MS 936, Mfm G7685-7 and G24,777-781
Papers of J. A. Perkins (1878-1954)
- Papers
- 1891-1954 (historical extracts 1823-1943)
- 2.56 m. (16 boxes) and one folio package
- Available for reference
The papers, which were donated to the Library by Perkins widow
Evelyn in 1954, fall into two broad categories: personal and political
material relating to Perkins career, and historical material
assembled by Perkins relating to the Eden-Monaro District.
The personal papers (Series 2-4) comprise diaries, correspondence, press
cuttings, notes, articles, invitations, menus and booklists.
The historical material (Series 1) emanates from Perkins life-long
interest in the history of the area where he spent most of his life. It
consists of typescript items which he extracted from newspapers and other
publications, arranged chronologically as Monaro District Items
and Tumut and Adelong Items. There is also an 11-volume
narrative history The District of Monaro, 1823 to 1936,
compiled by Perkins using the extracts as source material.
Microfilm
The most heavily used parts of this collection (historical extracts and
indexes) have been microfilmed. Readers are requested to use the microfilm
instead of the original papers, which are very fragile. Microfilm reel
numbers are provided in the list. The reels may be requested from the
Manuscript Reading Room.
Related holdings
Some original and microfilmed Perkins papers are also held in the
Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. The locations are
A3621, A3622-A3624, ML MSS 1257 and ML MSS 4112 (microfilms CY Reels
898-899, CY Reels 942-943, CY Reel 975 and CY Reel 977). For further
information, see the two-volume Catalogue of manuscripts of
Australasia and the Pacific in the Mitchell Library, Sydney (Series A and
Series B). A copy of this Catalogue is held in the NLA
Manuscript Reading Room.
Indexes and chronological transcripts from the Perkins Papers relating
to the Eden-Monaro district may be found in the records of the Tumut and
District Family History Society (MS 7231). These comprise duplicate
transcripts of Folders [Items] 16-19, together with a name
index to 16-19. See also the reference to this material under the next
paragraph, Indexes to Historical Extracts.
Indexes to Historical Extracts
Alphabetical indexes to Volumes 1-7 (Monaro District) are
available in both hard copy and microfilm. The microfilm (mfm G7685-7687)
was acquired in 1970. For many years Volumes 8 and 9 remained unpaginated
and unindexed. Some time before 1994 these volumes were paginated and the
Library acquired a hard copy index to Volumes 8 and 9, compiled by W.G.
Coppell. This index has not yet been microfilmed.
For many years the original Volumes 1-4 of the Tumut and Adelong
items were unpaginated and unindexed. Microfilm of these volumes (mfm
G24,779) was obtained from the Mitchell Library in 1991 and was found to
have intermittent page numbers (total of 283 pages). Members of the Tumut
and District Family History Society did not paginate the original Volumes
1-4 held by the National Library. Instead, they re-typed the extracts and
incorporated page numbers, and from this document they created an index.
The Library acquired the re-typed extracts and index in 1986. Neither this
re-typed document nor the index have yet been filmed. Please note that the
pages in the re-typed transcripts do not correspond exactly with the pages
in Perkins originals, so readers should consult MS 7231 in
preference to Folders 16-19 of MS 936.
At the time of revision, there were no indexes to Folders 14-15 (Cooma
and Tumut items) or Folders 20-32 (The District of Monaro)
A note on item numbers original manuscripts
This list was revised in 1999 and expanded to include detailed
descriptions of Series 2-4. The system of continuous item numbers
used throughout the collection (In Series 1 equivalent to whole folders or
volumes) has been replaced by folder numbers to be more consistent with
the item numbers (equivalent to single pages) used in Series
2-4.
Access and copyright - microfilm
Microfilm reels mfm G 24, 777-781 were acquired from the Mitchell
Library in 1991, to supplement the microfilm already held. Although there
are no access restrictions on either set of reels, they are housed in the
Supervised Access run of Manuscripts so that readers may use them in the
same room as the unfilmed original manuscripts. The Mitchell Library has
given permission for printouts to be made for the purpose of private
study. Please note, however, that no reproductions of these films or of
prints made from them may be made for publication without the assent of
the State Library of New South Wales.
