MS 8639
Papers of Sir Neil O'Sullivan (1900-1968)
Scope and Content
- Papers
- 1948-65
- 1.12 metres (8 boxes)
- Available for reference
The papers of Sir Neil O'Sullivan were presented to the National Library
by his son, Mr Michael O'Sullivan, in 1993.
Apart from some business papers, the collection relates almost entirely
to O'Sullivan's career as a Queensland Senator and Minister in the Menzies
Government. They include correspondence, reports, subject files, notes,
speeches, cuttings, photographs, invitations, menus and publications. The
papers are most extensive for the period 1956-59, when O'Sullivan was
Attorney-General and Chairman of the Joint Committee on Constitutional
Review.
Neil O'Sullivan was born in Brisbane on 2 August 1900. He was educated
at St Joseph's College, Nudgee, and after serving articles in Brisbane and
Warwick was admitted as a solicitor in 1922. He became senior partner in
the Brisbane legal firm Neil O'Sullivan and J.J. Rowell. He was President
of the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce in 1935-36 and President of the
Property Owners Association in 1937-38. He served in the RAAF in 1942-45.
O'Sullivan successfully stood for the Senate in 1946 as a Liberal Party
candidate and took his place in the Senate in July 1947. When the Menzies
Government was returned to power in December 1949 he became Leader of the
Government in the Senate and Minister for Trade and Customs. He led
overseas trade delegations in 1953 and 1954. In January 1956 he became
Minister for the Navy, holding the office for ten months. In August 1956
he was appointed Attorney-General and in November 1956 Vice-President of
the Executive Council. He gave up office in December 1958 and retired from
the Senate in 1962. He was made a K.B.E. in 1959.
O'Sullivan was a director of several companies, including L.J. Hooker
Investment Corporation, Queensland Press Ltd, Amalgamated Petroleum and
Coachcraft Ltd. He died in Sydney on 4 July 1968.
- General correspondence, 1952-62
- Congratulatory letters, 1949-56
- Invitations, menus and programs, 1952-62
- Speeches and interviews, 1956-60
- Newspaper cuttings, 1950-60
- Photographs
- Senate, 1952-60
- Minister for Trade and Customs, 1949-50
- Attorney-General, 1956-58
- Joint Committee on Constitutional Review, 1956-59
- Subject files, 1948-62
- Publications
1. General correspondence, 1952-62
The series contains a small group of letters on miscellaneous
political subjects. Correspondents include Robert Menzies, Shane
Paltridge, Sir Owen Dixon, Reg Wright, Douglas Menzies and Magnus Cormack.
There is also an undated Christmas card list.
1 folder
2. Congratulatory letters, 1949-56
Letters and telegrams congratulating O'Sullivan on his
appointment as Minister for Trade and Customs (1949), Minister for the
Navy (1956) and Attorney-General (1956). There are also copies of a few
letters of congratulation sent by O'Sullivan to other people. The
correspondents include Sir John Latham, Sir Owen Dixon, Sir Edward
McTiernan, Sir Richard Boyer, Sir Frank Kitto, Sir John Collins and Magnus
Cormack.
2 folders
3. Invitations, menus and programs, 1952-62
The series mainly contains menus of lunches and dinners for
political dignitaries and other visitors to Canberra. They include a menu
for a dinner given by Government Senators to O'Sullivan and Sir Walter
Cooper on 23 February 1959, signed by many of the Senators.
Other menus and invitations can be found in Series 11 (viii).
1 folder
4. Speeches and Interviews, 1956-60
Manuscript and typescript copies of a small number of speeches
made by O'Sullivan, including a speech at a Legal Convention Dinner (1957)
and an address to the Royal Institute of Public Administration. There is
also a transcript of a 'Meet the Press' interview (1958).
1 folder
5. Newspaper cuttings, 1950-60
The series contains some miscellaneous cuttings referring to
O'Sullivan or reporting speeches that he had made. Some cuttings describe
changes in the Menzies Government in 1958.
1 folder
6. Photographs
Five photographs of O'Sullivan and other public figures,
including R.G. Menzies, H.V. Evatt, R.G. Casey and Archbishop Daniel
Mannix.
1 folder
7. Senate, 1952-61
O'Sullivan was a Senator for Queensland from 1946 to 1962 and
was Leader of the Government in the Senate in 1949-58. The papers in this
series mostly date from 1956-58 and include papers on salaries and
facilities available to Senators, procedural papers, correspondence, draft
motions, programs, notes and printed items. The correspondents include
Robert Menzies, Sir Walter Cooper, Harold Holt and N.E. McKenna. There is
also a report by J.E. Richardson on restrictive trade practices
legislation in the United States, Canada and Britain (Dec. 1960).
4 folders
8. Minister for Trade and Customs, 1949-50
O'Sullivan was Minister for Trade and Customs for six years, but
there are very few papers relating to his portfolio. The series contains a
copy of the Government Gazette announcing his appointment (19 Dec.
