NRS-4512 | Despatches, circulars and cables from the Secretary of State and the Under Secretary, and copies of despatches to the Secretary of State

The earliest volumes in this series are copies of the correspondence, several of which were made at a later date. The majority of the remaining despatches are originals including most of the enclosures. From 1833 to the first half of 1854 some missing original despatches have been replaced by duplicates. This interfiling was carried out while the despatches were still in Government House. The despatches deal with most matters of any importance in the colony, eg. convicts, land, expenditure, military affairs, exploration and settlement and immigration. After responsible government the series reflects the Governor's role of intermediary between the Government of New South Wales and the British Government. The correspondence is concerned with the ratification of acts, defence, the sending of troops to overseas wars (the Boer War and the First World War), the conferring of various honours on Australians, the Monarchy, procedures to be carried out on certain occasions (Coronations, Deaths of Monarchs, Royal Birthdays or Visits), Admiralty matters, and so on. The Governor also conveyed to the British Government requests of various kinds from private individuals. From 1936 to 1969 the series consists of a mixture of copies of despatches, schedules and telegrams from and to the Secretary of State. The extent of the holdings for 1971 is two despatches, dated 23 August and 20 October respectively. A "Chart of Australia and the Adjacent Islands and Seas between its Northern Coast and the Equator showing the Northern Maritime Boundary of Queensland", 1878, an enclosure to a despatch in [4/1369], has been extracted and is now at [SR Map No.6233].A chronological list of despatches may be found in the front of [4/1615] for 06/04/1787-27/06/1806. An alphabetical index for 1822-25 is in front of [4/1618].Despatches for January to June 1847, Nos. 81-181 in [4/1325] have been microfilmed on Reels 709-710.

本系列最早期的卷册为通信函件副本，其中部分副本系后续补制。剩余的绝大多数专函均为原件，且包含大部分附件。1833年至1854年上半年期间，部分缺失的原件专函已由副本替代。该项分类归档工作是在专函仍存放于总督府期间完成的。这些专函涵盖了该殖民地绝大多数重要事务，例如罪犯管理、土地事务、财政支出、军务、探险与拓殖以及移民事宜。建立责任政府之后，本系列档案可体现总督作为新南威尔士州政府与英国政府之间中介的角色。此类通信函件涉及法案批准、国防、向海外战争（布尔战争与第一次世界大战）派兵、向澳大利亚民众授予各类荣誉、君主制相关事务、特定场合的流程规范（如加冕典礼、君主逝世、王室诞辰或王室访澳）、海军部事务等诸多领域。总督还会向英国政府转交民众个人提出的各类诉求。1936年至1969年期间，本系列档案由往来于国务大臣的专函副本、日程表与电报混合组成。1971年的馆藏仅存两封专函，日期分别为8月23日与10月20日。1878年制作的《澳大利亚及其北海岸至赤道间邻近岛屿与海域图——兼示昆士兰州北部海洋边界》，系[4/1369]号档案中某专函的附件，现已被提取并归档至[SR Map No.6233]。1787年4月6日至1806年6月27日期间的专函按时间排序的目录，可查阅[4/1615]卷首内容。1822年至1825年的专函按字母排序的索引，置于[4/1618]卷首。1847年1月至6月的专函（[4/1325]中编号81至181号）已被缩微拍摄至709至710号缩微胶卷。