This was the general correspondence series for the civil administration of the Department of Defence I and includes correspondence on both military and naval matters. It also includes classified correspondence (with the exception of papers classified as secret from January 1905 when a separate secret series was commenced) and papers of both the Naval and the Military Boards of Administration which were set up in January 1905.

The series was begun in March 1901 when the first Commonwealth Minister for Defence, Sir John Forrest, took office. Until the end of the financial year it ran concurrently with the Victorian Department of Defence correspondence series. On the first of July 1901 the Victorian department ceased to operate, and its registry officers were formally transferred to the Commonwealth department. Some papers from the Victorian correspondence series have been top-numbered into this series.

When correspondence was received it was stamped with an oval
'Commonwealth Defence' stamp and its registration written within the imprint. By the middle of July 1901 correspondence was also being given a round 'Commonwealth Defence' stamp which showed the date received. During 1901 files were usually compiled with the latest paper on top and were known by the registration of the latest piece of inwards correspondence. Whenever previous papers related to incoming correspondence the previous number was written on that correspondence, and if there were any subsequent paper its registration number would later be placed on that correspondence. In some instances, however, the latest paper is not the top paper on the attachment. There could have been subsequent alterations to the files, or this may have been the result of inconsistent practices in the registry. Files have been left in the same shape as when
transferred to Archives and the inventory of items lists all 1901 registrations and gives the number of the top paper on any attachment as the file number.

From the 1st of January 1902 the practice of knowing files by their top number ceased and they were identified by their first registration in or after 1902. Each paper was still registered and received both the oval and round stamps. The earliest number system made it possible for broad files to be developed with separate attachments for aspects of the general top - for example file 1902/20 deals with the Randwick rifle range and has five attachments relating to a court case involving the rifle range and the acquisition of land for the range. Each attachment is comprised of a number of registered papers.

Concurrent with the change from knowing files by their latest registration to knowing them by their earliest registration, there was a change in the method of file construction, with the earliest papers being placed on top and the file being read from the top down. In January 1905 latest papers were again placed on top of the attachment although the file number remained that of the earliest paper.

Many of the papers have a multiplicity of registrations on them, as a result of the manner in which papers, and sometime whole files, were  referred for action, and registered within other office systems as inwards correspondence. Registered in this series are a number of files that were commenced, and largely accumulated in other Commonwealth agencies before being referred to Defence for final action. It is likely that correspondence series of other agencies contain files registered initially in this Defence series.

There are many papers that Central Administration referred to branches of the military administration which were registered as inwards correspondence by those branches; e.g.

  Deputy Adjutant General (DAG Prefix),
  Deputy Quarter Master General (DQMG Prefix),
  Director-General of Medical Stores (DGMS Prefix),
  Assistant Adjutant-General for Artillery (AAG prefix),
  Assistant Adjutant-General for Engineer Services (AAGES Prefix) and
  General Officer Commanding (CR prefix). 

Papers forwarded to branches of the military were usually returned to the central registry after action, although, from the evidence of the
date returned column in the registration logs this was not always the case.
 

Quantity in agency custody
2 bound volumes hel d by CA89, Military Board of Administration (?)

Previous series unregistered

Correspondence files, annual single number series, 1883-1901

Subsequent series unregistered

Correspondence files, Defence and Military, multiple number series, 1906-1913
Correspondence files, Navy, multiple number series, 1906-1913