[UMA-SRE-20120035] CAPE COLONY AND SOUTH AFRICA LETTER BOOKS, CHRONOLOGICAL SERIES

Description

IdentifierUMA-SRE-20120035Extent29 boxesLinear Meterage4.84Scope and ContentThis series of bound volumes contains copies of non-confidential letters between the Association's Head Office and its Branch. Subjects covered included the establishment of the Branch investments, funds, income tax, building societies, Branch returns, accounts returns, staff, freehold property, home purchase loans, loans on mortgage, loan on reversionary interest and loan on life interest, lend tax, fire insurance, actuarial matters, group assurance schemes, underwriting-special enquiries, proposals, war rises, annual meetings and miscellaneous subjects. Until 1st January 1939 the volumes also included copies of letters on departmental and routine matters eg. acknowledgements of memorandam, advice of the dispatch of returns and routine documents to Head Office etc. The difference between letter and routine memorandam was to be observed by all Branches with the exception of the England South Africa and Ceylon Branches which continued the previous practice (until 1954). There are various systems of arrangement discernible within the series. Initially until 1914, letter 'to' and 'from' Head Office were held in separate sequences and a volume might contain correspondence covering a period greater than a year. From 1914 the practices of having more than one year's correspondence in a volume and having separate sequences of inwards and outwards letters were discontinued. From 1914 until 1939 the inwards and outwards letters were held in yearly volumes, one for inwards and one for outwards, and placed next to each other; these volumes were differentiated by an 'I' for inward and 'O' for outwards on the spine. In 1939 the change of subject matter of the correspondence in the volumes, which was described above, took place. With this change letters in the volumes were grouped by the subjects with which they dealt. This practice meant that inwards and outwards letters on the same subject were interfiled. At the start of each volume indexes were constructed one for inwards and the other for outwards. These indexes gave details of letter number, subject and file number. The file number referred to a number either written or stamped on the top right hand corner of an item of correspondence. The contents of the volume were then arranged in the file in number order. Thus, letter h39/1 to a Branch would not necessarily be the first folio in the volume but may appear, say, file 137. This may be followed by several letters to and from the Branch on the subject each of which belongs to the same file. This system continued until 1956 when inwards and outwards letters were again filed chronologically and the subject grouping abandoned. The index was maintained in the outwards volume until 1911 volume and there is evidence of top numbering.Collection CategoryBusinessAccess StatusOpen for public accessRequest Access to RecordsRequest records from this Series

Provenance

CreatorNational Mutual Life Association of Australasia

Dates

Date29 September 1896- December 1973

Description Control

Previous System ID2012.0035Other IDsNMLS 7.

University of Melbourne Archives

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[UMA-SRE-20120035] CAPE COLONY AND SOUTH AFRICA LETTER BOOKS, CHRONOLOGICAL SERIES