Alfred Deakin was Australia's second prime minister and held the position three times.

Deakin was also a journalist and wrote anonymous newspaper articles, even while he was Prime Minister, calling himself, ‘The Australian Correspondent’. In these articles he sometimes even criticised himself!

Deakin’s sterling silver writing set dates from 1876 and consists of an inkstand and pen. It was presented to him in 1904 by members of the Commonwealth Press Gallery. For a man who loved the written word it was an appropriate gift.

Alfred Deakin (1856–1919) was Prime Minister of Australia three times: from September 1903 to April 1904, July 1905 to November 1908 and June 1909 to April 1910. Alfred Deakin's inkstand is part of the Alfred Deakin Prime Ministerial Library collection at Deakin University, Geelong.

The Prime Ministers' National Treasures is also available for purchase from the NFSA Online Shop.