H—22

State Functions. —Luncheons were given in honour of the Hon. Robert M. Scotten, Minister for the United States Government; Mr. J. B. D. Pennink, Netherlands Minister ; Messrs. N. Tattersall and N. Wood, members of the Co-operative Wholesalers' Society of Great Britain; Mr. Lan Warren, Assistant Traffic Manager, Canadian Pacific Railways, and party. Morning or afternoon tea receptions were held in honour of the birth of Prince Charles to H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth ; the Australian delegation of ex-servicemen ; Ballet Rambert and Queensland State String Quartet; Miss Janet Howe and Mr. Arthur Servent, leads in " Carmen " ; Mr. Richard Farrell; Rev. Dr. George McLeod ; Miss Mary Wootton (" Miss New Zealand," 1948); a visiting party of farmers from New South Wales and one from South Australia,. Receptions were given for the following sporting teams : English Women's Cricket; Australian Women's Hockey ; All-Australia Basketball; Australian Athletes ; Australian Men's Association Football; and Australian Men's Hockey. Farewells were tendered to the New Zealand Olympic Team and the New Zealand Cricket Team. Additional luncheons and functions were held in honour of distinguished visitors mentioned in the previous section. As on past occasions, all local authorities and the Maori people in particular co-operated whole-heartedly with the Department. XI. WAR HISTORY BRANCH Considerable progress in research for both the service and civilian volumes of the official history of New Zealand's part in the Second World War and in the writing of preliminary narratives was made during the year. On the publication side, the first six of the Branch's productions in the illustrated popular series were produced, and others will follow at regular intervals. Other volumes in the unit history and documentary series are in the printer's hands and should be published within the next few months. A. Documents The first volume of the series of official documents relating to New Zealand's participation in the Second World War is at present being printed. The work is making good progress and it is expected that the volume will be published in July. The typescript of the second volume has been sent to the Commonwealth Relations Office in the United Kingdom, and printing will proceed when approval to publish is obtained. Research for the third volume in this series is progressing. B. Popular Series Six numbers in this series have been published, two more are with the printer, and a further seven have been written. Sales are reported to be satisfactory. C. Official History The research for the Army campaign volumes and the writing of narratives have made good progress. As they are completed, sections of these narratives are being sent to the historians, several of whom have begun work on their volumes. The exchange of narratives and information with the other War History Organizations of the British Commonwealth is operating satisfactorily. The prisoner-of-war history is the most advanced and should be published next year.

2—H 22

33