This collection comprises of the station records of Glenormiston and Mount Noorat and the personal papers of Niel Black. It includes inward correspondence and outward letter books, personal papers, station journals, stock books, financial accounts, legal papers, architectural drawings and a range of other station records. The collection is arranged into seven series. Series one, two and three comprise of inward correspondence and outward letter books from 1840 to 1884. Series four comprises of correspondence from 1880 to 1938. Series five and six comprise of station records from the 1830s through to 1923. Series seven comprises of the diaries and travel journals of Grace Greenshields Black, Niel Black’s wife.

Series one consists of inward colonial correspondence. It spans the years 1840 through to 1882, which roughly corresponds with Black’s arrival in Australia up until the time of his death. It is organised by decade and alphabetically by sender. Each sender is listed, as well as the number of letters sent, and where possible the location of the sender and the subject of the letter. Both the number of letters and the range of topics in this series is vast, reflecting Black’s proficient letter writing. The subject material of the letters includes things such as general station business, legal matters, cattle, sheep and horses, rabbits and other pests, churches, employment and many of Black’s ongoing arguments as well as his time as a MLC in the Victorian Parliament. Series two consists of inward overseas correspondence. It spans the 1840s through to the 1880s. The majority of correspondence in this series is with Black’s business partners. It includes letters to Black from T. S. Gladstone, from Gladstone and Serjeanstson, from A. S. Finley, and from other overseas correspondents. It also includes letters from T. S. Gladstone to A. Black. Series three consists of outward correspondence from 1840 through to 1884. It includes outward individual correspondence, mostly to Black’s brother and nephew, as well as outward letter books. The letter books are arranged by year and month. Unfortunately many of the letters contained within them are illegible because the ink is badly faded or smudged.

Series four consists of Mount Noorat correspondence from 1880 through to 1938, and covers the years after Black’s death. It is arranged by alphabetically and by year. Some key correspondents are listed in the finding aid as well. Series five and six consist of station records spanning from the 1830s through to 1923. Series five includes general business records, financial records, legal papers, and building plans. Series six includes less definable business records, as well as some of Black’s private papers. Series seven consists of the private papers of Mrs. Grace Greenshields Black (nee Leadbetter). It includes forty-four volumes of her personal diaries, which span the years 1868 to 1907, and travel journals from a tour of Europe in 1852 and a trip to Britain in 1881.