Guide to the Papers of Sir Roland Wilson

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MS 1155

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: 2007

Collection Summary

Creator: Wilson, Roland, Sir
Title: Papers of Sir Roland Wilson
Date Range: 1917 - 1999
Collection Number: MS 1155
Extent: 4.95 metres (33 MS boxes)
Language of Materials: English
Repository: Special Collections (Manuscripts)

Introduction

Scope and Contents

The papers relate to the career and personal life of economist, statistician and senior Commonwealth public servant, Sir Roland Wilson KBE CBE. The papers include correspondence; academic notes; addresses and speech notes; as well as files retained by Wilson on a number of aspects of Australian Commonwealth economic policy development. Correspondents include early statisticians and economists, such as J. B. (James Bristock) Brigden and L. F. (Lyndhurst Falkiner) Giblin, aviators such as Sir Hudson Fysh, and federal ministers and prime ministers such as R. G. Menzies and Harold Holt. Some material relates to issues surrounding the governance and management of the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas when Wilson was member and Chairman of the boards of those enterprises.

All aspects of Sir Roland's public service life are covered by the collection. More material relates to his personal life and academic studies than that to his time as Commonwealth Statistician, or founding Secretary of the Department of Labour and National Service.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is available for research.

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Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions.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 Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.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 Roland Wilson, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file number]'.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Two items, J. B. Brigden letter (now at Series 8 File 7) and a bound photocopy of Wilson's Beit prize winning essay 'Social and economic experiments in Queensland' (now in Series 6) have been held by the Library since before 1996. The remainder of MS 1155 was donated to the Library by the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation, Australian National University, in 2006. Further papers were added in two separate consignments in 2014.

Other material relating to Sir Roland Wilson (including the original handwritten manuscript of the essay 'Social and economic experiments in Queensland') is held by the Australian Bureau of Statistics Library (Canberra) as Dep CS MS 001.

Material relating to Sir Roland's career is held at the National Archives of Australia in records of the Departments of which he was Secretary. There is also a formed collection of papers at M2806 Folders, binders and volumes maintained by Sir Roland Wilson.

Arrangement

The collection, although mostly held in labelled files, was somewhat disordered on receipt from the Sir Roland Wilson Foundation. There were signs of several previous filing arrangements which proved too sporadic to re-establish. The collection also shows evidence of re-arrangement, possibly after Sir Roland retired from the Commonwealth Public Service and during his time as Chairman of the Boards of QANTAS and the Commonwealth Bank. There is also evidence of some culling and re-arrangement as evidenced by notes (in Wilson's hand?) saying 'Examined 20/2/84'.

In 2007, the Library arranged the collection into series: correspondence; research materials; addresses and the remainder arranged in accordance with Sir Roland's career. Pre-existing labelling of subject files and internal arrangement within those files has been maintained.

Although a large number of printed publications held by Wilson were not retained with the collection, the most significant books relating to the development of his academic training in economics are retained as Series 10.

Biographical Note

1904: Roland Wilson born 7 April, at Ulverstone, Tasmania. Wilson was called 'Roly' by his father Thomas Wilson.

1925: Rhodes Scholar for Tasmania.

1926: Received a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Tasmania.

1926: Beit Prizeman (Oxon) for 'Social and economic experiments in Queensland'

1928-1930: Commonwealth Fund Fellow. Wilson used the scholarship to extend his academic studies at the University of Chicago (PhD).

1929: Received a Doctorate of Philosophy at Oxford for a thesis on the import of capital.

1930: Married Valeska Thompson (b. 7 August 1904, New Mexico, USA).

1930: Lecturer in Economics and Director of Tutorial classes in the University of Tasmania until 1932 and Workers Education Association lecturer at the University of Tasmania.

1931: Publication of academic research as volume

1932: Joined Commonwealth Public Service in the Department of the Treasury in the Economic Statistician's Branch as Assistant Commonwealth Statistician.

1936-1940: Became Commonwealth Statistician and Economic Adviser to the Treasury.

1940-1946: Established and directed the Department of Labour and National Service.

1941: Appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE).

1942-1945: During the war, Wilson constructed an electric car in order to drive during petrol rationing.

