The Australian High Commission in London : its origins and early history, 1901-1916

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the origins and early history of the Australian high commission in London. The period under consideration extends from 1901, when attention was officially directed by Sir Edmund Barton to the question of establishing an office to represent the interests of the Commonwealth in London, to 1916, the year which saw the retirement from office of the first high Commissioner, Sir George Reid, and the completion of the High Commission's first six years of existence. To gain a proper perspective however, a study concerned with the origins of Australia's first High Commission abroad must go back to 1879. In that year, negotiations between the British and Canadian government over the question of an improved system of Canadian representation in London produced an agreement in which Britain accepted the idea of a new quasi-diplomatic relationship between those two countries. Thus, the first colonial High Commissionership was founded in London in 1880 and provided the example which in due course was followed by the other British dominions of New Zealand, Australian and South Africa, in that order. But while attention is briefly paid to this background, this thesis seeks to examine a variety of other questions: the influences in Australia which created the High Commissionership; the political considerations which delayed the appointment of a High Commissioner until the end of 1909; the measures taken to provide for the temporary representations of the Commonwealth; the personalities of the aspirants for the office; and the scope and effectiveness of the functions performed by the High Commission in its foundation years.