Guide to the Papers of Sir Frederick Wheeler
MS 8096
National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record
Collection Summary
- Creator
- Sir Frederick Wheeler
- Title
- Papers of Sir Frederick Wheeler
- Date Range
- 1924-1994
- Collection Number
- MS 8096
- Extent
- 9.58 metres (42 boxes)
- Language of Materials
- English
- Repository
- National Library of Australia
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The bulk of the papers in this collection comprise files which relate to Wheeler's time as Chairman of the Public Service Board (1960-71) and as Secretary of the Commonwealth Treasury (1971-79).
There are a large number of files of 'green' copies of Wheeler's outward correspondence, memoranda and circulars, created when he was Chairman of the Public Service Board.
There are also biographical and subject files maintained by Wheeler and containing material mostly accumulated after his retirement in 1979, appointment diaries (1961-94) and papers relating to Wheeler's association with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the Commonwealth Club in Canberra.
There are very few personal papers in this collection. There are also no papers relating to Wheeler's early career and very few relating to his time with the International Labour Organisation in Geneva.
Correspondence in Series 1 comprises mostly short letters, either expressing support for Wheeler during a time of crisis in 1975 or congratulating him on his retirement in 1979. Correspondents include Sir Arthur Tange, Lady Violet Braddon, Sir John Bunting, H.C. Coombs, Sir Ernest Coates, Sir James Darling, Sir John Egerton, Bill Hayden, Bob Law-Smith, James McNeill, Sir Robert Menzies, Sir John Nott, Sir John Overall, Sir James Plimsoll, Ross Shelmerdine, Jim Short, Keith Sinclair, David Smith, Sir Geoffrey Yeend and Gough Whitlam. Series 2 also contains letters from Sir Douglas Copland, J.B. Chifley, Sir William Dunk and Norman Watt.
Conditions Governing Access
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2340223).
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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Sir Frederick Wheeler, National Library of Australia, MS 8096, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Provenance
The papers were acquired by the Library in two instalments. The first was received from Sir Frederick Wheeler in 1971 and the second from his son Philip Wheeler in 1995.
Arrangement
The files in this collection have been grouped into series by the Library. However, Wheeler's file titles have been retained and file descriptions in each series commence with this title.
The 'green' copies of Wheeler's outward correspondence, memoranda and circulars, created when he was Chairman of the Public Service Board have been arranged by Wheeler into several categories, and this arrangement has been retained.
Separated Materials
The family has retained two files consisting of memorabilia and news of ILO alumni, which are largely of family interest.
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1914 | Born 9 January, the son of A.H. Wheeler |
| 1920-23 | Trinity Grammar School, Melbourne |
| 1924-29 | Scotch College, Melbourne |
| 1930-39 | Officer of the State Savings Bank of Victoria |
| 1939 | Married Peggy Hilda Bell |
| 1939 | Bachelor of Commerce, University of Melbourne |
| 1939 | Seconded to the Commonwealth Prices Branch as Economic Assistant to the Prices Commissioner |
| 1939 | Research Officer, Department of the Treasury |
| 1941-47 | Secretary, Financial and Economic Committee |
| 1944 | Member of Australian Delegation to the International Monetary Conference, Bretton Woods, USA and the British Commonwealth Conference, London |
| 1946 | Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury |
| 1947-49 | Secretary, Investment and Employment Committee |
| 1948 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister J.B. Chifley, Economic and Financial Discussions, London |
| 1948 | Delegation member, led by Minister for External Affairs H.V. Evatt, to Prime Ministers' Conference, London |
| 1948-51 | Treasury observer, Commonwealth Bank Advisory Council |
| 1949 | First Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury |
| 1949 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister Chifley, to the Prime Ministers' Conference, London |
| 1949 | Delegation member, led by Minister for Post-war Reconstruction John Dedman, to the British Commonwealth Conference of Finance Ministers, London |
| 1949 | Delegation leader, General Economic and Trade Talks, New Zealand |
| 1950 | Delegation member, led by Minister for External Affairs Percy Spender, to British Commonwealth Conference, Colombo |
| 1950 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister R.G. Menzies, to United Kingdom and United States of America |
| 1950 | Delegation leader, negotiations for first contract with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| 1952 | Acting Secretary to the Treasury |
| 1952 | Appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
| 1953-60 | Treasurer-comptroller of the International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva |
| 1960-71 | Chairman, Commonwealth Public Service Board |
| 1962 | Promoted an Ordinary Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of outstanding public service |
