Historical information

This satchel belonged to John Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015), the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. Malcolm Fraser was educated at Melbourne Grammar and Oxford University and lived for many years on the family property, Nareen in the Western District. He was the leader of the Australian Liberal Party and was the Federal member in the seat of Wannon in the Western District, an area which included Warrnambool. As the Prime Minister he took a particular interest in foreign affairs. This satchel was donated by Malcolm Fraser to a charity auction held in Warrnambool in 1997 in aid of the Red Cross and the purchaser of the satchel at that time has since donated the item to the Warrnambool and District Historical Society.

Significance

This satchel is of considerable significance as it belonged to Malcolm Fraser, the Prime Minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, the local member in the Federal seat of Wannon and a property owner and resident in the Western District of Victoria.

Physical description

This is a brown leather brief case or satchel. The compartment on one side has a metal catch and holders inside for pencils and pens. This side also has another compartment with a zip fastener and two extra pockets with flaps on the top held by metal catches. There is another compartment on the other side with an extra pocket enclosed with a zip folder. There is a leather handle on the top of the satchel and inside one of the pockets is an extra leather strap to extend the handle length. The handle has a maroon-coloured airways tag attached with information on the satchel’s owner. There is some scuffing near the top handle. The satchel contains a newspaper cutting and an information sheet regarding the charity sale of the item.

Inscriptions & markings

F. Rvnci Roma
QANTAS First Class
Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser 44th Fl. 55 Collins St. Melbourne Victoria Tel 03 65 41 822