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{{Short description|Historical Australian government agency}}
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The '''Australian Information Service''' was one of a series of [[Government of Australia|federal government]] organisations created to promote the image of [[Australia]]. The agency existed from [[1973 in Australia|1973]] to [[1986 in Australia|1986]].
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
⚫
The '''Australian Information Service''' ('''AIS''') was one of a series of [[Government of Australia|federal government]] organisations created to promote the image of [[Australia]], in existence between 1940 and 1996.


First created in 1940, the '''Australian News and Information Bureau''' ('''ANIB''') kept its name but expanded its functions when it was moved into the Department of the Interior in 1950. It was renamed in February 1973 to the Australian Information Service, under which name it created a vast collection of photographs now held in the [[National Archives of Australia]].


It was again renamed in 1986, to '''Promotion Australia''', a year later becoming the '''Australian Overseas Information Service''' ('''AOIS'''). In 1994 the agency became a branch of the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]] (DFAT), renamed the International Public Affairs Branch, before being disbanded in 1996.
The ''Department of Information'' was created in [[1947 in Australia|1947]] to promote the Australian lifestyle and Australian events overseas, particularly to intending [[Migratory_history_of_Australia#Postwar_immigration|post-war migrants]]


==History and functions==
In [[1950 in Australia|1950]] the agency was renamed the ''Australian News and Information Bureau'' (ANIB). In 1973, under the [[Gough Whitlam|Whitlam Government]], it was again renamed as the ''Australian Information Service''.


The [[Department of Information (Australia)|Department of Information]] (DOI) was created in September 1939 under the leadership of [[J. L. Treloar]], responsible for both [[censorship]] and disseminating government [[propaganda]] during [[World War II]]. It was broken up in 1950.<ref>{{cite web|last=Vickery|first=Edward Louis|title=Telling Australia's story to the world: The Department of Information 1939-1950|year=2009|url=http://dspace-prod1.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/49256|work=Thesis |publisher=[[Australian National University]]|accessdate=10 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814043805/http://digitalcollections.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/49256|archive-date=14 August 2011|p=1,46}}</ref> The Australian News and Information Bureau (ANIB) was created in 1940 within the DOI on the suggestion of [[Keith Murdoch]], then Director-General of Information, but by the time it was implemented, he had resigned and the Minister for Information, [[Harry Foll]], took charge. ANIB was based in [[New York City]], as its main goal was to inform the United States of Australia's war effort, thereby nurturing and building the relationship between the two countries. A [[London]] office was opened in 1944 and one in [[San Francisco]] in 1945, as ANIB developed an "overseas publicity" role.<ref name=austlit>{{cite web | website=[[Austlit]]|title=Australian News and Information Bureau | date=9 September 2016 |first=John|last=Tebbutt| url=https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/9327794 | access-date=27 December 2020|quote=Appears in ''A Companion to the Australian Media'' [edited by Bridget Griffen-Foley, 2014] pg. 56-57}}</ref>
The Department of Information was established to ‘undertake the large publicity campaign necessary to support Australia’s war effort’. This campaign was centred principally on increasing and sustaining the people’s faith in the cause for which they were fighting, and sought to gain support for the government’s security and fundraising activities and distribute ‘sound’ facts on the war and its progress.


With the breaking up of the DOI in 1950, ANIB was transferred to the Department of the Interior, and expanded its functions to take on much of DOI's work, also taking on many of its staff members. At this time it split into separate Home and Overseas Organisations. The ANIB took on the role of attracting [[post-war immigration to Australia|migrants to Australia after the war]], painting an attractive image of a country scarcely touched by war and with plenty of space and opportunity. During the [[Cold War]], the bureau's overseas arm became more political hue, pushing the notion that the "Australian way of life" was much better than [[Communism]].<ref name=austlit/>
⚫
The activities of the Department were extensive and various, and when, in 1981, two packets of ‘historical’ photographs of a rural Victorian town were returned to Australia by the New York office of the Australian Information Service, a small but fascinating example of those activities came to light.


