A.L.P. Publicity: A Note on Quentin Shaddock Spedding

Abstract

The Public Library of New South Wales has recently acquired the papers of Q. S. Spedding, O.B.E. (1891-1974). My preliminary list of contents, included with those papers, suggests that this material deserves the attention of labour historians, especially those interested in the history of Australian journalism. From 1946 Spedding worked in the Publicity Section of the New South Wales Premier's Department of which he became a long-serving head. His responsibilities included the preparation of speeches, broad casts, press statements, articles for publication, replies to criticism etc., for the Premier or for other Ministers at the Premier's request. The papers include three large boxes packed with the texts of such material for the period between the late 1940s and the mid 1960s?for example speeches made on country election tours and scripts of an ABC parlia mentary broadcast series or 2GB and 2KY broadcasts. Besides this not easily available material, the papers provide some evidence of the process of formulation of policy statements, including policy speeches and such booklets as Labor's Grand Record: Twelve Years of Progress and Pros perity in New South Wales. Before his period in the Premier's Department, Spedding had already enjoyed a long and varied career in journalism. Beginning in 1910 with the Newcastle Morning Herald, he was a foundation member of the A.J.A. In 1911 he joined the Daily Telegraph, soon becoming one of its Melbourne press gallery. He served in France during the 1914-18 war and then between 1921 and 1923 he was successively the Daily Telegraph's sporting editor, chief sub-editor and news editor. He left to become editor of the Sunday News from 1923 to 1925. After a period with Labor Daily, he worked for Smith's Weekly as managing editor in Melbourne from 1931 to 1933 and then for Truth as senior