Guide to the Papers of J. J. Dedman

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MS 987

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Collection Summary

Creator
John Johnstone Dedman
Title
Papers of J. J. Dedman
Date Range
1929-1954
Collection Number
MS 987
Extent
3.52 metres (18 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Repository
NLA

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The papers are concerned mainly with his years as Labor Member of the House of Representative for Corio, Victoria, 1940-1949. Included in the collection are official and semi-official correspondence, minutes, speeches, reports, press cuttings and printed material relating to his various Cabinet portfolios in the Governments of John Curtin, 1941-1945, and J. B. Chifly, 1945-1949. Much material is also included on the Banking Bills (1945 and 1947).

John Dedman represented Australia at three overseas conferences - at trades negotiations in Geneva in 1947, in Hanava, Cuda, in 1948 at the British Finance ministers Conference in London in 1949; papers from these form an important of the collection.

There is also Australian Labor Party material, reports of conference, policy statements, pamphlets and speeches for the General Elections of 1943, 1946; 1949, 1951 and 1954, all of which were contested by Dedman.

Conditions Governing Access

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn726891).

Conditions Governing Use

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred Citation

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of J. J. Dedman, National Library of Australia, MS 987, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The papers were donated by Dedman in 1960.

Biographical Note

DateEvent
1896John Johnstone Dedman was born on 2nd June at Newtown Stewart, Scotland
1915-1922While attending Edinburgh University he joined the British army, was commission by Kitchener and fought at Gallipoli, In Egypt and France. After the war he served in India.
1922-1940Dedman migrated to Australia and became a dairy farmer in Victoria, was elected to the Upper Yarra Shire Council and was 2 years its President. Organised the Victoria Milk Producers' Association and was elected its first President in 1927. Joined ALP in 1928
1940Elected as ALP Member for Corio in the House of Representative at a by-election a seat vacant by the appointment of R. G. Casey as first ambassador to the USA
1941-1945Minister for War Organization and Industry
1941-1949Ministry in charge of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
1945-1949Minister in charge of Commonwealth Office of Education
1945-1949Minister for Post War Reconstruction
1946Minister for Trade and Customs
1946Minister for Munitions
1946Minister for Aircraft Production
1946-1949Minister for Defence
1948-1949Acting Treasurer during overseas visit by J. B. Chifley
1949Defeated at general election by Hubert Opperman
1951-1954Unsuccessfully contested Corio at 1951 and 1954 general elections
1962Retired to Canberra and resumed university studies. (He commenced studies at Edinburgh University in 1915 before enlisting, resumed at Melbourne University in the early 1930s, and subsequently graduated BA Honours at the Australian National University in 1966.) In 1964 he was honoured by the ANU by being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws and was elected a member of its Council in 1966.
DateEvent
1896John Johnstone Dedman was born on 2nd June at Newtown Stewart, Scotland
1915-1922While attending Edinburgh University he joined the British army, was commission by Kitchener and fought at Gallipoli, In Egypt and France. After the war he served in India.
1922-1940Dedman migrated to Australia and became a dairy farmer in Victoria, was elected to the Upper Yarra Shire Council and was 2 years its President. Organised the Victoria Milk Producers' Association and was elected its first President in 1927. Joined ALP in 1928
1940Elected as ALP Member for Corio in the House of Representative at a by-election a seat vacant by the appointment of R. G. Casey as first ambassador to the USA
1941-1945Minister for War Organization and Industry
1941-1949Ministry in charge of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization
1945-1949Minister in charge of Commonwealth Office of Education
1945-1949Minister for Post War Reconstruction
1946Minister for Trade and Customs
1946Minister for Munitions
1946Minister for Aircraft Production
1946-1949Minister for Defence
1948-1949Acting Treasurer during overseas visit by J. B. Chifley
1949Defeated at general election by Hubert Opperman
1951-1954Unsuccessfully contested Corio at 1951 and 1954 general elections
1962Retired to Canberra and resumed university studies. (He commenced studies at Edinburgh University in 1915 before enlisting, resumed at Melbourne University in the early 1930s, and subsequently graduated BA Honours at the Australian National University in 1966.) In 1964 he was honoured by the ANU by being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws and was elected a member of its Council in 1966.

Item Descriptions

Series 1. Speeches - Box 1

This series contains the speeches of John Dedman, John Curtin, Ben Chifley and others. Items 1-501 are speeches by Dedman, while items 509-565 contain an incomplete series of Chifley's weekly broadcasts.

Other speeches by Dedman are to be found with their subject in series 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Comprises Items 1-638.

Series 2. Press Cuttings - Box 2

These are a miscellaneous collection of cuttings including the subjects of trade unionism and communism. A folder of Press cartoons is included. Cuttings appear throughout the collection with their subjects.

Comprises Items 1-55.

Series 3. Printed Material - Box 2-3

The series contains on a wide range of subject: trade unionism, social security, national health and pharmaceutical benefits, aborigines, immigration, public administration, United Nations and dates from 1929 to company reports, prospect and programmes of the 1960s.

Comprises Items 1-664.

Series 4. M. H. R. For Corio, 1940-1949 - Box 4

This series contains material relating to Dedman's activities as Member for Corio, an electorate extending from Geelong to Anglessa. It includes papers dealing with his 1940 by-election victory and his general elections of 1940, 1043 and 1946, together with general material on Corio and its industries and maps.

