The series is made up of two versions of printed instructions - 'General Remarks as to Schemes of Defence, and the Form in which they should be drawn up', dated 30 May 1893 and 3 August 1893. They appear to be practically identical. The May version bears significant annotations, apparently notes by a senior officer to obtain technical briefings on various aspects of the instructions.
They are accompanied by a printed secret circular dated 18 November 1886,which is a cover note to copies of a Memorandum prepared by the Colonial Defence Committee concerning their recommendations for defence preparations. The memorandum is not attached.
AP613/8 was relocated from South Australia to the ACT in November 2021