Summary heading

Series notes for A4531

Function and purpose

This series documents the activities and functions of the Australian government post in Saigon from 1957-1975.

The functions of the post included:

• Representation of the Australian government
• In country administration of Australian government policies, programmes and procedures relevant to an overseas post
• Reporting to the Australian government about political, economic and other developments in the country represented and in the region

The range of activities involved in carrying out these functions was wide ranging and included post administration, monitoring of political and economic developments, immigration services, economic and trade relations, administration of aid projects, and consular services to Australian citizens travelling or residing in the country or countries covered by the post.

Documentation of these activities and the correspondence associated with them provided evidence for accountability purposes via records of negotiations, and records of projects and programmes run by the embassy.  It also provided ongoing analysis of political, economic and security information.

Content

Subjects identified in this series include:

• Political parties and elections
• Religions
• Minority groups including the Montagnard people
• Economic developments and policies
• Military developments and policies,
• Communist groups including the Viet Cong
• Australian army projects
• Prisoners on both sides of the conflict
• International conferences and consultations
• Relationships with Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam.

Family history
The series includes approximately 100 files related to marriages of named individuals, 170 files concerning the entry of named individuals or families to Australia and 80 files of named individuals or families relating to migration to Australia.

Administrative history

The post had two distinct entities during the period covered by this series:

• The Australian Legation to the Associated States of Indo-China was responsible for files commenced between January 1957 and 21 August 1959.  The Associated States consisted of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia[i] and were previously known as French Indo-China[ii].  The legation was established on 23 March 1952 and series CRS A4529 contains the earlier records for this legation.  Files commenced during the time of the legation will usually have printed on the file cover ‘Legation to Saigon’.
• The Australian Embassy to the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam) was responsible for files commenced from 22 August 1959 until the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces in April 1975.[iii]  Files commenced during the time of the embassy will usually have printed on the file cover ‘Embassy of Saigon’.

Using the series

As all items in this series held by the Archives have been entered on RecordSearch, subject searching by keyword should enable retrieval of relevant records.  For initial assistance with keyword searching, please refer to the online tutorial, accessible via the RecordSearch link on the Archives homepage.

Subject searching by reference numbers (file numbers) is also possible as a multiple number system controls this series.  Multiple number systems and the structure of file numbers in this series are discussed in the System of arrangement and control section below.  Unfortunately, the Archives does not hold a comprehensive collection of the Saigon post file lists.  This would have been the best source to understand the file number system used and how individual file numbers are structured.  Copies of some of the file lists for the Saigon post are held and these are discussed in the Relationships with other records section below.  When searching by reference number please note that file numbers may have prefixes or suffixes, as discussed in the System of arrangement and control section.  Also, many files in this series have multiple parts.  As with keyword searching, you can insert the wildcard sign (*) immediately after the root file number to retrieve all parts.

Language of material

Mainly English, but some records include documents in French and Vietnamese

System of arrangement and control

Multiple number system
The series is controlled by a multiple number system.  The control symbol or record number for each file will usually consist of at least two number elements and may contain up to 4 or 5 number elements.  The first number represents the broad subject area, and subsequent numbers break the subject down into more specific subjects.  Multiple number systems usually have an index or some other form of control to ensure that the correct file number is used for a particular subject.  In this case, the controls are the first uniform post system and the file list or index for the Saigon post.

First uniform post system
The first uniform filing system for overseas posts was introduced by the Department of External Affairs (CA 18) in 1956 and provided a loose structure of primary numbers from 1-490 (with gaps) for all the functions likely to be performed at an overseas post.  Numbers were distributed as follows:

Primary numbers	Broad subject area	Unallocated numbers
1-50	Administration	18-50
51-60	Aviation	52-60
61-100	Consular (including immigration)	74-100
101-110	Protocol	105-110
111-150	Economic (including trade)	112-150
151-200	Economic and technical aid	156-200
201-220	Internal affairs	211-220
221-250	External affairs	222-250
251-300	Australia	252-300
301-499	Unallocated

The unallocated primary numbers existed for the convenience of individual posts enabling different emphases on principal functions, according to the circumstances of the post.  Other Australian government departments with staff attached to diplomatic missions overseas were normally allocated filing numbers within the External/Foreign Affairs system.  For example, 62 to 68 were allocated to Immigration, 120 to Trade, and 205 to Defence.

The primary numbers were broken down into specific file subjects with the addition of further number elements.  At this point, the record keeping system became more tailored to the particular post, and was controlled by the individual post file list that provided an index to file numbers and their file titles.  The post file list was regularly updated to provide an index to current files only – closed files were removed from the list, top-numbered files were shown under their new number and new files were added[iv].  An example of the break down of file numbers into specific subjects is shown below, from the Saigon 1973 file list:

201-220	Internal affairs of host country
201/2/1	South Vietnam – political – general
201/2/2	Political parties – general
201/2/2/2	People’s Alliance for Social Revolution (Lien Minh)

