VPRS 3478 Correspondence Files (Dairying Division)

The Department of Agriculture (VA 618) was responsible for the dairying function including research in areas such as dairy husbandry, dairy herd improvement and dairy products as well as a regulatory role involving dairy factory inspection, dairy supervision and milk supervision.The divisions of the Department which have undertaken this function are as follows:1905-1911 : Stock and Dairying Supervision Branch1911-1934 : Livestock Branch1934-1982 : Dairying Division1983-ct : Livestock Industry Services.This series contains general correspondence files detailing the operation of the Dairying Division from circa 1934 to 1978.In 1976 the Dairying Division was amalgamated with the Animal Industries and Animal Research Divisions to form the Animal Services Group. Although the formal amalgamation took place in 1976 it is evident that the Dairying Division continued to be administered separately, including separate record-keeping practices, until 1978. In 1978 there was an organisation and methods review and it appears that one of the recommendations was to terminate the separate record-keeping systems. Both this series and VPRS 3734 Correspondence Files (Animal Industry Division) end in 1978.It is likely that the annual single number filing system introduced by the Animal Services Group in 1976 (VPRS 8862) superseded the filing systems of the two Divisions in 1978 and is therefore a subsequent series.