J.A. Perkins (1878-1954) was a Federal and State parliamentarian. He was
Federal Member for Eden-Monaro 1926-29 and 1931-43; Minister for the
Interior, 1932-34 and Minister for Trade and Customs, 1938-39.
|
18 May 1878 |
Born at Tumut, New South Wales. Educated in the district, he took up
farming and later went into business as a bookseller in Cooma.
|
|
1904 and 1908 |
Mayor of Cooma |
|
22 November 1921 |
Elected to the Legislative Assembly, New South Wales, as Member for
Goulburn. He held this seat until his resignation on 21 January 1926
|
|
6 March 1926 |
Elected to the House of Representatives for Eden-Monaro at
by-election; re-elected at General Election in November 1928.
|
|
6 January-16 December 1929 |
Government Whip |
|
12 October 1929 |
Defeated at the General Election |
|
19 December 1931 |
Re-elected to seat of Eden-Monaro at General Election |
|
6 January-13 October 1932 |
Acting Minister for Trade and Customs |
|
13 October 1932-17 October 1934 |
Minister for the Interior |
|
7-8 November 1938 |
Minister Without Portfolio assisting the Prime Minister and
administering External Territories |
|
8 November 1938-26 April 1939 |
Minister for Trade and Customs |
|
26 April 1939-14 March 1940 |
Minister Without Portfolio administering External Territories
|
|
1941-43 |
Chairman of the Joint Committee on Social Security |
|
21 August 1943 |
Defeated at General Election and retired from politics |
|
13 July 1954 |
Died at his home in Manly, New South Wales |
|
Series 1 |
Historical Extracts |
|
|
|
Series 2 |
Political material |
|
|
|
Series 3 |
Diaries, 1892-1950 |
|
|
|
Series 4 |
Personal material |
Series 1 Historical extracts
The historical material relates mainly to the Monaro District
that part of South-Eastern New South Wales lying between Queanbeyan and
the Victorian border, including the towns of Cooma, Bombala, Nimitabel and
Eden.
A. Monaro District items and indexes
The nine volumes of Monaro District items comprise extracts from
newspapers, chiefly the Sydney morning herald (which itself quotes
Monaro district newspapers), and local newspapers including the Cooma
gazette, Goulburn herald, Adelong times, and Monaro
mercury. Mr Perkins also consulted the Mitchell Librarys series
of clippings from the Monaro mercury titled The district of
Monaro: its rise and progress. Other sources include Moores
almanac, Australian almanac and Historical records of
Australia.
The extracts give details of explanations and development of the Monaro
district, market prices, business enterprises, gold prospecting census
figures, elections and so on. The bulk of the extracts relate to Cooma,
the principal town in the district.
Note on indexes: The indexes to Volumes 1-9 of the historical extracts
have been placed after the main sequence of extracts. Readers should
consult the indexes first, in order to find page references in the
volumes.
Library staff have superimposed folder numbers and reel numbers on
Perkins own volume and page notation. For citation or retrieval
purposes, use folder numbers or reel numbers.
|
Folder- |
Vol. |
Dates |
Page nos. |
Reel no. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
1 |
1823-1845 |
9-277 |
mfm G24,777 |
|
2 |
2 |
1846-1858 |
281-555E |
mfm G24,777 |
|
3 |
3 |
1859-1865 |
557-862C |
mfm G24,777 |
|
4 |
4 |
1866-1871 |
863-1132 |
mfm G24,777 |
|
5 |
5 |
1872-1880 |
1161-1571 |
mfm G24,777 (3 parts in 3 folders) |
|
6 |
6 |
1881-1900 |
1579-2182 |
mfm G7685, G24,778 |
|
7 |
7 |
1901-1918 |
2201-2717 |
mfm G24,778 |
|
8 |
8 |
1919-1930 |
2725-3053 |
mfm G24,778 (no page nos on microfilm) |
|
9 |
9 |
1931-1948 |
3070-3462 |
mfm G24, 778 (no page nos on microfilm) |
Indexes to Monaro District Items
The following indexes have been compiled under Persons, Places
and General, listed in parallel alphabetical order. Each index
refers to unique page numbers in specific volumes: thus in the Index to
Volumes 1 & 2 (Folder 18), the entry Badgery, John - 273 refers to
page 273 in Volume 1 of the extracts (Folder 1).
|
Folder |
Index to
Vol. no. |
Dates |
Reel no. |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
1 & 2 |
1823-1858 |
mfm G7685 |
|
11 |
3 - 5 |
1859-1880 |
mfm G7685 |
|
12 |
6 |
1881-1900 |
mfm G7686 |
|
13 |
7 |
1901-1918 |
mfm G7687
(finishes at index term Places- Cambridgeshire, page 2385)
|
|
13a |
8 & 9 |
1919-1948 |
not microfilmed
(Compiled by W.G. Coppell, 1994 |
B. Cooma and Tumut items
These two volumes contain extracts from the same sources as Items 1 2
above. Item 15 comprises extracts taken almost entirely from the Sydney
morning herald and largely duplicates Item 14. None of these extracts
have been paginated, indexed or microfilmed.
|
Folder |
Dates |
|
|
|
14 |
1835-1899; Cooma items 1835-1942 |
|
14a-c |
Transcripts of Cooma and Tumut items, typed by Pam Archer, added in
26/11/84. |
|
15 |
1871-1882 |
C. Tumut and Adelong items
These four volumes contain extracts drawn from the same sources and
relating largely to the same area as Items 1 2 and 14-15 above.
