Series descriptive note

Function and purpose

This series contains records collected by Sir Frederick Shedden (CP 320) during his career within the Department of Defence. It also contains material collated after his retirement in researching and writing a book on the history of Australian Defence Policy. The manuscript of this book was not published at his death on 8 July 1971.

Drafts of this work are held in this series together with copies of departmental correspondence, files, reports and press cuttings. Copies of War Cabinet and Advisory War Council records are also held. This series is the major part of a larger accumulation of records the remainder of which, including the manuscript of the history, formed part of Sir Frederick Shedden's personal estate.

The series was originally housed in slim black boxes known as box files. Each box had a label on the spine showing a box title. These boxes have now been replaced with boxes issued by the Australian Archives. The titles on the original boxes, where extant, were recorded and a list produced. Many items such as maps and charts were never held in boxes although they were given the designation of 'box'. Files generally have Department of Defence covers and the word 'Secretary' may appear in the top right hand corner.

The series appears, originally, to have had a loose arrangement by topic. The topic was then expanded with the creation of subject files. Evidence of the imposition of two numbering systems has however been found:

• The first system was imposed by the Australian Archives in 1971, was based on the location of the record immediately following Sir Federick Shedden's death in 1971 and a single number given to each box in that location.
  
  
• The second system: imposed by the Department of Defence in 1978, dispensed with the location element and involved the allocation of a consecutive single number to each box. The original boxes were controlled by this single number which was typed in red on a small buff coloured label attached to the spine of each box.

In 1986 the Australian Archives began allocating a consecutive single number to each file as it was examined for public access. A two number system was consequently imposed to preserve the link with the last box number imposed by the Department of Defence on the original boxes. The box number is the primary element and the item number forms the secondary element in this system. This is the current numbering system used to control the records in this series as at June 1995.

Two Japanese ceremonial swords which were included in the personal component of Sir Frederick's records have been brought into the custody of the Australian Archives as part of this series. These items are held in boxes 1167 and 1168. Agreement was reached between the Department of Defence and Lady Shedden in 1985 that the swords would remain with the Department. The Department believes that these swords were acquired by Captain A Buchanan following the Japanese surrender. They appear to have been a gift to Sir Frederick Shedden in his capacity as Secretary of the Department of Defence.

For a short period of time the Department of Defence, as part of the downgrading of classified documents, excised parts of documents or extracted whole documents deemed to be sensitive. This practice has ceased.

All items in this series in the custody of Australian Archives as at October 1997 have been entered at item level onto RecordSearch.

Using the series

Approximately 18 boxes, along with some maps and charts from 'The Shedden Collection', are held by the Australian War Memorial. A further collection of about 200 boxes belong to Sir Frederick's personal estate. A list of those boxes and their location, where known, is available in the search room of the National Office of the Australian Archives. Some material is also held by the Department of Defence.

Physical characteristics

System of arrangement and control

Relationships with other records

Many records belonging to this series were transferred to the Australian Archives under the superseded accession series system in which they were allocated the number MP1217/1. These records have now been converted to A5954, although the former accession series number has been cited in a number of publications.

Two boxes of records from this series (boxes 1386 and 1387) were used by the Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia (CA 3993). The records have been returned to the custody of the Australian Archives as part of series A6456 ‘Original agency records transferred to the Commission, 'R' series’, items R91 001 to R91 022.

Disposal history

Series/Consignment A5954/48 was destroyed on 23 August 2017.