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Record series

General Correspondence Files, Annual Single Number Systems

VPRS 6008
1906 - 1995
Open, Not set
North Melbourne
About Record items Record groupings Related record series Related functions

Agencies

This record series was created by:
State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SRWSC) ( VA723 ): 1928 - 1984
Rural Water Commission of Victoria ( VA2338 ): 1984 - 1992
Rural Water Corporation ( VA4234 ): 1992 - 1995
Agencies responsible for this record series:
Goulburn-Murray Rural Water (Authority 1994 - 2006; Corporation 2006 - present) ( VA 3757 ): 1995 - present

Date Range

Series date range: 1906 - 1995
Series in custody: 1906 - 1995
Contents in custody: 1860 - 2002

Function / Content

This series comprises some of the files inherited from the Victorian Water Supply Department (VA 2787) and registered correspondence sent and received by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (VA 723, 1906 - 1984), the Rural Water Commission (VA 2338, 1984 - 1992) and the Rural Water Corporation (VA 4234, 1992 - 1995). 

Although the series commenced in 1906, most of the correspondence registered before 1928 is in VPRS 3844 General Correspondence Files (Alphabetically Re-arranged Inactive Portion of VPRS 6008, pre 1928 Files), Single Number System. See VPRS 3844 for more information.

The series apparently does not contain all of the post-1927 correspondence. Most correspondence was registered and attached to this series by the Records Branch, however some correspondence, was controlled by the divisions concerned without being registered centrally. For example, at various times correspondence dealing with personnel, water diversion permits, and HydroTechnology appear to have been maintained by the respective divisions. Exactly what correspondence was controlled by other divisions has not been researched. It is probable, however, that at least some correspondence to and from the various divisions is contained in this series.

It is believed that all correspondence created or received by district offices was registered in this series. While district offices probably maintained reference copies of correspondence, it appears that original copies of all inward correspondence and copies of all outward letters were filed by the Records Branch.

Dispersal of Records

In preparation for the Rural Water Corporation's abolition in 1995, portions of this series were transferred to the agency’s successors and purchasers. Other portions had already been transferred to inheriting public offices as a result of earlier administrative changes. The successors and purchasers that may have received portions of this series include:
  • Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Water Resources Branch) (VA 3097)
  • Barwon Region Water Authority (VA 3756)
  • Coliban Region Water Authority (VA 3996)
  • Gippsland and Southern Rural Water Authority (VA 3751) 
  • Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Authority (VA 3757)
  • Melbourne Water Corporation (VA 1007)
  • South Gippsland Region Water Authority (VA 4239)
  • Sunraysia Rural Water Authority (VA 3755)
  • Wimmera Mallee Rural Water Authority (VA 3749)
  • Wonthaggi-Inverloch Water Board (VA 2558)
  • State Water Laboratory
  • Office of Water Reform
  • Sinclair Knight Mertz (VA 3748) – Records relating to HydroTechnology
  • Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation of Victoria Proprietary Limited (VA 3750) – Records relating to HydroTechnology
  • Thiess Environmental Services, (VA 3752) – Records relating to Hydrographic Services

The names, boundaries and functional responsibilities of many of the above entities have changed since the records were passed to them. As of 2024, the following are successors to the agencies listed above:
  • Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (VA 5285)
  • Barwon Region Water Corporation (VA 3756)
  • Coliban Region Water Corporation (VA 3996)
  • Gippsland and Southern Rural Water Corporation (VA 3751)
  • Goulburn-Murray Rural Water Corporation (VA 3757)
  • Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water Corporation (VA 4952)
  • Lower Murray Urban and Rural Water Corporation (VA 5397)
  • Melbourne Water Corporation (VA 1007)
  • South Gippsland Region Water Corporation (VA 4239)
  • Wannon Region Water Authority (VA 4944)
  • Jacobs Solutions Incorporated
  • SMEC Holdings Limited (VA 3750)
  • Theiss Proprietary Limited, (VA 3752)

How to use the records

Retrieving records from this series requires a different technique for each period in which records were created or received, however a significant portion can be searched by title using keywords.

