Item Type: Series

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Organisation

Sydney City Council

Controlled by series

Registers of Letters Received, 1853-1913

Related series

Creating agencies

Town Clerk's Department

Related activities

Records and archives management

Item

Items in this series (19)

Box

Boxes in this Series (10)

Series

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Indexes to Letters Received, 1854-1913

Description

Unique IDAS-0003Start dateBetween 3rd January 1854 and 31st December 1913Start date qualifiercircaFormatVolume - Leather BoundShort descriptionThis series consists of indexes to all letters received by Council from outside bodies, 1854-1913. DescriptionThis series consists of the indexes to all letters received by Council from outside bodies (as well as Council officers such as the Inspector of Nuisances, the City Architect and the City Surveyor writing to the Town Clerk) in the period from 1854 to 1913. The series was created by the Town Clerk's Department (AG-0040).

Prior to 1854, the volumes of bound letters were each indexed at the front.

As each letter was received it was numbered with a single running number allocated from the series Registers of Letters Received (AS-0002). This number was then written on the top right-hand corner of the letter. The top of the letter was also annotated with the date of receipt, the author of the letter, and a brief summary of the subject matter.

The letters were then indexed in this series, usually by the name of the writer. From 1843 to 1899, most of the letters were pasted into letter books in the series Letters Received (AS-0026), and from 1900 to 1913 placed into manilla folders in Town Clerk's Correspondence Folders (AS-0028).

However, it was common practice prior to 1900 to place letters which referred to the operation or functions of a particular committee with the papers of that committee. Therefore, some of the letters indexed in this series were placed with business papers contained in the following series:
-Committee Reports (AS-0021)
-Reports of the Finance Committee (AS-0022)
-Reports of the Improvements Committee (AS-0023), and
-Reports of the Lighting Committee (AS-0024).

Letters Received from the Colonial Secretary for 1842 to 1859 were placed in the series Letters Received from the Colonial Secretary (AS-0025). They were partially indexed in this series but the volumes in series AS-0025 also have their own indexes at the front of most volumes.

The indexes are arranged alphabetically by name of the author, then chronologically by date of receipt. The indexes record the name of the letter writer, the subject, and the annual single number assigned to the letter. Each index volume had an alphabetical index at the front, with special sections for the City Engineer, Government Gas Company, Petitions, City Surveyor, City Solicitor, and Colonial Secretary.
These special sections grew in number and from 1901, comprised the following: Union Bank, City Solicitor, City Treasurer, City Building Surveyor, Gas Company, Inspector of Nuisances, Mayor, Superintendent of Assets, Superintendent of City Cleansing, Town Clerk, Government General, Chief Secretary, General Post Office, Health Board, Lands Department, Public Works Department, Railway Department, Registrar General, The Treasury, Water and Sewerage Board.

For the majority of letters received, these indexes are sufficient to locate the letter in Letters Received (AS-0026) and Town Clerk's Correspondence Folders (AS-0028). However, if a letter is not in the appropriate place in the letter books, it usually means that it has been placed in one of the series of Committee Reports. To find the location of these letters you need to consult Registers of Letters Received (AS-002), which usually indicates what committee the letter had been forwarded to. Alternately, the subject of the letter usually gave an indication of the committee responsible. The Committee Reports are also indexed at the front of the volumes in each series.

The indexes from 1900 to 1908, while noting the author, subject and number of the letter, also include an extra column ‘Class’ which classifies the subject content of the letters into categories such as Streets, Health, Stores, Staff, Parks and Miscellaneous.
LanguageEnglish (eng)

Item

Disused hotel premises, 317 Riley St. Acquisition of in connection with housing project for aged

Index to letters received

Box

CSA069120

CSA069094

CSA043680

CSA043679

CSA043678

CSA043677

CSA043676

CSA043675

CSA043674

CSA043673

Series

Town Clerk's Correspondence Folders, 1899-1913

Letters Received, 1843-1899 [Municipal Council of Sydney]

Indexes to Town Clerk's Department Correspondence Files, 1914-1978

Registers of Letters Received, 1853-1913

Access

Public access statusOpen to public accessPublic access noteAccess is given to the microfilm copy.

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID3System of arrangementChronological

Digitisation

Digitisation statusNot digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are original indexes to the Letters Received by the Municipal Council of Sydney. The record has been held in the Council’s custody and has a high level of authenticity. Users should be aware that this is an historical record and the language used within the record was the language of the time it was captured, and may not reflect current community values or expectations.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilControlled by seriesRegisters of Letters Received, 1853-1913Related seriesSpecial Registrations Index [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Subject Index Cards to Town Clerk's Correspondence FoldersIndexes to Letters Sent, 1854-1935Creating agenciesTown Clerk's DepartmentRelated activitiesRecords and archives management

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Indexes to Letters Received, 1854-1913