The series consists of six files of correspondence exchanged between the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr and Queen Elizabeth II during the period 15 August 1974 to 5 December 1977.

The correspondence comprises 212 letters containing over 1000 pages of content. Many of the letters have attachments provided by Sir John Kerr including newspaper clippings, press releases, articles, speeches and booklets.

The letters cover a range of matters including purely personal matters and those relating to the official duties and responsibilities of the Governor-General. The majority of the correspondence focuses on political developments and public sentiment within Australia, the workings of the Australian Parliament and Government, and constitutional issues, including the dismissal of the Prime Minister in 1975.

The letters exchanged are predominantly between Sir John and The Queen’s Private Secretary, Lieutenant Colonel the Right Honourable Sir Martin Charteris GCVO KCB OBE. The nature of the contents of the letters suggest that the Private Secretary passed the material to The Queen and he responded to Sir John, in most cases, on her behalf. Occasional letters are sent by Mr David Smith (later Sir David Smith KCVO AO) Official Secretary of the Governor-General, or are received by Sir John from The Queen, the Right Honourable Sir Philip Moore KCVO CB CMG (Private Secretary following Sir Martin Charteris’s retirement) or Mr William (Bill) Heseltine, Deputy Private Secretary and later Keeper of The Queen’s Archives.

A guide to letters contained within each file is provided in the item registration for each file within the series.  

Acting on behalf of Sir John Kerr, the Official Secretary of the Governor-General, Sir David Smith deposited the series with the then Australian Archives in August 1978.

The files were deposited in two sealed boxes with explicit access requirements stipulating that the files were to remain closed for a 60 year period, with the caveat “that their release after 60 years should be only after consultation with the Sovereign’s Private Secretary of the day and with the Governor-General’s Official Secretary of the day”.

The Australian Archives was advised on 23 July 1991 by Mr Douglas Sturkey, then Official Secretary to the Governor-General, that The Queen had reduced the 60 year period referred to in the access instructions received in August 1978, to 50 years. Access to the files however remained contingent on consultation with the Sovereign’s Private Secretary of the day and with the Governor-General’s Official Secretary of the day.

Under these access arrangements, the National Archives managed and preserved the series as non-Commonwealth files not subject to access provisions of the Archives Act 1983.

A High Court judgement of 29 May 2020 on Hocking v DG National Archives of Australia ruled that files contained within the series are Commonwealth files subject to the provisions of the Archives Act 1983.  

Public access to these files is now provided based on this judgement.