1946-1951: Returned to the post as Commonwealth Statistician and Economic Adviser to the Treasury.

1948-1949: Chairman of the Economic and Employment Commission of the United Nations.

1951-1966: Secretary of the Treasury.

1955: Created a Knight Bachelor (Kt) for outstanding public service.

1965: Created a Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE).

1966: Retired from the Commonwealth Public Service and became Chairman of Qantas until 1973; Chairman of Qantas Wentworth Hotel Ltd until 1975; and Chairman of Commonwealth Banking Corporation until 1975.

1971: June 2, Valeska, Wilson's wife was killed (aged 64) in a motor accident on the highway near San Augustin de las Juntas, Oaxaca, Mexico and was interred in the Municipal Cemetery, Oaxaca, Mexico.

1975: Married Joyce.

1975: Retired from the Commonwealth Bank Board, 14 January.

1996: Sir Roland Wilson died in Canberra 25 October.

1996: Died 25 October, survived by wife, Joyce. No children.

Biographical Reference(s)

Who's Who in Australia

Person notes for person CP 556, Sir Roland Wilson KBE, CBE on RecordSearch database at http://www.naa.gov.au.

Sir Roland Wilson : a biographical essay, Selwyn Cornish, Canberra, Australian National University, c2002.

Obituary Sir Roland Wilson, 'Outstanding public servant of his generation', Informing a nation: the evolution of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1905-2005, Canberra, Australian Bureau of Statistics, c2005.

Giblin's platoon: the trials and triumph of the economist in Australian public life, William Oliver Coleman, Selwyn Cornish, Alfred Hagger, Canberra, ACT ANU E Press, c2006.

Item Descriptions

Class MS 1155. Original consignment

Comprising papers that relate to the career and personal life of economist, statistician and senior Commonwealth public servant, Sir Roland Wilson KBE CBE. The papers include correspondence; academic notes; addresses and speech notes; as well as files retained by Wilson on a number of aspects of Australian Commonwealth economic policy development. Correspondents include early statisticians and economists, such as J. B. (James Bristock) Brigden and L. F. (Lyndhurst Falkiner) Giblin, aviators such as Sir Hudson Fysh, and federal ministers and prime ministers such as R. G. Menzies and Harold Holt. Some material relates to issues surrounding the governance and management of the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas when Wilson was member and Chairman of the boards of those enterprises. The collection also includes a bound photocopy of a manuscript entitled 'Social and economic experiments in Queensland', the draft of Beit prize essay 1927 by Roland Wilson.

Contained in 33 boxes (MS 1155, Boxes 1-33).

Series 1. Correspondence, 1920-1996

Correspondence as retained by Wilson including family letters while Wilson was studying overseas and personal correspondence.

Other correspondence has been placed in series which relate to Sir Roland's career, for example, Series 4 holds Qantas correspondence. Correspondence with L. F. Giblin and J. B. Brigden is located in Series 8.

There is evidence of culling and later labelling by Wilson. These have been retained in this arrangement.

Typewritten letters from Thomas Wilson (father), Ulverstone, Tasmania to Roland Wilson, 3 February 1992 (File 1)

Letters were written to Roland while he was studying at Oxford and at Chicago.

Typewritten letters from Thomas Wilson (father), Ulverstone, Tasmania to Roland Wilson, 1928-1932 (File 2)

Includes some letters from other family members.

Typewritten letters from Thomas Wilson (father), Ulverstone, Tasmania to Roland Wilson, 1930-1931 (File 3)

Includes some letters from other family members (brothers?).

These letters may have been removed from their original sequence.

Letters from Roland Wilson to Thomas Wilson (father), 1928-1933 (File 4)

Includes some letters from other family members, Ulverstone, Tasmania.

These letters may have been removed from their original sequence.

Undated and miscellaneous letters to Sir Roland Wilson, 1977 (File 5)

Includes birthday and Christmas cards and a list of letters destroyed, August 1977.

Correspondence, 1920s (File 6)

These letters may have been removed from their original sequence.

Correspondence, 1930s (File 7)

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent to Roland Wilson.

Includes letters from D. B. Copland and Melbourne University Press.

