This accession contains miscellaneous papers relating to various functions and responsibilities of the Prime Minister's Department, accumulated in the security vault of the Central Registry at East Block during the period that the registry was located there.  Upon the department's abolishment on 12th March 1971, these records continued to be stored in the strongroom in East Block where they were briefly surveyed by the Commonwealth Archives Office on 17 March 1971.  However the Department moved to West Block in June 1972, and prior to the move a large quantity of records were transferred to Archives, with a special condition of transfer note: "to be examined for identification and registration of series". (See File CRS A3437/1 - A1972/98, folios 13, 110, 111, 165, 166 and 167). The records in this accession were not serialised at the time and continued to be controlled under this unserialised accession.  In 1993 the accession was arranged and described, a single number system imposed and each item entered onto ANGAM II. This accession includes: 1. Papers of A.S.Brown (Secretary of P.M's Department from 1949-1958) including diaries, files relating to overseas visits and personal files.  2. Papers of the National Library Inquiry Committee from 1956-1957.  3. Papers of various Commonwealth/State Consultative Committees from 1920-1956. 4. Miscellaneous papers relating to various functions andresponsibilities of the department, e.g. British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition; the Governor General; Royal Commissions; Staffing and various Committees. In August 1995, one extra box of AA1972/341 was found, having been issued to Access prior to the above work being done by the Arrangement and Description Unit in 1993. The four items in the box related to the "Defence (Transitional Provisions) Bill". These four items have been numbered 313(B), 314(B), 314(C) and 315(A) so as to be located with the other "Defence (Transitional Provisions) Bill" material.

Disposal History

The destroy portion of consignment AA1972/341/4 was destroyed on 18 February 2016