A tale of tension and neglect: state archives in New South Wales 1788-1960.

A tale of tension and neglect: state archives in New South Wales 1788-1960. Explores the administration of archives in New South Wales New South Wales,state (1991 pop. 5,164,549), 309,443 sq mi (801,457 sq km), SE Australia. It is bounded on the E by the Pacific Ocean. Sydney is the capital. The other principal urban centers are Newcastle, Wagga Wagga, Lismore, Wollongong, and Broken Hill. from1788 to 1960, showing how little attention was paid to non-currentpublic records until the opening of the Mitchell Library See Mitchell Library (Australia) for that section of the State Library of New South Wales. The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the public library system of Glasgow, Scotland. in 1910.Political inertia inertia(ĭnûr`shə), in physics, the resistance of a body to any alteration in its state of motion, i.e., the resistance of a body at rest to being set in motion or of a body in motion to any change of speed or change in direction of and conflicting ideas on how archives should bemanaged are examined as well as the influence of historians and the roleof James Bonwick James Bonwick (8 July 1817 – 6 October 1906) was an English-born Australian historical and educational writer. Early lifeBonwick was born at London, the eldest son of James and Mary Ann Bonwick. , Frank Murcott Bladen and Historical records of NewSouth Wales. Traces the tensions in the library profession over theestablishment of a separate public record office and the underlyingunwillingness to support a body which was not part of the Public Libraryof NSW NSWNew South WalesNoun 1. NSW - the agency that provides units to conduct unconventional and counter-guerilla warfareNaval Special Warfare , right up to the passing of the NSW Archives Act in 1960. ********** In a damning indictment of government apathy apathy/ap��a��thy/ (ap��ah-the) lack of feeling or emotion; indifference.apathet��ic ap��a��thyn.Lack of interest, concern, or emotion; indifference. and neglect in mostcountries in the world, Gordon Richardson comments, in a 1951 thesis onthe archives of the New South Wales Colonial Secretary In British government usage, Colonial Secretary had two different meanings: The Secretary of State for the Colonies, the Cabinet minister who headed the Colonial Office, was commonly referred to as the Colonial Secretary. , 'Forcenturies national archives were left to rot in safe custody'. (1)Richardson, who was later Principal Librarian of the Public Library ofNew South Wales (PLNSW, now the State Library of NSW), and PrincipalArchivist ARCHIVIST. One to whose care the archives have been confided. , makes this observation of the lack of action by successivegovernments in NSW from the foundation of the Colony in 1788, until atleast the establishment of the Mitchell Library in 1910. Regrettably this mindset mind��setor mind-setn.1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations.2. An inclination or a habit. permeated NSW Government thinking inrelation to records and archives almost from the founding of the Colonyin 1788 until well into the 20th century. To a great extent governmentparsimony par��si��mo��ny?n.1. Unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess.2. Adoption of the simplest assumption in the formulation of a theory or in the interpretation of data, especially in accordance with the rule of and lack of action in this area persisted long after. Therecords created in the early years of the Colony were certainly notextensive and relatively few have survived. A combination of the beliefthat these records were the personal property of successive earlygovernors, an inability to recognise the importance of officialcorrespondence, a lack of paper and a desire for practical achievementsin the colony conspired to make the collection and preservation ofrecords a very low priority. Nevertheless, the Colonial Secretary wasgiven the appellation ap��pel��la��tion?n.1. A name, title, or designation.2. A protected name under which a wine may be sold, indicating that the grapes used are of a specific kind from a specific district.3. The act of naming. Registrar of the Records as early as 1821. As R.F. Doust, another senior NSW archivist and later State Librarian, noted:'In general what remains of the pre-1826 records is more the resultof chance than of proper record management practices. The exception isthe legal records which were for the most part kept, although too oftenin disarray'. (2) Convict To adjudge an accused person guilty of a crime at the conclusion of a criminal prosecution, or after the entry of a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere. An individual who has been found guilty of a crime and, as a result, is serving a sentence as punishment for the act; records, the raison d'etre rai��son d'����tre?n. pl. rai��sons d'��treReason or justification for existing.