Prefixes and suffixes
File numbers may include a prefix or a suffix.  Prefixes date from earlier years of the series (1956-1964 approximately) and suffixes in the later period (1965-1975).  Prefixes usually denote a particular country except for the prefix ‘S’ which denoted a file consisting of savingrams (messages sent by safe hand courier)[v].  The main prefixes in this series are set out below:

C	Cambodia
L	Laos
S	Savingrams
NV	North Vietnam
V	Republic of Vietnam, also known as South Vietnam

Suffixes, like prefixes, usually denoted a country: C, L and NV stood for Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam respectively and were the main suffixes used in this series.  Files about the Republic of Vietnam in the latter period were given the record number only with no suffix.  The prefixes and suffixes provided a unique element to file numbers that otherwise would have been identical for each country.  For example, 201/2/1 stood for general political situation.  This was an important subject for an embassy and in the case of Saigon, it was also important to have ongoing files about the political situation in other countries of the region, particularly North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.  V201/2/1 distinguished a Republic of Vietnam file from a Cambodian file (C201/2/1) in the period 1956 until approximately 1964, and 201/2/1C distinguished a file about Cambodia from a file about North Vietnam (201/2/1NV) in the later period of 1965-1975.  Therefore, subject files with an ongoing focus, like 201/2/1, often have two sequences of parts for each country – one with a prefix and one with a suffix.

Occasionally, other suffixes are used in this series to distinguish a file not by country but by some other classification.  These included TS to designate top security classification files and A,B,C and D suffixes to distinguish sub-topics within a larger subject.  In a multiple number system, sub-topics were usually designated by a further number element as discussed above.  However, file systems at post could vary from the usual and this seems to be the reason why these suffixes are present.  For example, file number 221/5/1 stands for South Vietnam – Cambodian relations.  221/5/1A has been used for South Vietnam – Cambodia relations policy; 221/5/1B for the Vietnamese army in Cambodia; 221/5/1C for Cambodian refugees in South Vietnam and 221/5/1D for the repatriation of wounded Cambodian civilians from South Vietnam.

Re-arrangement of file part sequences
Please note that a number of files with multiple parts in this series have had the file sequence re-arranged. During the 1990s the series was withdrawn for sentencing, and it appears that before the records were returned to the Archives, original file part numbers had been crossed out and new ones imposed that did not take account of content dates or original file cover information.  For example, part 1 of a file could date from the 1970s and part 2 could be from the 1960s and this type of mismatch could be repeated several times in a sequence.  While it is not usual practise to disregard file cover information, it was thought justifiable in this case as the re-arrangement usually restored the part sequences indicated by the original (crossed out) file cover information and restored the natural sequence of parts by date order.  Therefore, the part number on the original file cover may differ from that shown on RecordSearch.  However, the part number on the white outer folder or wallet of the file will match with RecordSearch.  A file note has been placed inside the file cover and in the RecordSearch item note to explain the re-arrangement.

Relationships with other records

Copies of the Saigon file list for 1967,1970,1972 and 1973 are found in series CRS A4613.  The file list included entries for file numbers and file titles used by the post and guided the post in the construction of file numbers and file titles.  Unfortunately, the Archives does not have a comprehensive collection of the Saigon file lists.

The main correspondence series for the Department of External Affairs and the subsequent Department of Foreign Affairs is series CRS A1838.  This series was recorded in Canberra but covered foreign relations with all countries.

Series history

This series was the subject of a 2006 Arrangement & Description project to rehouse the records and enter all items in custody into the Archives online database, RecordSearch.

This series used to include 1959-1990 records for the Vientiane, Laos post.  The 2006 project identified the Vientiane records as a legitimate separate series.  The Vientiane records can now be found in series CRS A13256

Disposal history

Four files in this series have been sentenced using the Department of Foreign Affairs Records Disposal Authority (2003/622439).  These four files were included in the Fall of Saigon fact sheet and there was enough time to sentence them via the disposal authority.  Otherwise, all files retained have been sentenced as VDR (Valuable Discontinued Records).  The aim of the 2006 Arrangement and Description project on the series was to have item entries accessible on RecordSearch in time for the May 1 2006 RG Neale lecture on the fall of Saigon.  Therefore, while it was believed that all files could have been sentenced via the DFAT RDA, it was decided that sentencing as VDR was the most efficient method to ensure the deadline was met.

End notes

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[i] While a legation had been established in Cambodia by 1955, it was still responsible to Saigon until June 1957.  In the case of Laos, a legation was established on 21 August 1959, at the same time as an embassy was established in Saigon.  Saigon was the superior post until January 1963.

[ii] French Indo-China consisted of the former French colonial federation of Cochin-China, the protectorates of Annam, Cambodia, Tonkin, and Laos, and the leased territory of Kwangchowan. Ultimately it consisted of the three independent states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, Kwangchowan having reverted to the Chinese – Macquarie Dictionary, 2^nd revision, 1990.  

[iii] Subsequent records for the Phnom Penn, Cambodia post can be found in series CRS A6760 and for the Vientiane, Laos post in series CRS A13256

[iv] V Burns, Displaced persons guide: DFAT’s uniform post systems document, p.1 (unpublished  manuscript, last printed 16/2/2006)

[v] NAA: Fact sheet 154, http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/FS154.html