Perkins original volumes (NLA set) are not paginated or indexed. It
is recommended that instead of using Folders 16-19, readers consult the
paginated transcripts and corresponding index typed by Tumut Family
History Society (MS 7231).
|
Folder |
Vol. |
Dates |
Reel no. |
|
|
|
|
|
16a-b |
1 |
1824-1870 |
mfm G24, 779 |
|
17 |
2 |
1871-1888 |
mfm G24, 779 |
|
18 |
3 |
1889-1910 |
mfm G24, 779 |
|
19 |
4 |
1911-1939 |
mfm G24, 779 |
D. The District of Monaro
These 11 volumes of typescript narrative were compiled by Perkins from
the material contained in the various volumes of historical extracts. The
narrative is chronological and the volumes are paginated but not indexed.
Microfilm exists for the following pages only: 683-1084, 1321-1572,
1869-2225, 2572-3428.
|
Folder |
Vol. |
Dates |
Pages |
Reel no. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
20 |
1 |
1823-1860 |
1-329 |
|
|
21a-b |
2 |
1859-1865 |
330-682 |
|
|
22a-b |
3 |
1866-1875 |
683-1034 |
mfmG 24,780 |
|
23a-c |
4 |
1876-1882 |
1035-1820 |
mfm G24,780 |
|
24 |
5 |
18831889 |
1821-2075 |
mfm G24,780 |
|
25 |
6 |
1890-1897 |
2076-2159 |
mfm G24,780 |
|
26 |
7 |
1898-1906 |
2160-2514 |
mfm G24,780 |
|
27 |
8 |
1907-1918 |
2515-2860 |
mfm G24,780-1 |
|
28 |
9 |
1919-1926 |
2861-2921 |
mfm G24,781 |
|
29 |
10 |
1927-1932 |
2922-3139 |
mfm G24,781 |
|
30 |
11 |
1934-1936 |
3249-3458 |
mfm G24,781 |
|
31 |
Other historical material; condensed history of Monaro |
|
32 |
Cooma narrative, pages 300-524 |
There is additional material Historical notes extracts from
newspapers and reminiscences etc. 1869-1983 on microfilm reels mfm
G24,780-781. The originals are not in NLA.
Series 2 Political material
A. Political correspondence, 1922-43
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
33-46 |
Fourteen folders of correspondence from political colleagues and
some copies of Perkins replies. Topics include the United
Australia Party and the National Association of New South Wales. Of
particular interest is a letter from S.M. Bruce dated 25 September
1929, outlining his ideas on the arbitration question (item 2/64a).
There is also a copy of a letter to W.M. Hughes dated 22 August 1929,
signed by Perkins as Government Whip, notifying him of his expulsion
from the UAP (item 2/65). Both of these are in folder 35. Folder 43
contains a summary of correspondents of constituents in the
Eden-Monaro electorate. (Items 2/[A]1-2/[A]1103) |
B. Election material, 1903-43
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
47-49 |
Three folders of material including voting leaflets and publicity,
polling results, campaign itineraries, lists of party branch
secretaries and committee members, and requisitions signed by
constituents. (Items 2/B1-2/B112) |
C. Newspaper cuttings, 1927-43
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
50-63 |
Eighteen folders of mounted and filed cuttings, with some loose ones
at the end. The predominant date of the cuttings is 1938, but they are
arranged largely in topical groups rather than chronological order. As
well as cuttings there are electoral leaflets and Hansard extracts.
Topics include elections, immigration, Aborigines, hotel closing
hours. (Not itemised) |
D. Printed material
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
64-66 |
Three folders of material including election literature, programs,
souvenirs, official reports, issues of magazines, statistical
summaries, roneoed notices, maps and leaflets on the Rosicrucians.
(Items 2/D1-2/D90) |
E. Poems and essays
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
67 |
Typescript History of England, 55BC to Edward VIII, in
blank verse; poemStowell composed by Perkins in Hobart,
1939; essays entitled The south-east gate, The fable
of the south coast farmer, Forward the new dawn.
(Items 2/E1-2/E6) |
F. Miscellaneous political material, 1922-43
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
68-73 |
Seven folders containing receipts, proofs of Hansard
speeches, hand- written and typescript broadcasts, typescript extracts
from newspapers, various reports and memoranda, articles, minutes and
agenda. (Items 2/F1-2/F318) |
Folio run
One bag containing political cuttings pasted on boards (2 items, 1925
and n.d.) and a poster advertising the Patriotic Art Union, World War I.
