MS 4654
Papers of Sir John McEwen (1900-1980)



Scope and Content Note

  • Papers
  • 1943-80
  • 15.2 m (180 boxes)
  • The collection is partly available for research and partly not available for research: parts of Series 1, 10, 11, 18, 20-21 and 23 are closed for at least 30 years from date of creation, while the remaining material is available for research.

The first instalments of the McEwen Papers were presented to the Library by the Country Party Secretariat in December 1972 and April 1975. In March 1979 Sir John McEwen presented a large group of papers and he made further donations in July 1979 and September 1980. The remaining papers were received from Lady McEwen in 1981 and 1982.

There are no papers relating to McEwen's early life and, apart from some election papers, virtually nothing on the first twenty years of his political career. The great bulk of the papers date from the late 1950s to 1971, when McEwen retired from Parliament.

There are also papers relating to his activities in his retirement.

There is a great range of material in the collection: correspondence, minutes, appointment diaries, invitations, speeches, notes for speeches, press releases, cuttings, leaflets, publications, and a small number of photographs. Apart from personal correspondence, the largest series relate to the Australian Country Party, Federal elections, the electorate of Murray, and McEwen's activities as Minister for Trade (1956-63) and Minister for Trade and Industry (1963-71).

Biographical Note

John McEwen was born at Chiltern in Victoria on 29 March 1900. Both his parents died by the time he was seven. He left school at the age of 13 and worked for a Melbourne pharmaceutical firm, before joining the Commonwealth Public Service in 1915. In 1918 he enlisted in the AIF, but the War ended before he could go overseas. He acquired a soldier settlement block in the Stanhope district, started dairy farming and joined the Country Party. By the 1930s, having sold his original block, he had turned to sheep farming.

After an unsuccessful attempt to enter the Victorian Parliament in 1932, McEwen was elected to the House of Representatives for the seat of Echuca in 1934. Following electoral redistributions, he became the Member for Indi in 1937 and the Member for Murray in 1949. In 1938 he was appointed Minister for the Interior in the Lyons Government. He gave up office when Menzies came to power in April 1939, but was appointed Minister for External Affairs in March 1940. In October 1940 he became Minister for Air and Civil Aviation and held the post until the defeat of the Fadden Government in October 1941. He was a member of the Australian Advisory War Council until the end of the War. In 1943 he was elected Deputy Leader of the Country Party.

From December 1949 until February 1971 McEwen was continuously in office. He was Minister for Commerce and Agriculture until January 1956, when he became Minister for Trade. In March 1958 he succeeded Fadden as Leader of the Country Party and thereby became Deputy Prime Minister. In December 1963 his portfolio was changed to Minister for Trade and Industry and he retained that post in the Holt and Gorton governments. Following the death of Holt, he was Prime Minister from 19 December 1967 to 10 January 1968. He resigned from the Government and Parliament on 1 February 1971.

McEwen married Annie McLeod in 1921. Dame Annie died in 1967 and McEwen married Mary Byrne in 1968. He was made a Companion of Honour in 1969 and knighted in 1971. He died in Melbourne on 20 November 1980.

Series List

Series                                                     Box                           
1.       General correspondence, 1953-80                   1-17                          
2.       Diaries, 1951-73                                  18-20                         
3.       Invitations, 1961-80                              21-32                         
4.       Speeches, 1950-71                                 33-58                         
5.       Press statements, 1958-70                         59-64                         
6.       Interviews and press conferences, 1957-69         65                            
7.       Extracts from Hansards, 1962-70                   66                            
8.       Newspaper cuttings, 1961-79                       67-69                         
9.       Photographs                                       70                            
10.      Australian Country Party, 1952-78                 71-89                         
11.      Elections, 1943-74                                90-107                        
12.      Member for Murray, 1949-71                        108-17                        
13.      Minister for Commerce and Agriculture, 1952-55    117                           
14.      Minister for Trade, 1956-63                       118-27                        
15.      Minister for Trade and Industry, 1964-71          128-66                        
16.      Deputy Prime Minister, 1960-71                    167-70                        
17.      Prime Minister, 1967-68                           170                           
18.      Overseas visits, 1958-77                          171-72                        
19.      Honours, 1960-72                                  173-75                        
20.      Condolences, 1961-74                              176                           
21.      Clubs and societies, 1962-80                      177-78                        
22.      Retirement, 1970-71                               179                           
23.      Papers of Lady McEwen, 1980                       180                           
24.      Miscellaneous publications                        180                           


