Guide to the Index to despatches relating to the colony of Victoria 1851-1860 prepared by Mathilde E Deane (as filmed by AJCP), 1925

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Summary

Collection number:

M440

Creator:

Deane, Mathilde E

Extent:

1 item

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

For Exmaple: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Index to Despatches relating to the Colony of Victoria 1851-1860 … serving as an index to Colonial Office, Victoria. Original correspondence and entry books (despatches) 1851-1860 and War Office. Out-letters Secretary of State (Victorian dispatches) 1851-1854, compiled by Mathilde E Deane (b. 1870).

This index covers persons, places and subjects mentioned in the despatches of the Governor of Victoria and the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Each entry summarises briefly a subject referred to in a despatch, indicating whether the despatch originated in Britain or Victoria, the despatch number and date, and the page number of the despatch in the typed transcripts made by Mathilde E. Deane (held in the Mitchell Library, National Library of Australia and State Library of Victoria).

Biographical / Historical:

In 1920 Deane was commissioned by the three libraries to make typescript copies of the dispatches of Governors of Victoria 1851-1860, held in the Governor's Office in Melbourne. She worked on this project for several years and in 1926-1930 she also copied Victorian dispatches held in the Public Record Office, London, which were not held in Australia.

Mathilde Elizabeth Deane was the daughter of Henry Deane (1847-1924), the engineer-in-chief of the New South Wales Railways. In 1913 the family moved to Melbourne, following Deane's appointment as engineer-in-chief of the Commonwealth Railways. Mathilde Deane was employed by the Australian Mining Standard, mainly as an indexer. In 1917 she undertook a typing and shorthand course and then joined the Australian Furnishing Company. In 1919 she was engaged by the Public Library of New South Wales to transcribe despatches between the Governor of Victoria and the Secretary of State for the Colonies in the period 1851-1860. They were held in the office of the Governor of Victoria and the Public Library of Victoria. She also produced an index to the despatches.

In 1925, following the death of her father, Deane moved to London. Based in the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane, she continued her work for the Public Libraries of New South Wales and Victoria, transcribing missing Victorian despatches and missing despatches to the Governor of New South Wales. She also produced indexes to some of the Colonial Office correspondence relating to New South Wales and other tasks assigned to her by Australian libraries. She gave up doing work of this kind in 1932.

As a young woman, Deane aspired to be an artist and she always had strong literary and cultural interests. She was also a keen follower of Theosophy. In her later years she lived in Reigate, Surrey.

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 owner of the original material.