120 Years of the Australian Public Service

For the first few days I was both head and tail of my Department, being my own clerk and messenger. My first duty on 1st January was to write out in longhand the first number of the Commonwealth Gazette and send myself down to the Government Printer with it. The next big job was to arrange the elections for the first Federal Parliament.

Sir Robert Garran, Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department (1901–32)

The Australia’s Public Service For the Government of the Day exhibition includes an image of the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, no. 1 1 January 1901, sourced from the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

The NAA is a supporting partner of the exhibition, with over 15 items from their collection in the exhibition space, including Cabinet documents and correspondence between Prime Ministers and Department Secretaries.

Visit the NAA website to discover more of their collection.