Summary heading

A6213 – Correspondence files, alpha-numeric series with ‘RCE’ [Royal Commission on Espionage] prefix. 

Function and purpose

CRS A6213 contains the records of the Royal Commission on Espionage Secretariat. The Secretariat’s role was to assist the Royal Commissioners in all matters relating to staging and conducting their inquiries and the production and distribution of their report. Since A6213 is the only series for the Secretariat’s own records, it contains files documenting both routine administrative functions (eg. matters relating to accommodation, personnel, furniture and fittings) and specific operational activities (such as transcription of proceedings, indexation of exhibits, publication of the final report etc). The series also contains a certain amount of material collected by the Secretariat that documents public and press opinion about the Royal Commission and its activities (such as copies of pamphlets, newspapers and extracts of radio broadcasts).

Files in the series were arranged by subject, with each subject being allocated a designated letter in an alpha-numeric system of file numbering. All file numbers have the prefix ‘RCE’ followed by a subject letter, then the file’s number in that subject (eg. RCE/M/6). The range of subject letters allocated appears below:

Since this series documents the Secretariat’s entire operations, its contents are diverse, ranging from ordinary correspondence to policy files, transcripts of ‘in-camera’ proceedings, extracts from Hansard, newspapers and typescripts of radio broadcasts, drafts of a proposed publication of the ‘Moscow Papers’ and everyday invoices and receipts. The files also had a variety of security classifications as indicated by the colours of the file covers: purple (later red) was used for TOP SECRET, pink for SECRET, yellow for CONFIDENTIAL and buff or brown for unclassified.

Using the series

All items in A6213 have been entered at item level in RecordSearch enabling key word searches of the file titles to be made. File titles take the form of the subject heading followed by free text. Where the subject heading was left out of the file title, it has been imposed by the National Archives in square brackets. 

Physical characteristics

Most of the records are standard sized paper files, housed in special Royal Commission on Espionage file covers. Originally, they were housed in Prime Minister’s Department file covers, and the front covers of these were retained on most files.

Within the series there are certain non-standard items, such as copies of the ‘Tribune’ newspaper (RCE/R/18 Part A – Part F) and binders containing extracts from radio news broadcasts (RCE/R/14-17).  

System of arrangement and control

The files are arranged by subject, with each subject being allocated a distinct letter as per the table in ‘Function and Purpose’ above. It should be noted that the letters ‘I’ and ‘O’ were not allocated to any subject.

In August 1960 file RCE/K/13 was top numbered into the Prime Minister’s Department’s classified correspondence file series with the new control symbol 1960/769. This item can be found with that control symbol in series A1209 (consignment A1209/100) and should be ordered using barcode 201807.

Relationships with other records

A6213 forms an integral part of the records of 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 (exhibits, transcripts of proceedings and reports).

A6213 contains several files of use in locating specific information in the Royal Commission’s exhibits, transcripts of proceedings and reports. These include:

·        RCE/J/14 – an alphabetical surname index to exhibits in series A6201

·        RCE/J/5 – an index to photographic exhibits

·        RCE/J/9 – index of exhibits published / mentioned in the transcripts

·        RCE/J/10 – an index to persons named in Exhibits [A-G]

·        RCE/J/13 – a numerical index to exhibits

·        RCE/N/9 – A précis of evidence given

·        RCE/Q/1 – Alphabetical index to the transcript of proceedings for 11 August 1954.

·        RCE/Q/5 – contains indexes to transcripts of proceedings

·        RCE/V/4 – Index to the Final Report

·        RCE/V/10 – index to the Annexure to the final Report. 

Finding aids

A contemporary list of permanent files of the Secretariat can be found on File RCE/X/12. A list of files prepared by the Cabinet Secretariat in 1957 is located in series A6212. On this list, the file numbers are recorded without the ‘RCE’ prefix.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet indexed references to particular individuals in the records of the Royal Commission on Espionage (including A6213 files) during the process of access examining the records for public release. . This index is now CRS A11025 - Name Index cards to records of the Royal Commission on Espionage. This index however, is currently closed to public access. 

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

These records were received from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in 1984. The records were initially accessioned as A1984/503. Work was done on the records by Arrangement and Description in May 2005 as part of a Collection Development project covering some 38 Royal Commission on Espionage related record series in the National Archives’ custody. As a result of this work, A6213 was rehoused in archival quality acid-free folders and boxes, item level entries in RecordSearch corrected (and enhanced where need be), and the series notes and linkages expanded.     

Custodial history

The Royal Commission on Espionage was regarded as ‘functus officio’ upon the Royal Commissioners signing their final report in August 1955 and delivering it to the Governor General (1) The Secretariat however, had to continue in operation to complete outstanding tasks. These included such things as the completion of various indices to transcripts, proceedings and exhibitions, the publication of the ‘Moscow Papers’ and the basic administrative actions involved in winding up the Royal Commission’s operations (including disposal of furniture and equipment and transfer of records). Initially this work was expected to be complete by November or December 1955 (2). However, the Acting Secretary, CP Alpen was still finalising some matters up until his posting overseas at the end of August 1957 (3). The records in A6213 continued to be in use throughout this period. 

The records in A6213 were physically transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department in Canberra in March 1956 when the Secretariat relocated from Sydney. After the Secretariat ceased to function, the records were securely kept in the Cabinet Secretariat, although certain publications and radio transcripts in its records (including RCE/R/14-18) were forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Department Library in 1956 (4). In isolated instances, the Prime Minister’s Department added material to the files after 1957 when Royal Commission matters were still outstanding (such as the 1963 correspondence relating to the disposal of printed volumes of the Moscow Papers on RCE/Y/2).  

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 then Australian Archives was asked to undertake conservation work on the RCE records. The exhibits in A6213 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.

Publication note

Robert Manne made extensive use of the Royal Commission on Espionage records, including items from CRS A6213, whilst researching his book – The Petrov Affair: Politics and Espionage (Sydney, 1987).  

End notes

(1) Memorandum from Sir Allen Brown, Secretary, Prime Minister’s Department to the Prime Minister 20 Jul 1955. A6213, RCE/V/11.

(2) Memorandum dated 21 October 1955 from Sir Allen Brown, Secretary Prime Minister’s Department to the Secretary of the Public Service Board. A462, 61/2/70.

(3) Correspondence between CP Alpen and RJ Gordon, Commonwealth Education Office, Sydney 28 August 1957. A6213, RCE/V/6.

(4) memorandum, CP Alpen to the Librarian, Prime Minister’s Department, 26 Mar 1956. A6213, RCE/T/7