Correspondence, 1930s (File 8)

Labelled folders as retained by Sir Roland Wilson.

Includes letters from Clerici, Melbourne Herald, and Melbourne University Press.

Personal correspondence, 1940s (File 9)

Personal correspondence, 1950s (File 10)

Personal correspondence, 1960s (File 11)

Correspondence, 1970s (File 12)

Letters received by Sir Roland Wilson during his illness, 1972 (File 13)

Includes copies of replies by Wilson.

Correspondence relating to the death of Valeska Wilson, 1971 (File 14)

Correspondence, 1980-1981 (File 15)

Correspondence, 1990-1996 (File 16)

Letters of congratulation to Roland Wilson, 1924-1955 (File 17)

Includes diary notes made while on a study tour of the United States and a retouched colour photographic portrait of Wilson's mother(?)

Personal correspondence with friends, colleagues and mentors, 1930-1984 (File 18)

Correspondents include Nancy Long; Bob Garner; Sir Lenox Hewitt; Sir Stanley Carver and E. T. Mc Phee.

Correspondence with Oriel College, 1926-1996 (File 19)

Correspondence with Yates Dowell and others relating to patents applied for by Roland Wilson, 1950-1958 (File 20)

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1948-1970 (File 21)

Correspondents include A. Oppenheim; Mr McFarlane; Heyward, and Knights Bachelor.

These letters may have been removed from their original sequence.

Series 2. Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson as Commonwealth Statistician, Economic Adviser to the Treasury, Secretary of the Department of Labour and National Service, 1932-1950

Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson as Secretary of the Department of Labour and National Service, 1942-1946 (File 1)

Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson's employment as Economist and Economic Adviser to the Treasury and Commonwealth Statistician, 1935-1950 (File 2)

Miscellaneous papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson's period as Economic Adviser to the Treasury and Commonwealth Statistician, 1932-1986 (File 3)

Later material relates to the functions marking the 50th anniversary of Sir Roland Wilson's appointment as Commonwealth Statistician.

Index numbers by C. H. Wickens, holograph and carbon typescript copies written by Wickens as Commonwealth Statistician and Actuary, 1920 (File 4)

Policy advice and papers on the compilation and accuracy of statistics regarding savings investment; national income; export prices, and overseas competition for Australian manufactured products, 1936-1950 (File 5)

Research notes and drafts of article 'Ten eventful years' written for the Australian Commonwealth Year Book, 1946 (File 6-7)

Miscellaneous papers and correspondence relating to policy considerations of Australia's economic conditions, 1948-1951 (File 8)

Copies of papers and correspondence relating to Australia's economic position and policy advice regarding wool tax and subsidies and migration policies, 1950 (File 9)

Reports and correspondence relating to Australia's economic policies, 1949-1950 (File 10)

Correspondence from Sir Roland Wilson to Australian correspondents including L. F. Giblin and D. B. Copland while Wilson was advising from Washington, DC, 1948-1949 (File 11)

Originals and carbon copy replies.

Newspaper clippings reporting Sir Roland Wilson's appearance before the Banking Commission, 1936 (File 12)

Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson's role as adviser and Australian representative to the United Nations Committee on Contributions, 1946-1949 (File 13)

Includes notes and correspondence with J. B. Brigden.

Dr Wilson's report on Economic and Employment Commission, 1949 (File 14)

Series 3. Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson as Secretary of the Treasury, 1950-1966

Credit policy, 1950 (File 1)

Budget, 1950-1951 (File 2)

Prime Minister [papers for Budget consideration], 1951 (File 3)

Public and private investment in Australia, 1954 (File 4)

Mr O'Connor MP, 1953-1954 (File 5)

Newspaper clippings, Hansard proofs, and correspondence relating to a controversy over remarks made by Sir Roland Wilson in an after dinner speech to the Federal Council of the Electrical Manufacturers Australia, 4 May 1953.

Chase Bank seminar, 1965 (File 6)

Commonwealth Banking Corporation, 1966 (File 7)

Wilson's advice to the government on the governance of the Commonwealth Bank.

