Summary heading

A6201 – Exhibits, single number system.

Function and purpose

This series consists of exhibits and documents marked for identification numbered 1 – 521 tendered before the Royal Commission on Espionage.

Soviet diplomat Vladimir Mikhailovich Petrov defected to Australia in April 1954. Employed as Third Secretary in the Soviet embassy at Canberra, Petrov was covertly the ‘Resident’ of the Soviet Ministry of State Security (then the ‘MGB’ but referred to as the ‘MVD” by the Royal Commission). At the time of his defection, Petrov gave the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) a bundle of documents he had access to as MVD Resident. A Royal Commission, the Royal Commission on Espionage (RCE), was subsequently empowered to investigate the information supplied by Petrov, particularly the nature and extent of Soviet espionage in Australia, and the involvement of Australians in it. The Royal Commission eventually held that the documents provided genuine proof of Soviet espionage, and how Australians had wittingly and unwittingly assisted it.

The original documents supplied by Petrov to ASIO were tendered to the Royal Commission in Canberra on 18 May 1954, and marked as Exhibits A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H and J. These records are now in series A6202 – Exhibits, single letter series.

In the course of its investigations, other documentary evidence was received by the RCE. This included written statements made by the Petrovs, photographs, maps, newspapers, government files, employment records, airline tickets and other information that was required. Much of this evidence was admitted in the process of establishing the veracity of the documents originally supplied by Petrov, or investigating the information they contained. When tendered before the Royal Commission, such items were marked either as a formal ‘Exhibit’ or as a ‘Document marked for identification’ (‘MFI’). The latter were initially submitted for information purposes, but could later be designated as a formal exhibit (1). Both Exhibits and MFIs were allocated a single identifying number in the same sequence, ranging from 1 to 521, and placed in special Royal Commission on Espionage wallets.

After being accepted by the Royal Commission, most of the Exhibits and MFIs were retained by the Royal Commission Secretariat. After the Royal Commissioners’ final report was submitted to the Governor General, a number of items (such as departmental or company files) were returned to those who supplied them. In these cases, photostat copies were usually made to replace the originals, and details of the return recorded on the wallets. Some items were also subsequently lent to government agencies (such as ASIO or Attorney General’s). Where this occurred, a receipt was generally placed in the wallet.   

Related legislation

Section 6F of the Royal Commissions Act (1902-1933) empowered Royal Commissions generally to inspect documents and other types of evidence, to retain them for reasonable periods, and to make copies or take extracts from them.     

Using the series

The significance of any particular exhibit is only readily apparent when read against the transcripts of proceedings. It should also be noted that the titles given for each item in RecordSearch were constructed at the time the records were transferred to the National Archives (1984). In many cases these are based more on the physical appearance of the items rather than detailed description of their contents. As such, these titles are not always identical to those originally ascribed to them by the Royal Commission Secretariat. The latter can be found using control records for this series - such as the exhibit register in CRS A6211, or by referring to the ‘Schedule of Documents marked for identification and Exhibits tendered’ which was printed as part of the index to the official transcripts (a copy of this is held as item 1 in CRS A10930, and can be ordered using barcode 4192765).           

Physical characteristics

The exhibits and documents marked for identification take a variety of forms. They range from small pieces of paper used by witnesses to record the names or details of persons who could not be publicly named during the hearings (eg. Exhibits 120, 121, 129 and 150), to large format items like photographic enlargements of Rupert Lockwood’s signature and typing (Exhibits 73-76). 

Originally all of the exhibits were either housed in or linked to a green-grey linen exhibit envelope printed ‘Royal Commission on Espionage’. These wallets measure approximately 37 x 25 cm, with space for recording the Exhibit / MFI number and date of tendering. Each exhibit was also stamped in purple ink ‘Royal Commission on Espionage Exhibit No …..’ and signed by either the Royal Commission Secretary (KH Herde) or Assistant Secretary (CP Alpen).     

System of arrangement and control

As mentioned above, the Royal Commission allocated a single number in the same sequence to exhibits and MFI alike as they were tendered during proceedings. As such, the range of control symbols 1 – 521 is both numerical and chronological. This original system of control has been retained, except that Exhibits 73 – 76 have been registered as a single item (with control symbol 73-76) because of their over-sized format.

Relationships with other records

This series forms part of the body of records created by the Royal Commission on Espionage. These records can be broadly divided into three categories: the Records of the Royal Commissioners (series A6214 and A6215), the Records of the Secretariat (A6213) and the records that were assembled as a result of the Royal Commission’s investigations (including exhibits, transcripts of proceedings and reports). 

The originals of Exhibits 141, 151 and 153 consist of rolls of negative film. To facilitate public access to these exhibits, prints were made from the original film and registered as separate series (CRS A6231 for Exhibits 141 and 151 and CRS A6233 for Exhibit 153). The original packaging of these exhibits can be found in CRS A6228.

The other series of Exhibits created by the Royal Commission (Exhibits A – J consisting of the ‘Petrov Papers’) is registered as CRS A6202 – Exhibits, single letter series.

