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This fonds consists of 754 photographs, 95 postcards, 23 audio reels and 2 audio cassettes, 29 maps and 8.2 meters of textual records created and accumulated by Robert "Bobby" Porritt from the 1920s until his death in 1984. The records include correspondence, Porritt's notes, accounting records, banking records, other business records, records pertaining to the Northwest Territories Legislative Council (consisting primarily of copies), memorabilia, Jock McMeekan's records, a few annual reports and newsletters, some posters and ephemera, newspaper clippings, maps and plans, sound recordings, and photographs. In particular, the records document Porritt's occupational and political activities, his personal interests and his relationships with many friends and family members.

The correspondence, in particular is an excellent record of the economic, social and political aspects of life in Hay River from the late 1940s to the early 1980s. Porritt appears to have maintained intense personal contacts with the majority of the people in the Hay River area, including considerable correspondence with aboriginal hunters and trappers, who had become friends of Porritt. Also well documented is the Fort Resolution community in the 1930s, through correspondence and business records of the Fort Resolution Lumber Company. Since Porritt was Member of the Legislative Council for Mackenzie South, the records include correspondence with various other members of Council (e.g. Commissioner Ben G. Sivertz and John Goodall) and members of parliament. These letters contain discussion about political and bureaucratic issues facing Council before the move of the territorial government to Yellowknife in 1967. Unusually active in local organizations, Porritt's papers contain correspondence on behalf of these organizations. His interest in all aspects of his community, the north, and the world in general, are revealed in the magazines, ephemera, posters and other types of items he collected. The photographs taken and collected by Porritt cover a wide variety of subjects and dates. Photographs of family members, friends, business colleagues, communities and special interests such as aircraft and marine transportation are predominating.

In 1986, the NWT Archives received some 70 linear meters of records of Bobby Porritt, which included newspapers and government publications. Although the records had survived a flood and subsequent repacking, virtually no original order was discernible. Arrangement of series is by type of record, with the correspondence arranged in somewhat more detail than most other series. The photographs were sorted according to several subject categories.

This item is a tape divided into two parts. Part A consists of an oral history interview with Robert Porritt. The interview covers Porritt’s early days, how he came to the NWT, and what life was like at the time. Topics range from liquor laws, early transportation, and the HBC. Other topics included what the early communities were like and what people did for fun, as well as early Yellowknife. There are some false starts at the beginning and some occasional audio issues at the start of the recording. It goes quiet around the 29-minute mark, cutting out in the middle of a sentence, before resuming at 32:17. Total runtime is 1:01:34.

Part B is the second part of an interview of Robert Porritt that picks up where the previous side left off. Topics include early Yellowknife, parties, and the social lives of the time. The final topic is Porritt’s career on the NWT Council, the political life in the NWT when the council was in Ottawa, and the state of the NWT Council in the present day and issues concerning division. The interview is briefly interrupted by someone else knocking on the door. Total runtime is 18:49.

This item is a recording broadcast by CBC concerning the NWT Council, following the second session of the 1964 Council in Frobisher Bay [Iqaluit]. Commissioner Stuart Hodgson and Wilfrid Brown, Deputy Commissioner provides commentary regarding the material discussed by the Council. The remaining councilors, both elected and appointed, including Bobby Porritt, also give their opinions in a roundtable ranging from the budget to housing, and how the Council’s latest session went. The total runtime is about 22:15.

This item is a recording of a phone conversation between Bobby Porritt or a woman named Rosemary regarding a wire she sent him about an issue with a building used as a hotel. The audio abruptly cuts off before shifting to a recorded New Year’s speech by Arthur Laing, as well as greetings from Ernest Cote, Ben Sivertz, Gene Rheaume, and Bobby Porritt. Run time is 17:57.

This item is a recording of several letters dictated by Frank Valley to various people, including Dr. Richard Slobodin (in regards to him attending a Council meeting)., Professor Bruce Trigger of McGill’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology (in regards to McGill’s proposal about a collaboration with Laval for the spring 1966 issue of Anthropologica), and Father Champagne at the Canadian Research Centre for Anthropology, who was on the editorial board for Anthropologica (regarding the joint McGill-Laval issue). Total runtime is about 11:27.