Series 3 Diaries, 1892-1950
Perkins was a dedicated diarist. Except for a few gaps in the later
years, there are diaries for every year from 1892 to 1950, a total of 44
volumes. The entries are detailed, but increasingly from 1898 many of the
entries are in shorthand. Some volumes contain items such as cuttings and
programs pasted in them. At the front of several diaries is a typed
summary of the highlights of the year.
|
Folder |
|
|
|
|
74-93 |
Diaries for each year 1892-1911 (Items 3/1-3/20) |
|
94-96 |
Diaries for each year 1923-43 (Items 3/21-3/41) |
|
97 |
1945 (Item 3/42) |
|
98-99 |
1949-50 (Items 3/43-44) |
Series 4 Personal material
A. Private correspondence (Folders 100-103)
There is some overlap with Political Correspondence (Series 2A), as many
of the letters discuss politics and elections. As well as letters to
colleagues, relatives and friends, there are business documents, programs
and other items. (Items 4/[A]1-210)
B. World Tour, 1935 (Folders 104-105)
Correspondence, programs, souvenirs, photographs, receipts, roneoed
shipboard notices and sheets of wireless news on board the Strathaird.
(Items 4/B1-B103)
C. Miscellaneous personal (Folders 106-107)
Correspondence, receipts, photographs, magazines, statistics about
Australian towns (Items 4/C1-C77)
D. Word Book (Folder 108)
Typescript dictionary of shorthand symbols (Item 4/D1)
E. Word lists (Folder 109)
Word lists to accompany word book, together with catalogues from book
dealers (Items 4/E1-E12).
SUMMARY OF MICROFILM REELS mfm G7685-7687
mfm G7685
|
Item nos. |
|
|
|
|
10 |
Volumes 1 & 2 Index, Monaro district items 1823-1858 |
|
11 |
Volumes 3 & 4 Index, Monaro district items 1859-1871 |
|
11 |
Volume 5 Index, Monaro district items 1872-1880 |
|
6 |
Volume 6, Monaro district extracts 1881-1900, pages 1579-2181. Pages
1801-1804 are missing, as in the original manuscripts. |
|
13 |
Volume 7 Index, Monaro district items 1901-1918. Reel finishes with
page headed Places and with first entry Cambridgeshire (Eng.)
2385 and last entry Coolringdon. |
mfm G7686
|
12 |
Volume 6 Index, Monaro district items 1881-1900 |
mfm G7687
|
13 |
Volume 7 Index, Monaro district items 1901-1918, continued. Reel
begins with page headed Places, first entry Cambridgeshire
(Eng.) 2385 and last entry Coolringdon. |
SUMMARY OF MICROFILM REELS mfm G24,777-781
mfm G24,777
|
Item nos. |
|
|
|
|
1-5 |
Monaro district items 1823-1880 |
mfm G24,778
|
6-9 |
Monaro district items 1881-1948 (N.B. Indexes to items 1-7 appear on
mfm G7685-7687). |
mfm G24,779
|
16-19 |
Tumut and Adelong items 1824-1939 |
mfm G24,780-781
Historical notes: extracts from newspapers and reminiscences, etc,
1868-1933. N.B. This microfilm is of papers which are not held in the
Manuscript Collection of NLA.
|
SERIES |
FOLDER/ITEM |
BOX |
ITEMS |
|
|
|
|
|
1 |
1-5 |
1 |
- |
|
1 |
6-11 |
2 |
- |
|
1 |
12-15 |
3 |
- |
|
1 |
16-20 |
4 |
- |
|
1 |
21-24 |
5 |
- |
|
1 |
25-29 |
6 |
- |
|
1 |
30-32 |
7 |
- |
|
2 |
33-39 |
7 |
2/[A]1-[A]540 |
|
2 |
40-46 |
8 |
2/[A]541-[A]1103 |
|
2 |
47-49 |
8 |
2/B1-112 |
|
2 |
50 |
8 |
- |
|
2 |
51-57 |
9 |
- |
|
2 |
58-61 |
10 |
- |
|
2 |
62-63 |
11 |
- |
|
2 |
64-66 |
11 |
2/D1-D90 |
|
2 |
67 |
11 |
2/E1-E6 |
|
2 |
68 |
11 |
2/F1-F99 |
|
2 |
69-73 |
12 |
2/F100-F318 |
|
3 |
74-77 |
12 |
3/1-4 |
|
3 |
78-84 |
13 |
3/5-11 |
|
3 |
85-92 |
14 |
3/12-19 |
|
3 |
93-99 |
15 |
3/20-44 |
|
4 |
100 |
15 |
4/[A]1-[A]39 |
|
4 |
101-103 |
16 |
4/[A]40-[A]210 |
|
4 |
104-105 |
16 |
4/B1-103 |
|
4 |
106-107 |
16 |
4/C1-C77 |
|
4 |
108 |
16 |
D1 |
|
4 |
109 |
16 |
4/E1-E12 |
|
Folio run |
One bag |
Folio box |
|
Guide revised February 1999
|