The papers of Sir John Latham form one of the finest and most comprehensive personal archives of an Australian public figure. It extends from 1885 to 1964, has a huge correspondence and the range of subject matter is quite extraordinary. Ever since it was arranged and listed in the early 1970s, it has been one of the two or three most heavily used manuscript collections in the Library.

The papers include:

• correspondence
• family and personal documents
• notes
• speeches
• diaries
• minute books
• account books
• newspaper cuttings
• photographs
• pamphlets
• invitations
• menus
• programs
• receipts
• maps
• tourist publications

Most of the papers date from 1900 onwards, although there are many family and personal letters of the 1890s. Particular strengths include:

• Latham’s first overseas trip in 1918–19
• his political career (especially his work as Attorney-General, Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Prime Minister)
• his early years as Chief Justice
• his various activities in retirement between 1952 and 1961. 

There are some weaknesses. There is relatively little on his work as a young man, as a teacher, barrister and university lecturer, or on his time in Japan in 1940–41 (his despatches are held in the National Archives of Australia). More surprisingly, the papers of the early and mid-1940s are rather meagre and it must be assumed that many were destroyed, accidentally or otherwise. There is, for instance, almost nothing on the death of his son Richard while serving in the Royal Air Force in 1943.

The papers are a major source on Australian public life over a period of 50 years. With one exception (Andrew Fisher), there are letters from every Australian Prime Minister from Alfred Deakin to John Gorton. Among the politicians, public servants and judges who figure prominently in the papers are:

• Sir Thomas Bavin
• Lord Bruce
• Lord Casey
• Percy Deane
• Sir Owen Dixon
• Sir Frederic Eggleston
• HV Evatt
• Sir Robert Garran
• Sir Henry Gullett
• W.M. Hughes
• JA Lyons
• Sir Robert Menzies
• Sir Keith Officer
• Sir Earle Page
• Sir Archdale Parkhill
• Sir George Pearce
• Sir George Rich
• Sir Hayden Starke
• Sir William Webb

The subjects dealt with include:

• World War I
• Conscription
• Paris Peace Conference
• League of Nations
• Industrial disputes and arbitration
• Threat of communism
• Interpretation of the Constitution
• Federal–state relations
• Public finance
• Relations with Britain and other countries in the British Empire
• Disarmament and the rise of Nazi Germany
• Relations with China, Japan and other Asian countries
• Conduct of High Court business
• Australian immigration policy

The papers are also an important source on Melbourne life. They range from letters from constituents in the electorate of Kooyong to correspondence with prominent figures such as:

• HW Allen
• Sir James Barrett
• Herbert Brookes
• Sir Charles Lowe
• Sir John Medley
• Sir Keith Murdoch
• Sir George Paton. 

There are many papers on Melbourne and Victorian institutions, especially Melbourne University, and on bodies such as:

• the Boobooks
• the Round Table
• the League of Nations Union. 

There are also letters from men whom Latham had known in Melbourne in his young days, such as:

• Sir Walter Murdoch in Perth,
• Sir Kerr Grant in Adelaide,
• BA Levinson
• Sir Thomas Dunhill in England.

The collection is strong in family papers, including a large number of family photographs. There are many letters from Ella Latham, written when Latham was away interstate or overseas, and from his three children when they were young. His eldest son, Richard Latham, who became a distinguished legal scholar, lived overseas from 1930 onwards and wrote regularly to his parents. There are also letters from Latham’s parents and his sister and four brothers.

Latham typed many of his letters and kept copies, so there are thousands of his own letters among his papers. In addition, letters written by him can be found in the following collections held in the Library:

• Papers of Sir George Pearce, politician
• Papers of Sir Littleton Groom, politician
• Papers of Sir Frederic Eggleston, politician and diplomat
• Papers of King O’Malley, politician
• Papers of Sir Thomas Bavin, politician and Premier
• Papers of EL Piesse, lawyer and public servant
• Papers of H.B. Higgins, judge
• Papers of Vance and Nettie Palmer, writers
• Papers of WM Hughes, politician and Prime Minister
• Papers of Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister
• Papers of Sir Earle Page, politician and Prime Minister
• Papers of Herbert Brookes, businessman
• Papers of Sir Robert Garran, public servant
• Papers of Sir Keith Officer, diplomat
• Papers of Sir Robert Menzies, politician and Prime Minister.

A large number of photographs of Latham, his family and associates are held in the Library. The family photographs include portraits of his parents, wife and children and group photographs of his siblings. There are photographs of Ormond College and lacrosse and cricket teams in the early years of the 20th century, fishing and camping holidays, England and France in 1918–19, political colleagues and social functions that he attended in his later years.

The bulk of the Latham papers were given by Sir John Latham in 1963, a few months before his death. 

Further papers, which had been in the possession of his son, Peter Latham, were purchased from book dealers in 1974 and 1996. 

In 1981, a relative, Mrs S Humphrey of Melbourne, donated a collection of family papers and letters received by Latham when he was a young man.

The papers of Sir John Latham are held in 113 boxes and four folio boxes in the Manuscripts collection. Use the finding aid. 

The family papers which comprise of the papers received from Mrs S Humphrey in 1981 is also held in the Manuscripts collection. An index to the extensive correspondence is shelved in the Special Collections Reading Room. 

Most of the photographs are filed with the papers, especially the family papers, but a small number are housed in the Pictures collection.

The National Archives of Australia holds some papers of Latham, mainly relating to his overseas trip in 1926. It also holds the despatches that he wrote as Minister to Japan in 1940–41 (A4231/2 1941/Tokyo).

This guide was prepared using these references:

• Zelman Cowen, Latham, John Greig, in Tony Blackshield, Michael Coper and George Williams (eds), The Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2001, pp. 419–21.
• Zelman Cowen, Sir John Latham and Other Papers, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1965.
• Stuart Macintyre, Latham, Sir John Greig (1877–1964), Australian Dictionary of Biography online
• John R Williams, John Latham and the Conservative Recovery from Defeat, 1929–31, Australasian Political Studies Association, Sydney, 1969.