Published transcripts of public and in-camera proceedings, which provide contextual information about each exhibit, can be found in CRS A10930 - Unbound volumes of transcripts of proceedings for the Royal Commission on Espionage, with index. Transcripts of in-camera evidence that were never published can be found in the records of the Royal Commission Secretariat – CRS A6213 - Correspondence files, alpha-numeric series with 'RCE' [Royal Commission on Espionage] prefix.  

Finding aids                               

Although all items in the series are on RecordSearch, a number of original finding aids for exhibits exist:

• CRS A6210 - Register of Exhibits tendered before the Royal Commission on Espionage. This is a draft version constructed during the hearings.
• CRS A6211 - Register of Exhibits tendered before the Royal Commission on Espionage ('Fair Copy'). This is the final version of the register.
• CRS A6213 - Correspondence files, alpha-numeric series with 'RCE' [Royal Commission on Espionage] prefix. This series contains a number of different finding aids for items in this series:

–      RCE/J/2: List of Exhibits and MFI's being pieces of paper bearing names (item barcode 414709)

–      RCE/J/4: List of statements made by VM Petrov and EA Petrov

–      RCE/J/4: Alphabetical index to exhibits (item barcode 414716)

–      RCE/J/5: Index to Photographic Exhibits (item barcode 414718)

–      RCE/J/8: Schedule of Documents marked for identification and Exhibits tendered (item barcode 414730)

–      RCE/J/9 Parts A & B: Schedule of Exhibits and MFI's Published in Transcript & Exhibits (item barcode 414732) and Moscow Letters Published (item barcode 414741)

–      RCE/J/10: Persons Named in Exhibits (item barcode 240883)

–      RCE/J/13: Numerical Index to Exhibits (item barcode 414756)

• CRS A11025 – Name Index cards to records of the Royal Commission on Espionage is a later controlling series for RCE records (including A6201) compiled by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet during access examination in 1984 

The National Archives of Australia has produced Fact Sheet 130 – The Royal Commission on Espionage 1954-1955, which details holdings of records relating to the defection of VM and EA Petrov and the subsequent Royal Commission on Espionage. Copies of this can be obtained in National Archives Reading Rooms, and online at: http://naa.gov.au/Publications/fact_sheets/FS130.html         

Series history

This series, along with other records of the Royal Commission on Espionage, was transferred from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to National Archives in September 1984. The series was originally accessioned as AA1984/314. Prior to transfer, considerable work was done on the series by National Archives in preparation for their early release to the public on 24 September 1984 under the accelerated release provisions of the Archives Act 1983.This included conservation treatment, conversion into CRS series and access examination. Preservation work at the time consisted mainly of interleafing acid free paper within folios of exhibits as a means of retarding deterioration to the original items. More detailed conservation work occurred on photographic items in the series, including the provision of protective sleeves and rehousing into separate film cans, and the preservation of the original packaging in CRS A6228.

Arrangement and description work on this series was undertaken in June 2005 as part of a Collection Development project involving multiple record series associated with the Royal Commission on Espionage. In relation to A6201, this consisted of cancelling unknown items generated through lending activity, cancelling duplicate registrations, correcting any problems with control symbols, updating the series linkages and re-writing this series note. Although problems were identified with the titles imposed on the items back in 1984, a decision was made to retain these. This was influenced by the fact that the items had been publicly available under these titles for more than twenty years. Item titles were enhanced though, by ensuring that ‘Royal Commission on Espionage – Exhibit …’ preceded all item titles.

Further preservation work was undertaken on the series during this period. Examination of the items by Preservation Services indicated that the original linen wallets were acidic, and likely to cause deterioration to the records unless removed. In response to this, the contents were removed from each wallet, and placed in proper acid free cardboard wallets. The original linen wallets were then individually folded and sealed in plastic bags. The bagged wallets were then placed on top of their original contents in the new acid free wallets. 

Custodial history

By the time the RCE Secretariat had ceased to function in August 1957, these exhibits, along with the other RCE Records, were stored in the Cabinet Secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Department in Canberra. Between September 1975 and May 1977, the RCE records were provided to the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security (RCIS). After the records were returned to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, an archivist from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) was engaged to properly index and catalogue them. As a consequence of this work, the National Archives was asked to undertake conservation work on the RCE records. The exhibits in A6201 were found to be in relatively good condition. As a result, this conservation work consisted mainly of interleafing acid free paper between the original folios to retard any deterioration caused by acidity in the paper or linen wallets.

As noted earlier, a number of items from this series had been lent to ASIO or other government agencies after the conclusion of the Royal Commission’s hearings. Several of these exhibits (such as Exhibits 117, 151 and 296) had not been returned at the time the records were being prepared for transfer to National Archives. In most instances, these missing exhibits were eventually located and returned to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2).

Publication note

Some of the exhibits were published by the Royal Commission, by way of being read into the official transcripts of proceedings, while others were not.

Robert Manne made extensive use of the Royal Commission on Espionage records, including items in CRS A6201, whilst researching his book The Petrov Affair: Politics and Espionage (Sydney, 1987).   

End notes

(1)  Most MFIs were subsequently designated as Exhibits, with the same controlling number. Where this was the case, these items have been titled as Exhibits in RecordSearch.

(2)  For example, Exhibits 151 and 296 were returned by ASIO in 1985.