Box List

1. General correspondence, 1953-80

The series includes correspondence on a wide range of political subjects, letters of introduction and thanks, and letters of congratulation on McEwen's appointment as Deputy Prime Minister (1958) and his knighthood (1971).

Box                   
1.         1953-58    
2.         1958-61    
3.         1961       
4.         1961       
5.         1961-62    
6.          1962      
7.         1962       
8.         1963-67    
9.         1968-69    
10.        1969-71    
11.        1971       
12.        1971       
13.        1971       
14.        1972       
15.        1972-73    
16.        1972-74    
17.        1971-80    

2. Diaries, 1951-73

McEwen only kept appointment diaries; he did not keep diaries recording his activities or thoughts. There is no diary for 1953 and there are two diaries for 1963.

Box                  
18.    1951-60       
19.    1961-66       
20.    1967-73       

3. Invitations, 1961-80

The series contains invitations and also letters relating to functions and events to which McEwen had been invited. Many of the functions took place in the Murray Electorate and further correspondence may possibly be found in Series 12.

Box                  
21.    1961-62       
22.    1962-65       
23.    1965-66       
24.    1966-67       
25.    1967-68       
26.    1968          
27.    1969          
28.    1970          
29.    1970          
30.    1970          
31.    1971-74       
32.    1974-80       

4. Speeches, 1950-71

This series contains speeches, addresses and lectures by McEwen. The final group in the series comprises speeches by other public figures, including Sir William McKell, Ian Sinclair, Sir Arthur Warner, Sir Paul Hasluck, Sir Alister McMullin, Doug Anthony and Lyndon Johnson.

Box                  
33.    1950-58       
34.    1958-60       
35.    1960          
36.    1960          
37.    1961          
38.    1961          
39.    1962          
40.    1962          
41.    1963          
42.    1963          
43.    1964          
44.    1964          
45.    1965          
46.    1965          
47.    1965-66       
48.    1966          
49.    1966-67       
50.    1967          

4. Speeches (Contd.)

Box                                                                                       
51.                                         1967-68                                       
52.                                         1968                                          
53.                                         1968-69                                       
54.                                         1969                                          
55.                                         1969-70                                       
56.                                         1970                                          
57.                                         1970-71                                       
       Selected speeches,                   1965-71                                       
58.    Speeches by other public figures,    1960-71                                       

5. Press Statements, 1958-70

The series contains copies of press statements issued either by McEwen or by his Department.

Box                
59.    1958-60     
60.    1961-62     
61.    1963-65     
62.    1966-67     
63.    1968-70     
64.    1970        

6. Interviews and Press Conferences, 1957-69

The series comprises transcripts of a few radio and television addresses, interviews and press conferences given by McEwen.

Box
64.    Radio and television transcripts, 1964          
65.    Interviews and press conferences, 1957-69   

7. Extracts from Hansards, 1962-70

The series comprises extracts from copies of Hansard of speeches by McEwen.

Box              
66.    1962-70   

8. Newspaper cuttings, 1961-79

The series contains miscellaneous newspaper cuttings, mostly reporting speeches by McEwen. Cuttings can also be found in many of the other more specific series.

Box                          
67.    1961-63               
68.    1964, 1966, 1969-71   
69.    1971-72, 1975, 1979   

9. Photographs

This small series contains a miscellaneous collection of photographs. The include a set of prints of photographs taken by A.P. Fleming (later the National Librarian) during McEwen's official visit to the Northern Territory in 1938.

