These papers consist of 5 metres of Stuart Keate's personal papers which he kept in files at the office or at home. They span the years 1918(?) to his death in 1987. The bulk of the collection dates from 1943 to 1987. The majority of the records are textual records. Other media include 268 photographs, one negative and 14 tape recordings.
The papers cover four main areas of interest. Firstly, they provide background information on policy and editorial decisions made by Keate, his superiors and his staff when he was publisher at the Vancouver Sun, the Victoria Daily Province and Bureau Chief for Time Magazine in Montreal.
Information concerning publishing and editorial decisions can be found in those files of memos and correspondence between Keate and Bruce Hutchison, Max Bell, R .A . Malone, G .N .M . Currie, F .P . Pulbications Limited and Allan Fotheringham and a few other members of The Vancouver Sun staff. These will mainly be found in the Victoria Daily Times and The Vancouver Sun files. There are also some files in Keate's home files. Files of letters and ideas for his book, Paper Boy, which was published in 1980, provide further information on policy and editorial positions as well as much information on newspaper magnate Max Bell about whom he wanted one day to write a book.
Secondly, these papers provide an insight into Keate's wide range of interests, activities and involvement in the community and public affairs particularly in the 1960s and 1970s. There are copies of over 150 speeches written by Keate. There are a series of notes, letters and a report he prepared for the federal government as a neutral mediator in 1966 dealing with the CBC's handling of personnel of the program, "This Hour Has Seven Days." Numerous correspondence files with service, recreational and community groups as well as scrapbooks, tape recordings and photographs of sportsmen and political figures furnish a picture of a man keenly interested in his city, province, and country.
Thirdly, the files cover his experiences as an information officer for the Department of National Defence - Naval Service during the second World War. They consist of correspondence with his wife, with the Department of National Defense Naval Office and a diary written while on board the ship the HMSS Uganda in 1945.
Fourthly, they show Keate, the author, at work. There are a number of drafts as well as correspondence relating to his book, Paper Boy. Various manuscripts in the collection also document his writing activities.