[French : raison, reason + de, of, for + ��tre, to be. for the Colony were keptalmost meticulously and survive in reasonably good order to this day. Ina Governor's minute of 10 October 1827, Governor Ralph Darlingstates that 'it appears highly expedient, that the originalindents, and muster rolls of prisoners, should be carefully kept andregistered, in the Secretary's office'. (3) In the 1830s record keeping followed the British pattern with theformal registration of correspondence. This was a great leap forward Great Leap Forward,1957–60, Chinese economic plan aimed at revitalizing all sectors of the economy. Initiated by Mao Zedong, the plan emphasized decentralized, labor-intensive industrialization, typified by the construction of thousands of backyard steel from the rather slapdash methods adopted by previous administrations inNSW. In general records were retained mainly because of inertia. Theywere only considered if they became a nuisance and got in the waybecause of space problems or if a department was re-locating--a familiarsituation today. Another aspect which impinged on record keeping practices duringthis period and well into the twentieth century was the perceived shameof convictism, especially by those who had convict relatives. How thingshave changed today, when it is almost a badge of honour to have aconvict ancestor ANCESTOR, descents. One who has preceded another in a direct line of descent; an ascendant. In the common law, the word is understood as well of the immediate parents, as, of these that are higher; as may appear by the statute 25 Ed. III. De natis ultra mare, and so in the statute of 6 R. . For example in the early years of the twentiethcentury there was much debate about the need to retain the records ofthe convict era because of their shameful shame��ful?adj.1. a. Causing shame; disgraceful.b. Giving offense; indecent.2. Archaic Full of shame; ashamed. nature. Many families in thetop echelons of NSW society did not want to have the records keptbecause of the fear of exposure as having convict ancestors. There wasquite a strong push to have these records destroyed. Fortunately sanity Reasonable understanding; sound mind; possessing mental faculties that are capable of distinguishing right from wrong so as to bear legal responsibility for one's actions. SANITY, med. jur. The state of a person who has a sound understanding; the reverse of insanity. prevailed and the convict records are now considered to be the jewel inthe crown of State Records and were the recipient of a UNESCO UNESCO:see United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. UNESCOin full United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization AustralianMemory of the World citation in 2006. One of two men pivotal to the development of the idea of a publicrecord office or archives in NSW was James Bonwick (1817-1906).Ironically it was in England from the early 1880s than Bonwick made hismark on the archives of Australia in general and on those of NSW inparticular: The first recorded awareness of the value of public archives and of the necessity for their preservation as fundamental source materials for the history of Australia dates from the third quarter of the 19th century when the Centenary of the Colony was approaching. This interest led to the appointment of an archivist in New South Wales in 1887 and to the publication of the History of New South Wales from the records and Historical records of New South Wales. (4) The NSW Government almost stumbled into history matters with theacquisition of the 'Brabourne Papers' in 1884. These papersrelating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accNSW included letters of such early luminaries as Banks,Flinders and Bligh and were finally purchased for 375 [pounds sterling].Bonwick was employed by the NSW government to list and briefly describethese papers. This was the first work of an archival nature that Bonwickdid. (5) During this period Bonwick was angling for a position in NSW and hegave a lecture to the Royal Colonial Institute Colonial Institute may refer to: The Colonial Institute, Brussels, Belgium The Royal Colonial Institute in London, England The Royal Tropical Institute in the Hauge, the Netherlands, originally called the Colonial Institute in London in 1895, wherehe regaled them with 'curious stories of shameful negligence in thepreservation of official documents here and in the colonies'. (6)Bonwick also commented on the negligent way the NSW Government lookedafter its archives in his monograph mon��o��graph?n.A scholarly piece of writing of essay or book length on a specific, often limited subject.tr.v. mon��o��graphed, mon��o��graph��ing, mon��o��graphsTo write a monograph on. The first twenty years TWENTY YEARS. The lapse of twenty years raises a presumption of certain facts, and after such a time, the party against whom the presumption has been raised, will be required to prove a negative to establish his rights. 