Identity area
Type of entity
State government department
Authorized form of name
Colonial Secretary's Office (New South Wales)
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1821 - 1975
History
On 30 June 1820 Major Frederick Goulburn was commissioned as Colonial Secretary and Registrar of the Records of New South Wales. On 1 January 1821, Frederick Goulburn was officially sworn in and assumed his duties as Colonial Secretary.
The Colonial Secretary’s Office kept the Registers of Letters, and prepared the financial and statistical Returns of the Colony, which were sent annually to the Secretary of State. The offices of Secretary to the Governor and Colonial Secretary were not separated until May 1824 when Major Ovens was officially appointed Governor Brisbane's Private Secretary.
Another aspect of the Colonial Secretary’s Duties was as a legislator. The Secretary was an ex officio member of the Legislative Council, which first sat in August 1824. The warrant establishing the Council listed in order of precedence the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief Justice, Colonial Secretary, Principal Surgeon, and Surveyor General.
The most important function of the Colonial Secretary’s office was that it acted as the channel of communications between the Governor, other government offices, and private settlers.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Partial
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Description added 8 Jul 2020
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
NSW State Archives and Records, Description of Agency AGY-16, https://www.records.nsw.gov.au (accessed 8 Jul 2020)