Series 4. Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson as member and Chair of board of Qantas, 1956-1976

Papers relating to Qantas' interest in the Wentworth Hotel, Sydney, 1965-1973 (File 1-2)

Papers relating to Qantas reorganisation and salaries, 1969-1970 (File 3-4)

Includes correspondence from Sir Frederick Wheeler; Sir Lenox Hewitt, and Sir Richard Randall.

Papers relating to Concorde aircraft, 1972 (File 5)

Papers relating to International Air Transport Association (IATA); the laws relating to aviation and reduced transportation rates, 1966-1973 (File 6)

Includes original correspondence form Sir Hudson Fysh.

Papers relating to Sir Hudson Fysh and Sir Cedric Turner, 1967-1968 (File 7)

Includes copies of correspondence and notes made by Sir Roland Wilson.

Pilot matters, 1966-1970 (File 8)

Relates to the pilots' remuneration disputes.

Correspondence relating to the functions of the Chief Executive of Qantas, 1972-1976 (File 9)

Correspondence, 1971 (File 10)

Mostly relating to remuneration of the Board Chair of Qantas.

Miscellaneous correspondence relating to Sir Hudson Fysh and development plans for Sydney Airport, 1965-1966 (File 11)

Miscellaneous correspondence relating to Qantas operations and executive management, 1966-1970 (File 12)

Miscellaneous correspondence, 1967-1971 (File 13)

Miscellaneous correspondence and addresses given by Sir Roland Wilson while Board Chair of Qantas, 1969-1970 (File 14)

Publicity statements, retirement letters and press, 1966-1973 (File 15)

Newspaper clippings relating to Qantas, 1967-1971 (File 16)

Newspaper clippings relating to Qantas, 1969-1973 (File 17)

Series 5. Papers relating to Sir Roland Wilson as member and Chair of board of Commonwealth Bank and MLC Limited, 1968-1980

Remuneration of the Commonwealth Bank Board Chair and the Chairman of Qantas, 1969 (File 1)

Order of ceremony for the opening of Richardson House, a hostel for employees of the Commonwealth Bank, Canberra, c.1968 (File 2)

Correspondence relating to the retirement of Sir Roland Wilson from the board of the Commonwealth Bank, 1975 (File 3)

Large folder in vinyl cover of papers relating to investments and financial matters, 1968 (File 4)

Bound volume of papers relating to the business of the Mutual Life and Citizens' Assurance Company (MLC), 1975 (File 5)

Spiral bound volume of papers of sumbissions to the Board, 7 February 1980 (File 6)

Series 6. Research notes, 1920-1986

Also includes notes made while Wilson was a lecturer with the University of Melbourne and for the Workers Educational Association.

Series 2 also contains notebooks; Series 2 and 3 also contain notes on small cards and notepapers that were filed alphabetically.

Publications and writings of Sir Roland Wilson, 1927-1986 (File [unnumbered])

Includes a bound photocopy of Wilson's Beit Prize essay Social and economic experiments in Queensland and the holograph manuscript; typescript carbon copy and three printed and bound copies of Capital imports and the terms of trade.

Also includes statistical publications and articles by Wilson and an article on Wilson's contribution by Ian Castles as printed in the Canberra bulletin of public administration.

University notebooks, 1920s-1930s (File [unnumbered])

Contains 18 notebooks, some bound together.

Notes on economic subjects taken from various publications, 1920s-1930s (File [unnumbered])

On system cards or small pieces of paper filed in card boxes.

Includes a letter to Wilson from Giblin, 19 November 1950, and appended to notes made by Wilson.

Research and correspondence relating to preparation of academic work and lectures, 1920s-1930s (File [unnumbered])

Includes remnants of an alphabetical filing arrangement.

Series 7. Addresses and speeches, 1930-1986

Some are bundles of summarised cards with annotations for emphasis as made and retained by Sir Roland Wilson.

Miscellaneous and undated speeches and addresses, 1930-1986 (File 1)

Speeches, addresses, 1930-1939 (File 2)

Speeches, addresses, 1960-1969 (File 3-4)

Speeches, addresses, 1970-1979 (File 5)

Giblin Memorial lecture, 1976 (File 6)

As given at the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) congress