1906 to October 1958

Most correspondence received before 1928 can be found in VPRS 3844. Only a small proportion of pre-1928 correspondence is in VPRS 6008. See VPRS 3844 for more information.
  1. Consult VPRS 6009 Classified Registration Cards for General Correspondence and note the correspondence numbers of items of interest. VPRS 9605 Index to Special Correspondence and VPRS 9468 Keyword Index Cards to General Correspondence may also be consulted.
  2. Consult VPRS 6012 Attachment Books and examine the volumes that cover the dates of interest.
  3. Using the Correspondence number identified in step 1, note the number which is adjacent to it in the 'Attached to' column. Use this number to identify the next ‘Attached to’ correspondence number until there are no more ‘Attached to’ numbers.
  4. Use the last number identified in step 3 to find the correspondence file in VPRS 6008. 

For example, if correspondence numbered 1927/5333 was attached to 27/7919, which was in turn attached to 27/10223, and so on through several more attachments until 28/9781, all the correspondence is filed with 28/9781.

October 1958 to 1987

A majority of the records from this period can be searched or browsed by titles using keywords, however, the following indexes and registers can also be used to access the files:
  • VPRS 9468 Keyword Index Cards to General Correspondence
  • VPRS 9470 Nominal Index Cards to General Correspondence
  • VPRS 9472 Classified Registration Cards for General Correspondence
  • VPRS 9469 Registration and Location Cards for General Correspondence

1987 to 1995

This portion of the series is controlled by VPRS 9616 Data Base for the Post-1995 Retrieval of Correspondence Files. Title and date information has been extracted from the database to describe the records. Search or browse the record titles to find the files of interest.

Recordkeeping system

This series is largely an artificial series made up of several recordkeeping systems. Some of the context surrounding these different systems has been lost. Several consignments of records were transferred into this series under the impression that they were all part of a single recordkeeping system. There also may have been several annual single number systems used by different divisions during the 1958 to 1987 period. When this was discovered in 1995, it was considered impractical to re-serialise them correctly, mainly due the size of the consignments in question. Additionally, finding aids that referenced the current serialisation had already been distributed to the numerous successor agencies of RWC, making reserialisation problematic.

In 2004, as part of the Rural Water Project, the documentation for VPRS 3844 and VPRS 6008 as well as all relevant controlling records was audited and revised in order to clarify the relationships between individual recordkeeping systems and series.

1906 to October 1958: Annual Single Number System, Document Level Control - referred to as Variable (or Varying) Top Number System

Inward correspondence from this period was registered using an annual single number system using and filed by the “top” number, i.e. the most recent piece of correspondence in the chain. This system remained in use until a file-level registration system was established in October 1958. 

Every piece of incoming correspondence was registered, excluding particular classes of correspondence that were forwarded directly to the divisions concerned. After date-stamping, correspondence was numbered using the correspondence register VPRS 9614 Registration Journals for General Correspondence. The only extant portion of the register relates to the period 1954 to 1958.

After registration, correspondence was classified according to VPRS 9471 Lists of Classified Indexable Headings, and this was recorded in the register. Relevant summary information would then be recorded on registration cards (VPRS 6009 Classified Registration Cards for General Correspondence) to aid retrieval. As the cards included previous entries of correspondence with the same classification, these cards could be used to identify any previous correspondence in the chain. The earlier correspondence file would then be retrieved so the new correspondence could be attached, then re-filed according to the registration number of the new letter. This process is known as Top Numbering and was recorded in and managed by Attachment Books (VPRS 6012).

Although outward correspondence was not individually registered, copies of outgoing letters were added to correspondence files where appropriate.

In addition to VPRS 6009, which was often referred to as a subject index, VPRS 9468 Keyword Index to General Correspondence Files and VPRS 9605 Index to Special Correspondence were also used to facilitate access.

See VPRS 6009, 6012, 9468, 9605, 9471 and 9614 for more information.

In 1954, a majority of the files registered between 1906 and 1928 were separated from the original recordkeeping system and alphabetically re-arranged in order to provide a more efficient method of retrieval of inactive files. These were later serialised as VPRS 3844 General Correspondence Files (Alphabetically Re-arranged Inactive Portion of VPRS 6008, pre 1928 Files), Single Number System.
A majority of remaining files were then transferred as the P0000 consignment of this series in 1985, however some correspondence from this period was also identified during later transfer projects and can be found in subsequent consignments.