| 1967 | Created a Knight Bachelor for distinguished public service |
| 1966-69 | President, Commonwealth Club, Canberra |
| 1969-72 | Member, International Civil Service Advisory Board |
| 1970 | Australian Government representative on the Joint Committee on the Public Service set up by the ILO Governing Body |
| 1971-79 | Secretary to the Treasury |
| 1975 | Death of Peggy Wheeler |
| 1975 | Retired from the Commonwealth Public Service |
| 1979 | Appointed a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia for public service |
| 1979 | Presented the Robert Garran Memorial Oration |
| 1979-84 | Director, Amatil Ltd |
| 1979-86 | Director, Alliance Holdings Ltd |
| 1981-82 | Member, Commonwealth Government Defence Review Committee |
| 1984 | Appointed a Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Public Administration, in recognition of an outstanding contribution made to the achievement of the Institute's objectives |
| 1991-94 | National President, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1914 | Born 9 January, the son of A.H. Wheeler |
| 1920-23 | Trinity Grammar School, Melbourne |
| 1924-29 | Scotch College, Melbourne |
| 1930-39 | Officer of the State Savings Bank of Victoria |
| 1939 | Married Peggy Hilda Bell |
| 1939 | Bachelor of Commerce, University of Melbourne |
| 1939 | Seconded to the Commonwealth Prices Branch as Economic Assistant to the Prices Commissioner |
| 1939 | Research Officer, Department of the Treasury |
| 1941-47 | Secretary, Financial and Economic Committee |
| 1944 | Member of Australian Delegation to the International Monetary Conference, Bretton Woods, USA and the British Commonwealth Conference, London |
| 1946 | Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury |
| 1947-49 | Secretary, Investment and Employment Committee |
| 1948 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister J.B. Chifley, Economic and Financial Discussions, London |
| 1948 | Delegation member, led by Minister for External Affairs H.V. Evatt, to Prime Ministers' Conference, London |
| 1948-51 | Treasury observer, Commonwealth Bank Advisory Council |
| 1949 | First Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury |
| 1949 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister Chifley, to the Prime Ministers' Conference, London |
| 1949 | Delegation member, led by Minister for Post-war Reconstruction John Dedman, to the British Commonwealth Conference of Finance Ministers, London |
| 1949 | Delegation leader, General Economic and Trade Talks, New Zealand |
| 1950 | Delegation member, led by Minister for External Affairs Percy Spender, to British Commonwealth Conference, Colombo |
| 1950 | Delegation member, led by Prime Minister R.G. Menzies, to United Kingdom and United States of America |
| 1950 | Delegation leader, negotiations for first contract with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| 1952 | Acting Secretary to the Treasury |
| 1952 | Appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire |
| 1953-60 | Treasurer-comptroller of the International Labour Office (ILO), Geneva |
| 1960-71 | Chairman, Commonwealth Public Service Board |
| 1962 | Promoted an Ordinary Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, in recognition of outstanding public service |
| 1967 | Created a Knight Bachelor for distinguished public service |
| 1966-69 | President, Commonwealth Club, Canberra |
| 1969-72 | Member, International Civil Service Advisory Board |
| 1970 | Australian Government representative on the Joint Committee on the Public Service set up by the ILO Governing Body |
| 1971-79 | Secretary to the Treasury |
| 1975 | Death of Peggy Wheeler |
| 1975 | Retired from the Commonwealth Public Service |
| 1979 | Appointed a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia for public service |
| 1979 | Presented the Robert Garran Memorial Oration |
| 1979-84 | Director, Amatil Ltd |
| 1979-86 | Director, Alliance Holdings Ltd |
| 1981-82 | Member, Commonwealth Government Defence Review Committee |
| 1984 | Appointed a Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Public Administration, in recognition of an outstanding contribution made to the achievement of the Institute's objectives |
| 1991-94 | National President, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust |
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Correspondence, 1959-94
This series contains non-official correspondence on topics which include job offers, Scotch College, retirement functions held for Wheeler (1979), personal references he wrote and disposition of his papers.
The files entitled 'Unsolicited testimonials' contain two main groups of papers. The first comprises letters expressing support for Wheeler when he came under attack from the Whitlam Government, which reportedly wanted to remove him from the Treasury in 1975. Correspondents include Lady Braddon, Sir John Bunting, Sir James Darling, James McNeill, Sir Robert Menzies, Sir John Nott, Sir John Overall, Ross Shelmerdine, Jim Short, Keith Sinclair and David Smith. The second group contains letters from well wishers on his retirement. Correspondents include Sir Arthur Tange, H.C. Coombs, Sir Ernest Coates, Sir John Egerton, Bill Hayden, Bob Law-Smith, Sir James Plimsoll, Sir Geoffrey Yeend and Gough Whitlam.
