NRS-1057 | Registers of letters patent

Full description

This series comprises registers of letters patent in the form of large volumes containing copies of commissions (letters Patent) which are legal instruments issued under the Great Seal of State and the sign manual of the Governor. The copies do not have the Governor's signature or the Great Seal of State but are usually dated and signed by the Secretary or Under-Secretary of the department. The originals were granted and issued by the Governor to the appointees.

The commissions relate to the election of senators, the proroguing of parliament and appointment of Ministers of the Crown, and commissions issued for Crown appointments which had been granted by the Governor such as Judges, Justices of the Peace, and Coroners.

Each volume is numbered and every commission is also numbered and noted as being 'inserted into the NUMBER Register of Letters Patent on the DAY of MONTH of the reign of MONARCH'. An index in each volume lists the significant commissions under the name of the appointee or the subject of the letters patent in that volume. Each volume contains approximately 200 to 400 commissions and a new volume was required on average every two years.

The custody of the volumes was with the Chief Secretary until that office was abolished in 1975, then with the Department of Services until its abolition in 1982, when the responsibility for the maintenance of the Registers of Letters Patent was vested in the Office of the Minister for Police and Emergency Services until 1988, from which time they were maintained by Cabinet Office within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Some Letters Patent from 22 June 1932 onwards may be found in NRS 20570 Administrative arrangements [Cabinet Secretariat].