Home > Series 15 > Subseries 15.5 > Subseries 15.5.1

Series 15: Prime Minister, 1901-1923 (bulk 1903-1910)
Subseries 15.5: Portfolios, 1901-1923 (bulk 1903-1910)
Subseries 15.5.1: External Affairs, 1903-1910

Correspondence, notes, a notebook, memoranda, pamphlets, printed material and other documents. Following Barton's practice, Deakin took the additional portfolio of External Affairs during his first two terms as Prime Minister. However, papers on only a limited area of Australia's 'external relations' are gathered here. They concern immigration and Australia's relations with countries outside the British Empire, Papua New Guinea, the appointment of a High Commissioner in London, British interest in the New Hebrides and the administration of the Northern Territory.
Correspondence referring to imperial matters can be found in Series 1, Series 11, Subseries 15.1, Subseries 15.3 and Series 16. Imperial defence is dealt with in Subseries 15.5.7 and more generally in Series 1.
This subseries contains Items 15/2081 - 15/2567.

 

Subseries 15.5.1.1 Immigration, 1903-1909
Correspondence, memoranda, printed material and other documents, including Deakin's extensive correspondence with those who advocated British emigration, such as the Salvation Army and the States' Agents-General. Other correspondence deals with the racial aspects of 'White Australia', such as the use of Kanaka labour in Queensland, and the unsuitability of Asian migrants in Australia. Minor subjects include the Natal, German commerce, home rule for Ireland, Japan, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and other Pacific islands. Other papers include a memorandum to the Governor-General relating to the Immigration Restriction Act and a memorandum on immigration in Fiji. Among the correspondents are Dr Richard Arthur, General William Booth, Timothy Coghlan, Lord Crewe, H.A. Gwynne, Rider Haggard, Atlee Hunt, Walter James, Arthur Jose, W. Kidston, Arthur Morgan, John Redmond, Richard Seddon, Sir Charles Smythe, Lord Tennyson, J. Unsworth and Bishop Gilbert White. This subseries contains Items 15/2081 - 15/2271, 15/2548 - 15/2567.
Subseries 15.5.1.2 Papua and New Guinea, 1904-1908
Correspondence, including letters to Deakin on such topics as the attitudes of the whites to the New Guinea natives, administrative problems and appointments, exploration and the 1906 Royal Commission. The principal correspondents are Colonel J. Antill, William Bromilow, A.M. Campbell, Lord Carrington, Sir Samuel Griffith, Beatrice Grimshaw, A.W. Howitt, Sir George Le Hunte, Sir William MacGregor, Kenneth Mackay, G. Read Murphy, T.P. Hubert Murray (including his important 1906 report), Richard E. O'Connor and M. Staniforth Smith. This subseries contains Items 15/2272 - 15/2425.
Subseries 15.5.1.3 High Commissioner, London, 1904-1910
Correspondence concerning the role of Australia's representative in Britain and the site of new Commonwealth offices in London. There are letters from Sir Thomas Bent, Timothy Coghlan, Joseph Cook, Andrew Fisher, Sir John Forrest, H.A. Grainger, Walter James, John Jenkins, S.F. Piper, George Reid, J.W. Taverner, Sir Horace Tozer and B.R. Wise. This subseries contains Items 15/2426 - 15/2480.
Subseries 15.5.1.4 New Hebrides, 1905-1908
Correspondence, a notebook and printed material, primarily concerning the conflict between French and British interests in the islands. The correspondence includes letters from Beatrice Grimshaw, Hastings D'Oyly, Reverend John G. Paton, Reverend Frank A.C. Paton, Ernest Rason and Richard Seddon. This subseries contains Items 15/2481 - 15/2498.
Subseries 15.5.1.5 Northern Territory, 1905-1909
Correspondence, notes, memoranda and printed material dealing with the transfer of the Northern Territory to Federal control and the development of the Territory. The main correspondents are J. Edmond, Dr J.A. Gilruth, Colonel H. Goad, Sir George Le Hunte, Archibald Peake, Baldwin Spencer and Sir Josiah Symon. The papers include a draft of the Northern Territory Surrender Bill, the corresponding South Australian Act and two official dispatches to Deakin from C.E. Herbert. This subseries contains Items 15/2499 - 15/2547.
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