Box                     
70.    Photographs      

10. Australian Country Party, 1952-78

This large series contains minutes, agenda papers, policy papers, correspondence and other material relating to both the parliamentary and organisational wings of the Country Party. Related material will be found in Series 11 and 12.

Box                                                                                       
71.    Federal Parliamentary Party,         1958, 1967-70                                 
       Federal Council,                     1952-60                                       
72.    Federal Council,                     1961-68                                       
73.    Federal Council,                     1968-70                                       
       Federal Executive,                   1958-67                                       
74.    Federal Executive,                   1967-69                                       
       National Secretariat,                1969, 1975-78                                 
       New South Wales Branch,              1958-60                                       
75.    New South Wales Branch,              1960-63                                       
76.    New South Wales Branch,              1962-75                                       
77.    Queensland Branch,                   1961-69                                       
       Liberal Country League of South      1965                                          
       Australia,                                                                         
       Tasmanian Branch,                    1962-63                                       
78.    Tasmanian Branch,                    1965                                          
       Victorian Branch,                    1953-62                                       
79.    Victorian Branch,                    1963-70                                       
       Western Australian Branch,           1958                                          
80.    Western Australian Branch,           1959-67                                       
81.    Western Australian Branch,           1969                                          
       Australian Capital Territory         1965-66                                       
       Branch,                                                                            
       Policy papers,                       1961-70                                       
82.    Policy papers,                       1969-70                                       
       Correspondence,                      1954-60                                       
83.    Correspondence,                      1960-62                                       
84.    Correspondence,                      1963-66                                       
85.    Correspondence,                      1965-70                                       
86.    Correspondence,                      1967-69                                       
87.    Correspondence,                      1969-70                                       
88.    Correspondence,                       1970-76                                      
       Miscellaneous papers,                1960-67                                       
89.    Miscellaneous papers,                1967-70                                       

11. Elections, 1943-74

This series contains speeches, broadcasts, campaign reports, correspondence, notes, itineraries, results and cuttings relating to Federal and State general elections and some by-elections.

Box                                                                                       
90.    Federal elections,                        1943-54                                  
91.    Federal elections,                        1954-58                                  
92.    Federal elections,                        1958                                     
93.    Federal elections,                        1958-61                                  
94.    Federal elections,                        1961                                     
95.    Federal elections,                        1961                                     
96.    Federal elections,                        1963                                     
97.    Federal elections,                        1963                                     
98.    Senate election,                          1964                                     
       House of Representatives election,        1966                                     
99.    House of Representatives election,        1966                                     
100.   House of Representatives election,        1966                                     
101.   House of Representatives election,        1966                                     
       Senate election,                          1967                                     
102.   House of Representatives election,        1969                                     
103.   Senate election,                          1970                                     
104.   Senate election,                          1970                                     
       House of Representatives election,        1974                                     
       Riverina by-election,                     1965                                     
       Dawson by-election,                       1966                                     
105.   Dawson by-election,                       1966                                     
       Capricornia by-election,                  1967                                     
       Gwydir by-election,                       1967                                     
       A.C.T. by-election,                       1970                                     
106.   Tasmanian election,                       1964                                     
       Victorian election,                       1964                                     
107.   N.S.W. election,                          1965                                     
       State elections,                          1968                                     
       Queensland election,                      1969                                     
       State elections,                          1970                                     

12. Member for Murray, 1949-71

McEwen represented the Victorian electorate of Murray from 1949 until his retirement in 1971, having previously been the Member for Echuca (1934-37) and Indi (1937-49). The series mostly comprises correspondence with individuals, organisations and businesses in the electorate. Many of the files deal with postal and telephone services and with repatriation and social services. There are also lists of polling booths in the electorate and other general papers.