Jobs miscellaneous (1959-60, 1978-83): notes and correspondence, mostly relating to approaches from various organisations seeking Wheeler's involvement with them in some capacity (File 1) - Box 1
Untitled file: guest lists and correspondence relating to functions held when Wheeler retired as Secretary to the Treasury, 1979 (File 4) - Box 1
Disposition of official papers (1979-1993): lists of official papers and correspondence with officers from the Department of the Treasury and the National Library of Australia regarding their disposal (File 5) - Box 1
Old Scotch (1981-93): correspondence and official memorabilia relating to the Old Scotch Collegians' Association, of which Wheeler was a member (File 6) - Box 1
Series 2. Documents, 1924-94
The papers in this series relate to Wheeler's personal history and professional interests. Included are school reports from Scotch College (1924-29), a book of his university lecture notes and two letters Wheeler wrote to his parents (1952). Correspondents include Sir Douglas Copland, J.B. Chifley, Sir William Dunk (Wheeler's predecessor as Chair of the Public Service Board) and G.P.N. (Norman) Watt.
Personal history (1924-79): includes letters from D.B. Copland (1939) and J.B. Chifley (1947), school reports (1924-29), a book of university lecture notes, official passport (1974-79), extracts from papers Wheeler wrote in 1942 and 1943 and certificates for his degree and official awards he received (File 1-2) - Box 2
The move to the ILO and back to the PSB (1952-60): handwritten notes relating to Wheeler's appointment as Treasurer to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), personal correspondence including letters to his parents (1952) and Norman Watt (1956) and correspondence relating to Wheeler's appointment as Chairman of the Public Service Board (PSB), including correspondence with Sir William Dunk about the position (1957-60) (File 3-4) - Box 2
Order of Australia (1979) and Order of the British Empire (1962): memorabilia relating to the two awards (File 5) - Box 2
AAFICS (1991-94): newsletters of the Australian Association of Former International Civil Servants (File 6) - Box 2
Series 3. Diaries and address books, 1961-94
The two principal elements in this series are correspondence with anthropologists and correspondence regarding changes in Chinnery's career. Includes some copies of Chinnery's letters.
Note: File 41 is not available for research until 1 January 2010.
Series 4. Commonwealth Public Service Board, 1961-71
In 1961, Wheeler returned from Europe to take up the position of Chairman of the Commonwealth Public Service Board (PSB). He left the Board in 1971 to become Secretary to the Commonwealth Treasury.
The bulk of this series comprises extensive files of 'green' copies of outward correspondence, memoranda and circulars. They have been organised by Wheeler into various categories, and these have been retained by the Library.
There are two additional files, which also relate to this period, and they are listed first in the series.
Subseries [unnumbered]. Heads of other Departments
Sir Donald Anderson (Department of Civil Aviation), 26 January 1962- 8 October 1971 (File 25) - Box 13
Sir Henry Bland (Department of Labour and National Service), 26 January 1962-19 December 1966 (see also file 60) (File 26) - Box 13
A.S. Reiher (Director-General, Department of Works), 25 January 1962-3 September 1971 (File 27) - Box 13
T.A. Housley (Director-General, Posts and Telegraphs) 5 February 1962-10 December 1968 (File 28) - Box 13
Sir Kenneth Bailey (Attorney-General's Department), 30 March 1962-31 January 1964 (File 38) - Box 14
M.M. Summers (Department of Shipping and Transport), 23 July 1962-13 October 1971 (File 52) - Box 16
Sir Roland Wilson (Treasury), 3 April 1962-24 September 1963 (see also files 46-47) (File 53) - Box 16
J.L. Knott (Deputy Australian High Commissioner), 23 May 1966-7 November 1968 (see also file 61) (File 58) - Box 16
Sir Hugh Ennor (Department of Education and Science), 27 September 1966-12 October 1971 (File 59) - Box 17
Sir Henry Bland (Labour and National Services), 3 January 1967-6 December 1967 (see also file 26) (File 60) - Box 17
J.L. Knott (Posts and Telegraphs), 20 January 1969-26 October 1971 (see also file 58) (File 61) - Box 17
J.Q. Ewens (Office of the Parliamentary Counsel), 11 September 1970-15 September 1971 (File 63) - Box 17
Subseries [unnumbered]. Named correspondence files
Sir John Overall (National Capital Development Commission), 26 January 1962-1 October 1971 (File 82) - Box 20
Sir William Hudson (Commissioner, Snowy Mountains Authority), 12 February 1962-23 August 1971 (File 83) - Box 20
G. Polites (Australian Council of Employers' Federation), 25 August 1969-26 August 1971 (File 84) - Box 20
Subseries [unnumbered]. Internal memoranda
Secretary, Public Service Board, 23 January 1963-24 December 1963 (see also file 131) (File 116) - Box 25
Assistant Commissioner, Recruitment and Training, 21 January 1963-27 February 1970 (File 119) - Box 25
Series 5. Commonwealth Treasury, 1951-88
In 1971, Wheeler was appointed to the position of Secretary to the Treasury. He had some difficult challenges to deal with while in the position, including the controversial Khemlani Loans Affair (1974-75) and reported plans of the Whitlam Government to replace him in 1975. Wheeler's reputation as a formidable bureaucrat proved well founded and he was able to weather these controversies, continuing as Secretary until his retirement in 1979.
