Department of Munitions

The Department of Munitions was an Australian government department that existed between June 1940 and April 1948.

Department of Munitions
Department overview
Formed11 June 1940[1]
Preceding Department
Dissolved6 April 1948[1]
Superseding agency
JurisdictionCommonwealth of Australia
HeadquartersMelbourne[2]
Department executives

Scope

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

The Department was created during World War II in an effort to speed up munitions production.[1]

In April 1948 the department was wound up and its functions shifted to the Department of Supply and Development, a change necessitated due to the legislation that the munitions department had been established under during wartime, that could not continue indefinitely.[3]

Structure

The Department was a Commonwealth Public Service department, staffed by officials who were responsible to the Minister for Munitions, initially Robert Menzies, and subsequently Philip McBride, Norman Makin, John Dedman and finally John Armstrong.[1]

References
  1. CA 39: Department of Munitions, Central Administration, National Archives of Australia, retrieved 13 April 2014
  2. Smith, Ailie, Corporate entry Department of Munitions (1940 - 1948), Encyclopedia of Australia Science, archived from the original on 31 March 2014
  3. "New Ministry of Industrial Development". The Canberra Times. 17 March 1948. p. 2.


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