Comprises Items 1-374.

Series 5. War Organization And Industry, 1941-1945 - Box 5

This series contains reports, pamphlets and statements on the wartime economy. Rationalization of banking is the subject of items 85-188, and the reorganization of retail trade in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in November 1942 is that of items 199-255.

Cloths rationing, financial assistance to university students and miscellaneous wartime material are included.

Comprises Items 1-325.

Series 6. C. S. I. R. O., 1941-1949 - Box 5

Much of this series is devoted to the controversy surrounding the transfer of the Division of Aeronautics from the C. S. I. R. O. to the Department of Defence. Other subjects dealt with, are security within the Public Service and C. S. I. R. O. and in particular this case of T. R. Kalser, an Australian student on an overseas fellowship and his security position.

The first report of the C. S. I. R. O. and articles from various journals also appear in the series.

Comprises Items 1-251.

Series 7. Post War Reconstruction, 1941-1949 - Box 6-9

This series containing correspondence, cabinet decision, speeches, reports and pamphlets, is the largest in the collection and contains material on the wide range of activities in which the Department of Post War Reconstruction was involved. These include: The Division of Industrial Development: Report on secondary industries; the coal industry and its strike in 1949; agricultural problems and the Northern Territory Production Development Committee (items 697-1415); speeches during the 1948 Prices referendum campaign, rehabilitation of ex-servicemen, the Bretton Woods Agreement, the laying of the foundation stone of University House. ANU; Snowy Mountain Scheme (items 1821-1943): War Service land settlement and correspondence with the NSW Government over the sub-division of land (items 2144-2303); Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme; Commonwealth - State Housing Agreement and War Service Home Expenditure.

Comprises Items 1-3154.

Series 8. Education, 1945-1949 - Box 9

Publications of the Commonwealth Office of Education are found in this series together with material on the interchange of teachers between Great Britain and Australia and a number of ministerial minutes and letters.

Comprises Items 1-79.

Series 9. Defence, 1946-1949 - Box 10

This series contains official and semi-official papers, dealing with security in the Commonwealth Public Service, the establishment of the Australian Security Service and Australian - USA relations after the War.

Comprises Items 1-337.

Series 10. Banking Bill - Box 10-11

Commonwealth Bank Acts of 1945 and 1947, judgements in the 1948 Banking Case, Speeches by Dedman on bank nationalization, press cuttings, pamphlets and letters, including several from his constituents, make up this series.

Comprises Items 1-542.

Series 11. Treasury, 1948-1949 - Box 11

During July 1948 and April - May 1949 Dedman acted as Treasurer of the Commonwealth during the absence overseas of J. B. Chifley.

This small series contains minutes, budget material, published budget speeches and taxation papers, press cuttings and background material for this portfolio.

Comprises Items 1-296.

Series 12. Geneva Trade Negotiations, 1947 - Box 12

In 1947 Dedman led the Australian delegation to negotiations to formulate the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade in Geneva.

Much of this series is official and semi-official material used by the mission in preparing their case, reports of committees and cables. Included also are published reports of GATT, the UN. Reviews of International commodity arrangements and the broadcasts and speeches of Dedman on his return to Australia.

Comprises Items 1-1017.

Series 13. Havana Trade Conference, 1948 - Box 13-14

This series contains items relating to the Australian delegation at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment held at Havana, Cuba November 1947 - February 1948, including the text of the Geneva and New York Articles, notes for negotiations, working papers, cables and letters. There are also speeches and reports on his return to Australia.

Comprises Items 1-1657.

Series 14. London Finance Ministers Conference, 1949 - Box 14-15

Dedman represented the Prime Minister at this Conference in London in July 1949. This series includes notes for meetings, communiqués issued after preliminary talks; reports on the dollar situation, cables, report to Cabinet on his return, press cuttings and letters. Also placed within this series are items on the international monetary position immediately after the London Conference, minutes, reports of Cabinet meetings, broadcasts and statements by Dedman, Chifley and Sir Stafford Cripps.

Comprises Items 1-823.

Series 15. Australian Labor Party - Box 15-17

Dedman joined the ALP in 1928 and remained a member after his retirement. This series contains reports of ALP Conference 1940, 1945 and 1948; material for the referendum of 1944, together with policy speeches and pamphlets for the 1946 general election, the 1947 NSW election and by-elections in 1947 and 1949. There is an article on the selection of Labor Ministers 1941-1946. Much of this series, (items 526-2058) is devoted to the 1949 general election which saw the defeat of both Dedman and the Chifley Government and includes material used for speeches, the policy statement of Ben Chifley, speeches by Dedman and other ministers, notes on the petrol rationing issues, pamphlets and press cuttings. There are also papers on the 1950 Victorian election, including policy speeches by Premier Cain and material concerning the Geelong and Grant Electorates. The series finally contain miscellaneous items including L. F. Crisp and S. P. Bennet “A list of Federal Personnel of ALP 1901-1954”.

Comprises Items 1-2263.

Series 16. Post 1949 Papers - Box 18

Dedman contested without success Corio at the general election of 1951 and 1954. This series contains items of interest immediately following his 1949 defeat, and material on his 1951 and 1954 election campaigns including policy statements, speeches, press cuttings and pamphlets.

Comprises Items 1-657.


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