Royal Commonwealth Society. New South Wales Branch records, ca. 1865-ca. 1992

MLMSS 8805

fonds

ca. 1865-ca. 1992

18941

4.2 metres of textual material (25 boxes)

The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) (originally named the Colonial Society, later the Royal Colonial Society, the Royal Colonial Institute and lastly as the Royal Empire Society) is an international educational charity and a private members' club. Its mission is to support and promote the modern Commonwealth of Nations, its culture and core values. The RCS’s London home, the Commonwealth Club, acts as a centre for the exchange of ideas and, through the Society’s broad-ranging public affairs programme, offers a forum for the debate, research and development of Commonwealth thinking on key international issues. It is now the centre of an international network of more than 10,000 members, spread across 100 countries and territories and linked by around 70 self-governing RCS branches and Commonwealth societies in 43 countries and territories. The New South Wales Branch of the RCS was established in Sydney, ca. 1922.

References:
Compiled from the collection and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Commonwealth_Society#History (accessed 04/12/2012)

Royal Commonwealth Society New South Wales Branch records, ca. 1865-ca. 1992

BOXES 1-2
Printed material, being mainly RCS newsletters

BOX 3
'Current notes on International Affairs', 1957-60, 1964-68

BOX 4
Printed material, including RCS London periodicals 'People & Events', and 'Notes on Contributions', 3 vols: 1971-73

BOX 5
'Commonwealth Outlook' and NSW Branch printing samples

BOX 6
Printed material including revised Charter and Rules; photoprints of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip; Speakers notes for Empire Day 1956 by Frederick Daniell, Secretary, Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch); Report by the Secretary on his visits overseas, May-August. 1957; 'Armorial Families : A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour.' 7th ed. By Arthur Charles Fox-Davies. London : Hurst & Blackett, 1930

BOX 7
Printed material including 'Cassell’s History of the War in Soudan.' 4 vols. (n.d.) by James Grant; 'The Imperial Dictionary of Biography.' 2 vols. London : William Mackenzie, n.d.; 'An Encyclopaedia of Parliament' by Norman Wilding and Philip Laundy. London : Cassell, 1961; 'Sir Robert Peel' by Lord Rosebery. London : Cassell, 1899; and 'France in Danger' by Paul Vergnet, trans. by Beatrice Barstow. London : John Murray, 1915

BOXES 8-10
Printed material mainly regarding the British Royal Family, including Coronations, Jubilees, 1954 Royal Visit to Australia, patriotic song sheet music, 1868-1968 : 'Royal Commonwealth Society Centenary Souvenir' (1968); 'The Book of the Anzac Memorial', N.S.W. (1934); and Reports of the Executive Commissioner and Commissioners, Representatives of New South Wales at the Franco-British Exhibition, London, 1908

BOXES 11-13
Printed material, including issues of 'Commonwealth Outlook', 1960s-1970s; 'The Port of Sydney, N.S.W. : Official Handbook' (1919); 'Who Killed the British Empire' by George Woodcock. London : Jonathan Cape, 1974; and 'Guide to the Library – Society of Australian Genealogists' (1982)
Minutes of meetings:
Royal Colonial Institute (NSW Branch) – Council : 9 July 1921-1 Dec. 1924 (1 vol.), 2 Feb. 1925-3 Dec. 1928 (1 vol.)
Royal Colonial Institute / Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – House and Social Sub-committee : 10 Mar. 1922-22 Oct. 1929; Library Committee : 8 Aug. 1922-20 Apr. 1932; Migration Committee : 17 Apr. 1936-12 sept. 1935 (1 vol.)
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Migration Committee : 17 Apr. 1936-12 July 1939 (1 vol.)
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Financial Committee : 10 Oct. 1930-21 Dec. 1932 (1 vol.); Finance and General Purposes Committee : 2 Feb. 1937-6 May 1946 (1 vol.); and 3 June 1946-7 Feb. 1949, with details of monthly payments referred to in minutes, Feb. 1949-Dec. 1950; Youth Movement Committee, 20 July-16 Sept. 1938 (1 vol.)
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Library Committee : 18 Dec.1935-7 Oct. 1941; Public Relations Committee : 11 Nov. 1941-28 Aug. 1947 (1 vol.)
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Women’s Auxiliary : 12 May 1936-28 July 1948 (1 vol.)
Royal Commonwealth Society (NSW Branch) : 1 Nov. 1972-1 Aug. 1979 (1 vol.)
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Companions Committee : 23 Mar. 1955-8 Dec. 1959 (1 vol.)
Royal Commonwealth Society (NSW Branch) – Board of Councillors : 28 Nov. 1972-17 Dec. 1974 (1 env.); 25 Jan. 1975-21 Dec. 1976 (1 env.)

BOX 14
Royal Empire Society (NSW Branch) – Chairman of Committees : 9 Jan. 1953; Executive Committee : 24 June 1953-14 Dec. 1959 (1 vol.)

BOX 15
Royal Commonwealth Society (NSW Branch) – Board of Directors (1 vol.)

BOXES 16-17
Newscuttings (5 vols.)

BOX 18
Clip folder, 1933-1969, including Southern Seas Broadcasts, Empire Day 1933, with newscuttings, and floor plans of RCS headquarters, Sydney, by Stephenson & Turner, Architects
Programs for various entertainments hosted by RCI / RED (NSW), 1923-1932
Presentation album of photoprints mainly of publicity stills from the film The Flying Doctor, ca. 1930

BOX 19
Correspondence, 1935-1937
‘Valuable Documents’, being correspondence, 1933-1947
‘The Queen’s Portrait Fund’, 1953-1955, being correspondence related to the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth by Denis Fildes
‘Special Functions’, 1913-1933, being menus and programmes of formal dinners and lunches, 1913-1932, and other events, 1933, with Royal Colonial Institute (NSW Branch) Annual Reports, 1923-1925

BOX 20
Documents of The Royal Empire Society N.S.W. Branch’, 1921-1946, being newscuttings, bulletins and printed notices.
Royal Commonwealth Society (NSW Branch) Library Lists and Index (4), 1984.
Lawson’s Auctioneers’ valuation of the RCS (NSW) Library

BOX 21
Financial and legal records, inc. Memorandum and Articles of Association (1970); correspondence; Annual Reports, 1984, 1987; Liquor Administration file; Directors’ reports; and Debenture Ledger, 1982-1983

BOXES 22-23
Loose outsize printed material including bound volume of Illustrated London News, Jan.-July 1865; and monographs, newspaper supplements and newscuttings on the Royal Family, coronations, Boer War, Australian war artists and Australia’s 150th Anniversary Celebrations

BOX 24
Loose outsize printed material including Royal Colonial Institute N.S.W. Branch [and Royal Commonwealth Society] visitors book, 1923-1975, Royal Colonial Institute N.S.W. Branch Honorary Members’, being a register, 1925-1953

BOX 25
Loose outsize printed material including Royal Colonial Institute N.S.W. Branch Register of Fellows, 1922, RCS (NSW) Library Accession Registers (2), 1962-1963

Box list on file

Copyright status:: In copyright -- This collection has multiple rights owners
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Information upgraded as part of the Manuscripts Unprocessed eRecords Project 2012-2013