1949), a telegram and letter from Robert Menzies, and a copy of the Handbook
of Cabinet and Cabinet Committees.
1 folder
9. Attorney-General, 1956-58
O'Sullivan was appointed Attorney-General in August 1956 and
gave up office in December 1958. The series contains correspondence and
legal opinions on uniform company law, the powers of the Senate, the
powers of the Development Bank and the Reserve Bank, the financing of hire
purchase operations, the filling of Senate
vacancies, the law of the sea, matrimonial legislation, broadcasting and
other matters. The writers include Sir Kenneth Bailey, Sir Garfield
Barwick, J.Q. Ewans, K.A. Aickin, S.V. Toose and O'Sullivan. There are
also notes on a proposed Law Reform Committee, with a covering minute by
Bailey (Jan. 1958) and some printed items including the Newsletter of
the International Commission of Jurists and a statement by Harold Holt
on equal pay for women (May 1958).
4 folders
10. Joint Committee on Constitutional Review, 1956-59
Following the appointment of John Spicer as Chief Judge of the
Commonwealth Industrial Court in October 1956, O'Sullivan was appointed
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Constitutional Review. Its first report
was presented to Parliament in October 1958 and its second report in
November 1959. They dealt with such matters as Commonwealth legislative
machinery, concurrent legislative powers, Commonwealth-State financial
relations, new States, and the alteration of the Constitution.
The series contains the reports of the Committee and three volumes of
transcripts of its proceedings. There are a wide range of background
papers, including reports of earlier Parliamentary committess on
constitutional subjects (1929-54), papers on civil aviation, navigation
and shipping, industrial relations, the New States Movement, the
Interstate Commission, trade and commerce, copyright and patents, State
taxes, road transport, the report of the New South Wales Joint Committee
on the Australian Constitution (1958), a report by J.R. Odgers on the
United States Senate, and an opinion by Sir Garfield Barwick and Douglas
Menzies on emoluments of Assistant Ministers and Parliamentary Officers
(Feb. 1958). Other papers include letters of Harry Alderman, Jack
Richardson and the Constitutional Association of Australia, a draft press
statement and a draft article by O'Sullivan on the report, and a file of
press cuttings on the first report.
13 files and volumes
11. Subject Files, 1948-62
(i) Australian Labor Party
Liberal Party Research Bulletins on disputes in the ALP (1955)
and newspaper cuttings (1957). 1 folder
(ii) Commonwealth-State relations
A speech by the Queensland Treasurer T.A. Hiley, correspondence of
Queensland Federal Government Back Benchers, a submission by the
Queensland Premier and other papers on Commonwealth-State financial
relations (1959). 1 folder
(iii) Education
Correspondence, minutes, press cuttings and other papers on State aid to
Church schools (1950-57). Correspondents include Archbishop Eris O'Brien,
J.P. Kelly, E.G. Clancy, A.W. Stephenson, G.H. Blackburn, W.H. Frederick
and J. Casey. There is also a paper on the Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme
(1950). 4 folders
(iv) Miscellaneous Political Papers
Papers on South Africa, the Commowealth Public Service, a Tariff Board
inquiry on crude oil, pay-roll tax, the Dairy Industry Committee of
Inquiry, and speeches by R.G. Menzies (1948-62). 1 folder
(v) Nationality and Citizenship
Papers on the 1948 Nationality and Citizenship Bill, including an
explanatory memorandum and a copy of an article by Robert Menzies on the
British Nationality Act. 1 folder
(vi) 1953 Oversea Visit
A letter from Robert Menzies and a program of O'Sullivan's visit to
England in June 1953 to attend the Coronation. 1 folder
(vii) 1954 Overseas Visit
Program of O'Sullivan's visit to Switzerland and England in November
1954. 1 folder
(viii) Royal Visits
Programs, menus, invitations and other papers concerning the visit to
Australia of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 and also the visit of Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 1958. 1 folder
(ix) Suez Canal
Speeches and statements by Robert Menzies on the Suez Canal crisis
(Aug.-Sept. 1956), a speech by John Foster Dulles, a diary of events
(Oct.-Nov. 1956), a minute by W.C. Wentworth, reports to Cabinet, and
Department of External Affairs sitation reports on the Middle East
(1956-57). 2 folders
12. Business Papers, 1962-65
(1) L.J. Hooker Investment Corporation
O'Sullivan was a director of the Company. The papers comprise agenda
papers of six meetings of the Board of directors and a few miscellaneous
papers (1962-65). 7 folders
(ii) Coachcraft Ltd
O'Sullivan was a director of Coachcraft Ltd. The papers comrise agenda
papers, reports and a memorandum (1964-65). 1 folder
13. Publications
Pamphlets, journals, reports , articles and other publications
mostly on political topics.
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