October 1958 to 1987: Annual Single Number System, File Level Control - referred to as Fixed (Static) Single Number System

A number of reviews of the agency's recordkeeping procedures took place from the late 1940s, and as a result document-level registration ceased in October 1958. From that time only files were registered. The first file number was 58/20001, rather than 58/1, probably to avoid confusion after the change (the last document number had been 58/17378).

When document-level registration ceased most control and access series were closed and new ones commenced. A new List of Classified Indexable Headings (VPRS 9471) was also introduced. It is not certain, however, that all the changes to the recordkeeping system were introduced simultaneously.

Files were registered by using VPRS 9469 Registration and Location Cards for General Correspondence Files, while classified registration and indexing was done in VPRS 9472 Classified Registration Cards for General Correspondence Files. Lexicographically arranged indexes of subjects and names were used in addition to the classified register to facilitate access. These other indexes provided for quicker retrieval than the classified register, which was arranged hierarchically. The other indexes were VPRS 9468 Keyword Index Cards to General Correspondence Files and VPRS 9470 Nominal Index Cards to General Correspondence Files.

Whereas an entry in VPRS 9472 was an integral and routine part of every file’s registration, entries were made in the keyword and nominal indexes only when it was thought likely that a file would be needed again. An entry might be made in the keyword or nominal index at any stage in a file’s life rather than at the registration stage only.

1987 – 1995: Annual Single Number System - RMS Control at File Level

In 1987 the various registers and indexes were replaced with VPRS 9473 RMS Data Base for the Management and Control of General Correspondence Files. VPRS 9473 was used to register, classify, index, track and retrieve all files in VPRS 6008 created from 1987. Files created earlier but used after the commencement of the database were also registered on the system.

Whether VPRS 9473 is still extant is not known. In 1995 data from that database was exported to VPRS 9616 Data Bases for the Post-1995 Retrieval of General Correspondence Files. See VPRS 9473 and VPRS 9616 for more information.

A few files were raised after VPRS 9473 was shut down. These files were given a check digit of 0. Why a check digit was allocated is not known: a check digit was only a requirement of the system which had been decommissioned. Some of these files are in the P0002 and P0003 consignments.

HydroTechnology Records

Several consignments in this series contain files registered by the HydroTechnology Branch. These files have the prefixes 00 to 05 in lieu of the year portion of the number, and contain computations, drawings and notes relating to the design of dams. The meaning of the prefixes can be found in VPRS 9616 Data Base for the Post-1995 Retrieval of General Correspondence Files.

Although these files were not registered by the Records Branch until 1990, their contents dates from the 1970s or earlier. They were originally raised and maintained by the HydroTechnology Branch and registered manually there. The files were later listed on the Records Branch database, VPRS 9473 RMS Data Base for the Management and Control of General Correspondence Files, to facilitate management and retrieval, however the HydroTechnology Branch continued to control the files. Some of these files appear to have been intermixed with the general correspondence files and have been transferred within consignments P0004 and C1.

In 1995 a portion of HydroTechnology files were handed to Sinclair Knight Mertz (VA 3748), one of the companies to which the HydroTechnology Branch was sold. A small number for files were later returned and transferred as consignment P0002. A portion of files were returned to Goulburn-Murray Rural Water in 2000, who re-registered the records in their own General Correspondence system and transferred them as VPRS 12795/P0001.

A portion of HydroTechnology files were also handed to SMEC (VPRS 3750), these were later transferred as VPRS 9484/SR21 Unserialised Records (Rural Water Commission), HydroTechnology Project Files. See VPRS 9484 for more information.

Modified Control Symbols

Consignment P0017 includes files that were incorporated into the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s general subject files. The recordkeeping system used has not been confirmed, but it was likely controlled by RecFind. When the file metadata was imported, additional numbers were added to the control symbols and the files were relabelled. For example, file 70/0868-1 became 70/19-0868-1-01.