Box                              
108.   1949-62                   
109.   1959-61                   
110.   1958-61                   
111.   1961-62                   
112.   1962-66                   
113.   1964-66                   
114.   1966-67                   
115.   1967-70                   
116.   1970-71                   
117.   1971                      

13. Minister for Commerce and Agriculture, 1952-55

McEwen was Minister for Commerce and Agriculture from 1949 to 1956, but only retained a very small quantity (3 folders) of correspondence relating to this portfolio.

Box                                    
117.   Correspondence      1952-55     

14. Minister for Trade, 1956-63

The series contains correspondence, speeches, addresses, press releases and articles relating to McEwen's activities as Minister for Trade. It includes correspondence with Sir John Crawford and papers relating to the European Economic Community (1961-62).

Box                                                                                      
118.   1956-60                                                                           
119.   1960-63                                                                           
120.   1961                                                                              
121.   1961-64                                                                           
122.   1961-62                                                                           
123.   1962                                                                              
124.   1963         A-F                                                                  
125.   1963         G-M                                                                  
126.   1963         N-T                                                                  
127.   1963         T-Y                                                                  
       1963         Press correspondence,                                                
       1963         Letters of introduction                                              
       1963         Special articles                                                     

15. Minister for Trade and Industry, 1964-71

This large series contains correspondence, minutes, speeches and cuttings relating to McEwen's ministerial activities in the Menzies, Holt and Gorton governments.

Box                                                                                       
128.                                        1964 A-G                                      
129.                                        1964 H-M                                      
130.                                        1964 M-T                                      
131.                                        1964 U-Z                                      
       Agricultural shows                   1964                                          
       Special articles                     1964                                          
       Thank you letters                    1964                                          
       Export Display, Melbourne, Sept      1964                                          
       Press correspondence                 1964                                          
                                            1965 A-C                                      
132.                                        1965 D-L                                      
133.                                        1965.M-R                                      
134.                                        1665 S-Z                                      
       Press correspondence                 1965                                          
135.   Addresses to conferences and         1965                                          
       lectures,                                                                          
136.   Addresses to conferences and         1965                                          
       lectures,                                                                          
137.   Addresses to conferences and         1965                                          
       lectures,                                                                          
       Special articles,                    1965                                          
       Visit to Western Australia,          July 1965                                     
       Visit to Queensland,                 Dec. 1965                                     
       Thank you letters,                   1965                                          
                                            1966 A                                        
138.                                        1966 B-F                                      
139.                                        1966 G-Mc                                     
140.                                        1966 M-S                                      
141.                                        1966 S-Z                                      
       Letters of introduction,             1966                                          
142.   Speeches and addresses,              1966                                          
       Special articles,                    1966                                          
143.   Thank you letters,                   1966                                          
       Miscellaneous letters,               1966                                          
                                            1967 A-C                                      
144.                                        1967 D-L                                      
145.                                        1967 M-R                                      
146.                                        1967 S-W                                      
147.   Miscellaneous correspondence,        1967                                          
       Addresses and speeches,              1967                                          
       Thank you letters,                   1967                                          
       D. Anthony,                          1967                                          
148.   Addresses and speeches,              1967                                          
       Visit to Bulgaria,                   1967                                          
       I. Sinclair,                         1967                                          
149.                                        1968 A-D                                      
150.                                        1968 E-Mc                                     
151.                                        1968 M-R                                      
152.                                        1968 S-Z                                      
153.   Interviews,                          1968                                          
       Addresses and speeches,              1968                                          
       Repatriation cases,                  1968                                          
       I. Sinclair,                         1968                                          
154.   Letters of introduction,             1968                                          
       D. Anthony,                          1968                                          
       Budget,                              1968                                          
       Disasters,                           1968                                          
       Flags,                               1968                                          
       John McEwen House,                   1968                                          
       National Service,                    1968                                          
155.   Addresses to conferences and         1969                                          
       speeches,                                                                          
156.   Flags,                               1969                                          
       Miscellaneous correspondence,        1969                                          
                                            1970 A-B                                      
157.                                        1970 C-F                                      
158.                                        1970 G-K                                      
159.                                        1970 L-O                                      
160.                                        1970 P-S                                      
161.                                        1970 S-Z                                      
162.   Speeches and addresses,              1970                                          
       Decentralisation,                    1970                                          
       Education,                           1970                                          
       Flags,                               1970                                          