The [[Australian National Film Board]], based in [[Sydney]] (also referred to as the Film Division), created in order oversee coordination of government and commercial [[filmmaking]], and to engage film production in the war effort, came under ANIB from 1950<ref name=naacfu>{{cite web|url=https://www.naa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-05/fs-25-Commonwealth-Film-Unit.pdf|title=Commonwealth Film Unit|series=Fact Sheet 25|author=National Archives of Australia|author-link=National Archives of Australia|access-date=27 Dec 2020}}</ref> until 1955. (After several further changes over the years, the organisation morphed into Film Australia and then merged into [[Screen Australia]]).<ref name=collection>{{cite web|url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/using-collection/film-australia-collection/about-film-australia-collection|title=About the Film Australia Collection|website=[[NFSA]]|access-date=27 Dec 2020}}</ref>
The photographs were taken by Jim Fitzpatrick, an official war photographer with the A.I.S., who was sent in 1944 to document the impact of the war on the population of the dairying town of Drouin. The 88 photographs that comprise the Drouin Collection focus on the towns’ people as a community and also on a more personal level. There are portraits of individuals and family groups, photographs of people working and socialising and images of the town going about its business. We learn from the extended captions still attached to most of the photographs people’s names, ages, occupations, their fathers’ occupations, whether they are married or not, and what their hopes are for the future. The people of Drouin are portrayed with an unusual degree of freedom and candour made possible, perhaps, because Fitzpatrick knew that his portrait of the town was not intended for Australian eyes. For Fitzpatrick’s assignment was part of an extensive publicity campaign to convince our allies, particularly the Americans, that we were ‘shouldering our full share of the burdens of war’.


From 1950 until at least 1961 it also established and managed "The Colombo Plan" in 1950, an aid scheme for [[developing countries]], which was criticised for being wasteful and poorly managed.<ref name=austlit/>
[[Image:Wartime Parting.jpg|thumb|Wartime parting of a family, Drouin, Victoria by Jim Fitzpatrick 1916-]]


Under the [[Whitlam Labor government]] December 1972, ANIB became part of the new Department of the Media, changing its name in February 1973 to the Australian Information Service (AIS), and started focusing on disseminating government information within Australia. ANIB state offices were created in [[Western Australia]] and [[Queensland]], and an extensive overseas network was established, including not only offices in North America and Europe, but also Asian cities such as [[Karachi]], [[New Delhi]], [[Bangkok]], [[Singapore]], [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Jakarta]], [[Tokyo]] and [[Manila]].<ref name=austlit/>
In 1986, the Australian Information Service was renamed as ''Promotion Australia'' and in [[1987 in Australia|1987]] it became the ''Australian Overseas Information Service'' (AOIS). In [[1994 in Australia|1994]] the AOIS became a branch in the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]]: the ''International Public Affairs Branch''.<ref>{{cite web | year = 2000 | url = http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html | title = Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs | publisher = [[National Archives of Australia]] | accessdate = 2006-05-12}}</ref>


The AIS was renamed Promotion Australia in 1986, the following year again renamed to the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS).<ref name=naa/>

In [[1994 in Australia|1994]] the agency became a branch in the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade]] (DFAT) known as the International Public Affairs Branch.<ref name=naa>{{cite web|year=2000 |url=http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html |title=Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |access-date=12 May 2006 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212205033/http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html |archive-date=2006-02-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1996 the branch was dissolved.<ref>{{cite web | website=The Dictionary of Sydney|title=Australian News and Information Bureau| url=https://dictionaryofsydney.org/contributor/australian_news_and_information_bureau | access-date=27 December 2020}}</ref>