This series comprises files of papers relating to Wheeler's time as Secretary. They contain Wheeler's personal notes (many brief and/or cryptic), press cuttings and copies of departmental minutes and reports.
See also Series 1 for related material.
Note: These files are available for research with the exception of two documents within Folder 14, which are not available for research until 1 January 2010.
The original GFEP (with comparisons): lists of government officers and their salary progression over the period from 1951-1971 (File 1) - Box 30
The move to the Treasury (1971): official correspondence relating to Wheeler's appointment as Secretary and congratulatory notes from Billy Sneddon and Clyde Cameron (File 2) - Box 30
Treasury episodes, 1975: copies of departmental minutes, notes and correspondence relating to Economic Planning (File 3) - Box 30
Treasury episodes, 1st and 2nd halves of 1975: departmental minutes, press cuttings and a large collection of notes of phone calls, conversations, meetings, sequences of events and observations kept by Wheeler. Many of these papers relate to the reported plans of the Whitlam Government to remove Wheeler as Secretary in 1975 (File 4-6) - Box 30
Treasury episodes, 1976-84: departmental letters and minutes, notes by Wheeler (1976-78) and newspaper cuttings (1979-84) (File 7) - Box 30
Treasury to Coombs Commission: report on the Coombs Commission Seminar by John Stone (1975), a copy of the Treasury submission to the Commission (1974) and a draft of a Treasury paper entitled 'Formation and coordination of economic policy: possible models for Australia' (1975) (File 8) - Box 31
Untitled file, 1973-75: departmental correspondence, notes and cuttings, mostly relating to the Khemlani Loans Affair (File 9-12) - Box 31
Untitled file, 1977-79: departmental correspondence and notes relating to the court case of Sankey-v-Whitlam (two documents from Folder 14 are not available for research until 1 January 2010) (File 14-15) - Box 32
Data on Permanent Heads: listings of departmental Permanent Heads prepared during the period 1977-86, one of which covers the period 1946-76 (File 17) - Box 32
Series 6. Speeches, 1962-91
This small group of papers consists of speeches, notes for speeches and related correspondence. Included are a bound copy of selected addresses and loose copies of speeches made during his period as Chairman of the Public Service Board for the period 1962-70, a speech presented as Secretary to the Treasury in 1972, notes for speeches made at functions for his retirement from the Treasury in 1978 and notes for occasional speeches made after his retirement.
There are also papers relating to Wheeler's presentation for the Robert Garran Memorial Oration in 1979, entitled 'The professional career public service: some reflections of a practitioner'. They include correspondence, notes and copies of the published text of his speech, which appeared in the Australian Journal of Public Administration.
Series 7. Biographical files, 1949-94
The biographical files in this series were compiled by Wheeler, and contain material relating to prominent people, mostly senior public servants. The bulk of the material was accumulated after his retirement in 1979. At the end of the series is a file of material relating to Wheeler himself, mostly cuttings, which he referred to as his 'Ego' file.
Note: These files are available for research with the exception of one document within Folder 26, which is not available for research until 1 January 2013.
Series 8. Subject files, 1950-93
Wheeler maintained a small number of subject files, which contain papers and cuttings. The files are listed in this series, alphabetically, by title.
Series 9. Commonwealth Club, 1977-94
Wheeler had a long association with the Commonwealth Club in Canberra. In 1966-69 he was President and from 1984 to 1993 was on the Election Committee, which was in charge of assessing applications for membership.
This series contains papers relating to Wheeler's involvement with the Club, dating from 1977. They include correspondence, newspaper cuttings, agenda papers for Annual General Meetings (1977-94) and lists of candidates for membership (1984-92).
Note: Permission is required in order to view the contents of this series.
Series 10. Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, 1987-94
Wheeler's association with the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust dated from 1965, when he was appointed as a Director. In 1991 he was elected National President and had been re-elected to this position shortly before his death in 1994.
Papers relating to Wheeler's association with the Trust are contained in the series. They include reports of Annual General Meetings and lists of applicants for fellowships.
Series 11. Miscellaneous, 1945-91
This series comprises miscellaneous material accumulated by Wheeler.