Historian Jenny Hocking has won her High Court bid to access to the letters exchanged between then governor-general Sir John Kerr and the Queen around the time of the dismissal of the Whitlam government.

The National Archives of Australia had refused to release the letters, saying they were private papers.

But Professor Hocking told the High Court correspondence between a governor-general and a monarch was the property of the Commonwealth.

Today's ruling means Professor Hocking will be able to view the letters, which she has long believed hold important information about Australia's history.

Alongside the Queen's letters and copies of the letters sent by Sir John, the National Archives also holds telegrams and attachments like newspaper clippings, exchanged between August 15, 1974 and December 5, 1977.

The material was deposited in 1978, after Sir John left the office, by Sir David Smith, the official secretary to the governor-general.

The letters were due for release 12 years ago, but because they had been marked as "private" correspondence rather than "Commonwealth records", they were not covered by the rules binding Commonwealth documents.

More to come.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-29/high-court-rules-palace-letters-released-historian-jenny-hocking/12299164