Joseph Aloysius Lyons
NLA: MS4851
Joseph Lyons was Australia's tenth prime minister (1932–39). A Tasmanian, he held the seat of Wilmot for the United Australia Party from 20 November 1929 to 7 April 1939. Lyons died in office on 7 April 1939.
What's in the National Archives on Joseph Aloysius Lyons?
- Personal records of Lyons
- Lyons before his term as Prime Minister
- Lyons during his term as Prime Minister
- Enid Lyons
- Significant subjects for Lyons-related research
- Photographs/multimedia
- Relevant research guides
- Research databases
The tables below list a sample of the Archives' records about Lyons.
Personal records of Lyons
People in prominent positions often have significant personal collections of records, as well as creating records in the institutions in which they work. These personal collections are usually a mixture of official and private material and may span a number of different positions. The National Archives collects personal records from governors-general, prime ministers, ministers and some judges. For more information, see Commonwealth persons.
The National Archives of Australia holds a collection of personal papers of Joseph Lyons comprising ten series predominantly created during Lyons' period as Prime Minister.
Lyons before his term as Prime Minister
Joseph Lyons held a number of positions in Tasmanian and federal politics before becoming Prime Minister, including
- Tasmanian Treasurer and Minister for Railways and Education (1914–16)
- Premier of Tasmania (1923–28)
- federal Minister for Works and Railways (1929–31)
- federal Postmaster-General (1929–31)
Lyons during his term as Prime Minister
Joseph Aloysius Lyons served as Prime Minister from 6 January 1932 until his death on 7 April 1939. During this period he held a number of other portfolios:
- Commerce (1932)
- Treasury (1932–35)
- Repatriation (1935–36)
- Health (1935–36)
- Defence (1937)
Lyons was Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council from 1935–37 and he led the United Australia Party from 1931–39.
 | Correspondence with ECG Page concerning merger of the Country Party and the United Australia Party, 1932 | 1932 | M2270, 16 | ||
 | Oaths, correspondence and gazette notices of the 18th Commonwealth ministry (JA Lyons), 1938–39 | 1938–39 | A5447, 34 | ||
 | JA Lyons' Budget speech for 1933–34, 1930–33 | 1930–33 | A5954, 2390/14 | ||
 | Policy speech of JA Lyons, 1937–38 | 1937–38 | A1928, 670/112 | ||
 | Prime Minister's Department Record of the Lyons government, 1933–37 | 1933–37 | A518, BB112/1 | ||
Enid Lyons
After her husband's death in 1939, Enid Lyons had a significant political career in her own right. She was the federal Member for Darwin (Tasmania) from 1943 to 1951, Vice-President of the Federal Executive Council (1949–51) and a member of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (1951–62).
 | Acknowledgment from Enid Lyons of condolences received on the death of her husband, 1939 | 1939 | M3603, 7 | ||
| Arrangements for lectures by Enid Lyons in America, 1940 | 1940 | SP112/1, 353/3/6 | ||
| Audio tape of a talk by Enid Lyons, 1943 | 1943 | C102, Pol25 | ||
| Letter from Enid Lyons to the Minister for the Army concerning withdrawal of POW labour from rural industry, 1945 | 1945 | MP742/1, 255/15/1301 | ||
| Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – visit of Enid Lyons, 1953 | 1953 | A462, 821/1/117 | ||
Significant subjects for Lyons-related research
During Lyons' period as Prime Minister, key issues included:
- the Depression and economic policy
- defence
- immigration
- imperial relations
- royal events
| NSW default – general payment of interest, 1932 | 1932 | A571, 1932/610 Part 1 | ||
| Schemes for the relief of unemployment – land settlement, 1932–37 | 1932–37 | A461, B356/4/3 | ||
| Migration – empire settlement scheme, 1936–37 | 1936–37 | A461, A349/1/3 Part 2 | ||
 | Correspondence between the Australian and UK governments on the abdication of Edward VIII, 1936 | 1936 | CP4/10 | ||
| Records of the Prime Minister's Department relating to the imperial conference, 1937 | 1937 | CP4/2 | ||
Photographic and multimedia records relating to Lyons
| Sound recording of JA Lyons, 1934 | 1934 | C102, Pol5 | ||
 | JA Lyons as Prime Minister, nd | nd | A1200, L11182 | ||
| Frank Brennan, JA Lyons and another, 1929 | 1929 | A3560, 6110 | ||
 | Grave of JA Lyons in Tasmania, nd | nd | A6180, 13/9/73/8 | ||
| Enid Lyons standing beside her husband's portrait, 1949 | 1949 | A1200, L12373 | ||
Relevant research guides
The National Archives has produced a number of research guides and fact sheets that may assist you with your research on Joseph Aloysius Lyons. These are available from the website and in print versions.
Records of Australian prime ministers, 1901–71 (Fact sheet 70)
Joseph Aloysius Lyons (Fact sheet 76)
Design and development of the National Capital (Fact sheet 60)
New Guard movement, 1931–35 (Fact sheet 183 )
Australian Antarctic exploration and research (Fact sheet 194)
JT Lang and Lang Labor (Fact sheet 96)
Working for the Dole: Commonwealth Relief during the Great Depression (Research guide 15)
Safe Haven: Records of the Jewish Experience in Australia (Research guide 12)
Good British Stock: Child and Youth Migration to Australia (Research guide 11)
More People Imperative: Immigration to Australia, 1901–39 (Research guide 7)
Records of Papua New Guinea, 1883–1942 (Fact sheet 148)
Papua New Guinea Records 1883-1942: Microfilm Collections (Research guide 4)
Research databases
RecordSearch contains searchable descriptions of millions of items from our collection. Many of them are wholly digitised.
PhotoSearch allows you to search and browse over 110,000 photographs from our collection.