Unravelling Years of Minutes

Abstract

The minute book of the Hamilton, New South Wales, Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) lay in a drawer until 2001. It had been in the possession of branch member, Tom Mulholland, and came to light some 12 years after his death. It covered the period from 4 January 1934 to 10 May 1939. I have synthesised the themes occurring in the minutes in an article titled, 'Years of Minutes' and this article, along with the minute book, an accompanying book of press cuttings from 1936 to 1941 and a list of the members mentioned in the minutes, have been placed in the Archives in the Library of the University of Newcastle. The press cuttings are mostly from Jack Lang's Century but include some press accounts of Hamilton branch meetings from the Newcastle Morning Herald.