==Photographs==
[[File:James (Jim) Fitzpatrick (21047608970).jpg|thumb|left|DOI photographer James (Jim) Fitzpatrick in the [[Philippines]], Nov. 1944 ]]
[[Image:Wartime Parting.jpg|thumb|right|Wartime parting of a family, [[Drouin, Victoria]] by Jim Fitzpatrick 1916-<ref>{{Citation | author1=Fitzpatrick, Jim. | author2=Australia. Department of Information. | title=Wartime parting of a family, Drouin, Victoria | year=1944 | section=1 photograph : gelatin silver ; 15.9 x 21.5 cm. | series=Drouin town and rural life during World War II. | publisher= | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147031835 | id=nla.obj-147031835 | access-date=27 December 2020 | via=[[Trove]] }}</ref>]]
Numerous photographs were created by the department, now held by the [[National Archives of Australia]].<ref name=austlit/>

⚫
In 1981, two packets of "historical" photographs of a rural [[Victoria, Australia|Victorian]] town were returned to Australia by the New York office of the Australian Information Service, showing a small example of the activities of the agency.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

The photographs were taken by Jim Fitzpatrick, an official war photographer with the AIS,<ref name=ace>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134931076 |title=Ace Photographer |newspaper=[[Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate]] |issue=21,120 |date=14 June 1944 |accessdate=27 December 2020 |page=8 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> who was sent in 1944 to document the impact of the war on the population of the dairying town of [[Drouin, Victoria|Drouin]]. His 88 photographs now make up the Drouin Collection and focus on the town's people as a community and also on a more personal level, somewhat idealised and showing their sacrifices and contributions to the war effort. Fitzpatrick’s assignment was part of an extensive publicity campaign to convince our allies, particularly the Americans, that we were "shouldering our full share of the burdens of war".<ref name=anzac>{{cite web | title=A town at war | website=Anzac Portal | date=1 February 2019 | url=https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/world-war-ii-1939-1945/resources/all-australian-homefront-1939-1945/town-war | access-date=27 December 2020}}</ref>

An article titled "Small town at war", written by David Stevens, was published in the ''South West Pacific Annual'' in December 1944, including 27 of Fitzpatrick's photographs. The publication was produced by the Department of Information and distributed to overseas media editors for free.<ref name=anzac/>

Fitzpatrick was also responsible for a series of photographs he took on [[Biak Island]], off [[Dutch New Guinea]], of Japanese [[warplane]]s going down in flames in June 1944.<ref name=ace/>


== References ==
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
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[[Category:Government of Australia]]
[[Category:Defunct government entities of Australia]]
[[Category:Defunct Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1986 disestablishments in Australia]]

Latest revision as of 08:10, 19 June 2023

The Australian Information Service (AIS) was one of a series of federal government organisations created to promote the image of Australia, in existence between 1940 and 1996.

First created in 1940, the Australian News and Information Bureau (ANIB) kept its name but expanded its functions when it was moved into the Department of the Interior in 1950. It was renamed in February 1973 to the Australian Information Service, under which name it created a vast collection of photographs now held in the National Archives of Australia.

It was again renamed in 1986, to Promotion Australia, a year later becoming the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS). In 1994 the agency became a branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), renamed the International Public Affairs Branch, before being disbanded in 1996.

History and functions[edit]

The Department of Information (DOI) was created in September 1939 under the leadership of J. L. Treloar, responsible for both censorship and disseminating government propaganda during World War II. It was broken up in 1950.[1] The Australian News and Information Bureau (ANIB) was created in 1940 within the DOI on the suggestion of Keith Murdoch, then Director-General of Information, but by the time it was implemented, he had resigned and the Minister for Information, Harry Foll, took charge. ANIB was based in New York City, as its main goal was to inform the United States of Australia's war effort, thereby nurturing and building the relationship between the two countries. A London office was opened in 1944 and one in San Francisco in 1945, as ANIB developed an "overseas publicity" role.[2]

