Department of Works and Railways

Department of Works and Railways
Department overview
Formed	14 November 1916
Preceding Department	Department of Home Affairs;
Dissolved	12 April 1932
Superseding Department	Department of the Interior;
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Melbourne
Department executives	David Miller, Secretary (1916–1917); Walter Bingle, Secretary (1917–1926); Henry Walters, Secretary (1926–1929); Percival Gourgaud, Secretary (1929–1932);

The Department of Works and Railways was an Australian government department that existed between November 1916 and April 1932.

At its abolition, its functions were absorbed into the Department of the Interior.^[2]^[3]

Scope

Information about the department's functions and government funding allocation could be found in the Administrative Arrangements Orders, the annual Portfolio Budget Statements and in the department's annual reports.

At its creation, the department was responsible for the following:^[1]

Public works
Railways
Rivers

The department was responsible for preparing the plans to build Old Parliament House.^[4] It also prepared building plans for retail trading blocks in Manuka, Australian Capital Territory.^[5]

Structure

The department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Works and Railways.^[1] In order of appointment, the Department's Ministers were: Patrick Lynch, William Watt, Richard Foster, Percy Stewart, William Hill, William Gibson, Joseph Lyons, Albert Green and Charles Marr.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e CA 14: Department of Works and Railways, (Central Office), National Archives of Australia, retrieved 2 December 2013^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Australia. Department of Works and Railways, National Library of Australia
^ Commonwealth National Library (Australia). Archives Division; Gibbney, H. J. (Herbert James), 1922-1989 (1950), Records of the Department of Works and Railways (including records transferred from the Department of Home Affairs) 1901-32, s.n, retrieved 5 July 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ National Archives of Australia, Building the provisional Parliament House – Fact sheet 109, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 12 October 2013
^ Building plans for retail trading, Manuka centre, Canberra, 1924

[NAA_CA_14-1] CA 14: Department of Works and Railways, (Central Office), National Archives of Australia, retrieved 2 December 2013^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[2] Australia. Department of Works and Railways, National Library of Australia

[3] Commonwealth National Library (Australia). Archives Division; Gibbney, H. J. (Herbert James), 1922-1989 (1950), Records of the Department of Works and Railways (including records transferred from the Department of Home Affairs) 1901-32, s.n, retrieved 5 July 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[4] National Archives of Australia, Building the provisional Parliament House – Fact sheet 109, National Archives of Australia, archived from the original on 12 October 2013

[5] Building plans for retail trading, Manuka centre, Canberra, 1924

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