO 201/429, New South Wales. Original Correspondence. Despatches May-June 1850 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Further information on citation guidelines is available at The National Archives of the UK (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/citing-documents-national-archives/ ).

Availability:

Available

Background

Content Summary:

Dominions Office records relating to Australia, New Zealand and other Dominions. The records selectively filmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project cover a range of subjects including: politics, constitutional crises, public administration, defence, World War II, trade, economic affairs, communications, migration, foreign relations and race relations.

Biographical / Historical:

From 1801 to 1925 the Colonial Office, located in Downing Street, was responsible for Britain's relations with all parts of its Empire, apart from India and Burma, whether they be self-governing colonies, Crown colonies or protectorates. By 1900 the term 'Dominion', first applied to Canada in 1867, was increasingly preferred to the unwieldy 'self-governing colony'. At the 1907 Colonial Conference, at the instigation of Canada, the British Government adopted the term 'Dominion' to apply to all self-governing units of the Empire. At this Conference there was agitation, led by the Prime Minister of Australia, Alfred Deakin, for a separate department to handle Dominion affairs, with a permanent secretariat to organise Imperial Conferences. Such a change was opposed by the British Government, but as a concession the Dominions Division was set up within the Colonial Office.

In June 1925 the Colonial Office finally relinquished responsibility for the Dominions, following the creation of the office of Secretary of State of Dominions Affairs. The Dominions Office, however, remained in the same building as the Colonial Office and for some years the two departments shared the same Secretary of State (L.S. Amery and Lord Passfield). The Dominions Office was responsible for Britain's relations with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Newfoundland (which reverted to the status of a Crown colony in 1933), Southern Rhodesia, Irish Free State (until it became a republic in 1949), and the South African High Commission.

The breakup of the British Empire after World War II was reflected in the changing structure and names of the Dominions Office and Colonial Office. In 1947 the Dominions Office took over relations with India and Pakistan from the India Office, its name being changed to the Commonwealth Relations Office. As more colonies became independent, the powers and responsibilities of the Colonial Office rapidly diminished and in 1966 it was reunited with the Commonwealth Relations Office, forming the Commonwealth Office. In 1968 it ceased altogether to be a separate entity, merging with the Foreign Office under the new name of Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Source: Joe Garner. The Commonwealth Office, London, Heinemann, 1978

As sources for further information on the history and records of the Dominions Office, users should also consult:

Joe Garner, The Commonwealth Office, London, Heinemann, 1978.

R.B. Pugh, The records of the Colonial and Dominions Offices (Public Record Office Handbooks, no. 3), London, H.M.S.O., 1964.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the National Archives of the UK. Further advice is available from: The National Archives of the UK. Copyright (http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/copyright/)