With the breaking up of the DOI in 1950, ANIB was transferred to the Department of the Interior, and expanded its functions to take on much of DOI's work, also taking on many of its staff members. At this time it split into separate Home and Overseas Organisations. The ANIB took on the role of attracting migrants to Australia after the war, painting an attractive image of a country scarcely touched by war and with plenty of space and opportunity. During the Cold War, the bureau's overseas arm became more political hue, pushing the notion that the "Australian way of life" was much better than Communism.[2]

The Australian National Film Board, based in Sydney (also referred to as the Film Division), created in order oversee coordination of government and commercial filmmaking, and to engage film production in the war effort, came under ANIB from 1950[3] until 1955. (After several further changes over the years, the organisation morphed into Film Australia and then merged into Screen Australia).[4]

From 1950 until at least 1961 it also established and managed "The Colombo Plan" in 1950, an aid scheme for developing countries, which was criticised for being wasteful and poorly managed.[2]

Under the Whitlam Labor government December 1972, ANIB became part of the new Department of the Media, changing its name in February 1973 to the Australian Information Service (AIS), and started focusing on disseminating government information within Australia. ANIB state offices were created in Western Australia and Queensland, and an extensive overseas network was established, including not only offices in North America and Europe, but also Asian cities such as Karachi, New Delhi, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Tokyo and Manila.[2]

The AIS was renamed Promotion Australia in 1986, the following year again renamed to the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS).[5]

In 1994 the agency became a branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) known as the International Public Affairs Branch.[5] In 1996 the branch was dissolved.[6]

Photographs[edit]

DOI photographer James (Jim) Fitzpatrick in the Philippines, Nov. 1944
Wartime parting of a family, Drouin, Victoria by Jim Fitzpatrick 1916-[7]

Numerous photographs were created by the department, now held by the National Archives of Australia.[2]

In 1981, two packets of "historical" photographs of a rural Victorian town were returned to Australia by the New York office of the Australian Information Service, showing a small example of the activities of the agency.[citation needed]

The photographs were taken by Jim Fitzpatrick, an official war photographer with the AIS,[8] who was sent in 1944 to document the impact of the war on the population of the dairying town of Drouin. His 88 photographs now make up the Drouin Collection and focus on the town's people as a community and also on a more personal level, somewhat idealised and showing their sacrifices and contributions to the war effort. Fitzpatrick’s assignment was part of an extensive publicity campaign to convince our allies, particularly the Americans, that we were "shouldering our full share of the burdens of war".[9]

An article titled "Small town at war", written by David Stevens, was published in the South West Pacific Annual in December 1944, including 27 of Fitzpatrick's photographs. The publication was produced by the Department of Information and distributed to overseas media editors for free.[9]

Fitzpatrick was also responsible for a series of photographs he took on Biak Island, off Dutch New Guinea, of Japanese warplanes going down in flames in June 1944.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Vickery, Edward Louis (2009). "Telling Australia's story to the world: The Department of Information 1939-1950". Thesis. Australian National University. p. 1,46. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e Tebbutt, John (9 September 2016). "Australian News and Information Bureau". Austlit. Retrieved 27 December 2020. Appears in A Companion to the Australian Media [edited by Bridget Griffen-Foley, 2014] pg. 56-57
  3. ^ National Archives of Australia. "Commonwealth Film Unit" (PDF). Fact Sheet 25. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. ^ "About the Film Australia Collection". NFSA. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs". National Archives of Australia. 2000. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
  6. ^ "Australian News and Information Bureau". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Jim.; Australia. Department of Information. (1944), "1 photograph : gelatin silver ; 15.9 x 21.5 cm.", Wartime parting of a family, Drouin, Victoria, Drouin town and rural life during World War II., nla.obj-147031835, retrieved 27 December 2020 – via Trove
  8. ^ a b "Ace Photographer". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate. No. 21, 120. 14 June 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 27 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ a b "A town at war". Anzac Portal. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
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