15. Minister for Trade and Industry (Contd.)

Box                                                                                       
163.   Letters of introduction,             1970                                          
       Miscellaneous correspondence,        1970                                          
       Thank you letters,                   1970                                          
164.   References,                          1970                                          
       Telephone costs,                     1970                                          
                                            1971 A-E                                      
165.                                        1971 F-N                                      
166.                                        1971 O-Z                                      

16. Deputy Prime Minister, 1960-71

This series contains papers relating to McEwen's position as Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Country Party wing of the Coalition Government. There are also papers concerning his responsibilities when, on several occasions, he was Acting Prime Minister.

Box                                                                                       
167.   Miscellaneous correspondence,        1960-64                                       
       Opening of Ord River Project,        1963                                          
       Premiers' Conference,                1964                                          
168.   Premiers' Conference,                1965                                          
       Miscellaneous correspondence,        1965-67                                       
       Disputes with A.B.C.,                1966-70                                       
       South East Asia Commonwealth Cable,  1963                                          
       Basic Industries Group,              1967                                          
169.   Miscellaneous correspondence,        1967-70                                       
       Basic Industries Group,              1969                                          
       Inside Canberra,                     1969-70                                       
       Things I hear,                       1969                                          
       Social services,                     1970                                          
170.   Cabinet papers,                      1970                                          
       Statement by E.G. Whitlam on         1970                                          
       national service,                                                                  
       Biographical details of McEwen                                                     

17. Prime Minister, 1967-68

Following the death of Harold Holt on 19 December 1967, McEwen was Prime Minister for 23 days. This small series consists of congratulatory letters and Christmas cards sent to him in that period.

Box                                                                                      
170.   Correspondence,       1967-68                                                     

18. Overseas Visits, 1958-77

This series contains itineraries, cables, correspondence, notes

for speeches, press statements and maps relating to several overseas visits by McEwen, including some in his retirement.

Box                                                                                      
171.   Malaya, Ceylon, Canada,                         1958                              
       United Kingdom and Europe,                      1966                              
       New Zealand,                                    1967                              
       Europe,                                         1967                              
       Europe and United States,                       1970                              
       India,                                          1972                              
       Iran, Europe,                                   1973                              
172.   United Kingdom,                                 1977                              

19. Honours, 1960-72

This series contains correspondence recommending honours for individuals and also letters from McEwen congratulating the recipients of honours and awards. Letters of congratulation to McEwen, for instance on his knighthood, are in Series 1 or in specific series such as Elections (Series 11) and Prime Minister (Series 17).

Box                  
173.   1960-67       
174.   1967-70       
175.   1970-72       

20. Condolences, 1961-74

This series contains letters of condolence written by McEwen to friends and associates who had suffered bereavements.

Box                
176    1961-74     

21. Clubs and Societies, 1962-80

This series contains correspondence concerning McEwen's patronage and membership of and donations to a wide range of clubs, societies and other organisations. In particular, there are files on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Scout Education and Training Association, Victorian CMG Group, Lincoln Group and the Cook Society.

Box                    
177.   1962-80         
178.   1973-80         

22. Retirement, 1970-71

This small series contains copies of McEwen's letters of resignation from Parliament in February 1971 and letters of tribute on his departure from the Government and Parliament. Papers relating to his activities in retirement are mostly in Series 1.

Box                
179.   1970-71     

23. Papers of Lady McEwen, 1980

This series consists of copies of the memorial service for McEwen on 1 December 1980, lists of those who were present, and letters of condolence to Lady McEwen on the death of her husband.

Box           
180.   1980   

24. Miscellaneous publications

This series comprises a small group of miscellaneous publications. Most publications in the collection have been filed in specific series such as Elections (Series 11).

Box                     
180.   Publications