Department of Information (Australia)
The Department of Information (DOI) was an Australian Government department formed during World War II. The department was established in September 1939 under the leadership of John Treloar, the director of the Australian War Memorial, who remained in the role of departmental secretary until early 1941.[1] It was the first of 17 new Australian Government departments to be established during the war, and was responsible for both censorship and disseminating government propaganda.[2] The department was based in Melbourne throughout its existence, though it established divisions in Sydney and bureaus in New York City and London.[3] The DOI was broken up in 1950, with its functions being allocated between other departments.[2]
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 12 September 1939 |
| Dissolved | 16 March 1950 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne |
Henry Gullett was the first Minister for Information.[4]
Ministers for Information
| # | Name | Party | Start | End | Govt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henry Gullett | United Australia | 12 September 1939 | 14 March 1940 | Menzies | |
| 2 | Robert Menzies | United Australia | 14 March 1940 | 13 December 1940 | Menzies | |
| 3 | Harry Foll | United Australia | 13 December 1940 | 7 October 1941 | Menzies | |
| Fadden | ||||||
| 4 | Bill Ashley | Labor | 7 October 1941 | 21 September 1943 | Curtin | |
| 5 | Arthur Calwell | Labor | 21 September 1943 | 19 December 1949 | Curtin | |
| Forde | ||||||
| Chifley | ||||||
| 6 | Howard Beale | Liberal | 19 December 1949 | 16 March 1950 | Menzies | |
Notes
- Vickery 2009, p. 46.
- Vickery 2009, p. 1.
- Vickery 2009, p. 42.
- CA 34: Department of Information, Central Office, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 4 December 2013
References and further reading
- Lakin, Shuane (2006). Contact: Photographs from the Australian War Memorial Collection. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. ISBN 0-9751904-6-6.
- Vickery, Edward Louis (2009). "Telling Australia's story to the world: The Department of Information 1939-1950". Thesis. Australian National University. Retrieved 10 August 2011.