Summary heading
Function and purpose
This series consists of 28 diaries, appointment books and notebooks from the
collection of former Prime Minister Sir Joseph Cook. The annual diaries date from 1907 to 1939 although there are also
several undated notebooks, some of which appear to have been used over more
than one year. It would seem that eight
of the appointment books (for the years 1922-28 plus an appointment book used
over the years 1932-36) actually belonged to Sir Joseph Cook’s wife, Dame Mary
Cook. Dame Mary’s diaries primarily
contain appointments and addresses although her 1922 diary (item 11) also
contains notes on a visit to European war cemeteries. Sir Joseph Cook’s notebooks contain newspaper clippings,
quotations and notes primarily on politics, international relations, war and
the League of Nations along with financial accounts and appointments.
It appears that four notebooks belonging to this series, covering the years
1909, 1918, 1922 and 1924 respectively, are deposited in the Joseph Cook
collection at the National Library of Australia (National Library collection
references MS 2212, Folders 1 and 2).
Related legislation
Using the series
Language of material
Physical characteristics
System of arrangement and control
Single number control symbols [1]-[28] have been imposed on
the items in this series by National Archives.
In 2001, it was discovered that the series contained an extra notebook
not entered on RecordSearch. The
notebook was entered on RecordSearch as item number 28.
Relationships with other records
Finding aids
Access conditions
Series history
In 1993 the Cook family donated Sir Joseph Cook papers,
including series M3580, to the National Archives of Australia. The collection was initially located at the
New South Wales Office of National Archives but was transferred to the National
Office of National Archives in Canberra in 2001.
Provenance
Series M3580 is part of the personal collection of former
Prime Minister Sir Joseph Cook, although also contains notebooks accumulated by
Cook’s wife, Dame Mary Cook. The Cook
family donated the collection to the National Archives in 1993.
Immediate source of acquisition
Custodial history
Quantity in agency custody
Disposal history
Publication note
Additional information
End notes
Sources