VPRS 969 Minute Books

This series records the minutes and memoranda appended to correspondence either received directly or forwarded to the Department of Public Works for comment. It was the nineteenth century practice to respond to a piece of correspondence by annotating the original and then returning this to the office of origin or forwarding correspondence with an annotation rather than a separate covering letter or memorandum. Records of incoming correspondence were kept by the copying of significant letters by the recipient or by the noting of the details and a precis in the Minute Book.In this series, until the 1890s and the broadening of the contents to include internal memoranda and the introduction of the letterpress book, pages were divided vertically. On the lefthand side of the page was recorded the details of the piece of incoming forwarded correspondence and the action taken subsequent to minuting (or annotation). On the righthand side of the pager a signed and dated copy of the minute or annotation was written, often in red to distinguish it clearly.Minuted correspondence in this series was originally inter-departmental correspondence or correspondence received by another Department and referred to the Department of Public Works for comment from other Departments because it concerned issues related to the public works function.