Department of Defence (1921–1939)

The Department of Defence was an Australian government department that existed between December 1921 and November 1939.

Department of Defence

Department overview
Formed	21 December 1921[1]
Preceding Department	Department of Defence (I)
Dissolved	13 November 1939[1]
Superseding Department	Department of Defence Co-ordination Department of Air Department of the Army Department of the Navy
Jurisdiction	Commonwealth of Australia
Headquarters	Victoria
Department executives	Thomas Trumble, Secretary (1921–1927) Malcolm Shepherd, Secretary (1927–1937) Frederick Shedden, Secretary (1937–1939)

History

The department was formed in December 1921 when then Navy Office was merged into the existing Department of Defence.^[2]

Scope

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

When it was established, the department was responsible for Naval, Army and Air Defence matters, and ran a number of factories for munitions, small arms, cordite and clothing etc.^[1]

Structure

The department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Defence.^[1]

The Secretaries of the Department were Thomas Trumble (1921‑1927), Malcolm Shepherd (1927‑1937),^[3] and finally Frederick Shedden (1937‑1939).^[1]