2. of Australia:'All these precious manuscripts were extracted, in thewriter's presence, from a heap of rubbish and old documents, ladenwith the undisturbed un��dis��turbed?adj.Not disturbed; calm.undisturbedAdjective1. quiet and peaceful: an undisturbed village2. dust of many years'. (7) Bonwick's main interest lay in the preservation of records forposterity POSTERITY, descents. All the descendants of a person in a direct line. and he followed this interest assiduously as��sid��u��ous?adj.1. Constant in application or attention; diligent: an assiduous worker who strove for perfection.See Synonyms at busy.2. even though he wasnot successful in having a public records office created in any of theAustralian Colonies. During the period 1872 to 1891 Bonwick had to callon the good offices of Sir Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes GCMG, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was an Australian politician, also called the "Father of Federation" as part of the catalyst for the Federation of Australia and is at least considered the most prominent among the Australian Founding Fathers. , the NSW Premier, to support andassist him in his endeavours. Clearly Bonwick had a Public Serviceposition in mind when he wrote to Parkes: 'It was as the historianand not the copyist, that I sought to select from the old records of ourColony. I would copy the most important, make a digest of the others,and give a collective report of the whole as the archivist'. (8) InMay 1885 Bonwick wrote privately to Parkes saying: By this mail is sent an application to the Colonial Secretary at Sydney, for permission to act as the archivist in your colony to a small extent. Knowing from Sir Saul [Samuel, NSW Agent General in London], who has little interest in literary matters, that the Govt may need a friend to literature to support my claim, I ask your service. Objections to a general transcription of early records I can understand, as family names and stories may appear, so I seek only to make for your Public Library a list of all the documents in the Record Office here, from 1786 and a short digest of their contents. (9) Sadly for Bonwick, he was never appointed archivist of NSW, howeverhe was the first to raise the profile of archives in the Australiancolonies and he certainly contributed to the belief that the proper careof government archives was the cornerstone of democracy. Not everyonewas impressed with Bonwick's work. A reviewer of volume two ofHistorical records of New South Wales asked rather tartly tart?1?adj. tart��er, tart��est1. Having a sharp pungent taste; sour. See Synonyms at sour.2. Sharp or bitter in tone or meaning; cutting. : Why must we read a quantity of the dreariest public correspondence, all that is hardly the material for history ... The whole thing has been conceived on an excessive scale which neutralizes the talent of the historian and exposes the community to ridicule ... besides the disproportion of the work is melancholy. Four solid tomes bring us only a few years on our way to New South Wales. In four volumes Mommsen has written the history of the majesty of Rome. (10) Nevertheless it was not all brickbats. In the preface to Historicalrecords, Alexander Britten had written: 'But for the active searchmade in London by Mr J Bonwick FRGS FRGS Fellow of the Royal Geographical SocietyFRGS Forges (street type), the early records on New SouthWales would have been little better than a blank, the transcripts thathave been made repair, so far as can be repaired, the loss of earlyColonial records'. (11) In a letter to Parkes in 1891 Bonwick had written: 'I hopesoon to report to you upon the systems adopted in various countries, inrelation to the preservation and utilization of materials constituting arecords office'. (12) But Bonwick was not the first person who hadsuggested the establishment of a record office for government archives.That honour goes to George Burnett Barton, brother of Edmund Barton Sir Edmund Barton, GCMG, QC (18 January 1849 – 7 January 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the first Prime Minister of Australia and a founding justice of the High Court of Australia. ,first Prime Minister of Australia The office of Prime Minister of Australia is, in practice, the most powerful political office in the Commonwealth of Australia. The Prime Minister is the head of government of Australia and holds office on commission from the Governor-General. . G. B. Barton noted that: The records of the Colony for the past hundred years are stored in a large room at the Colonial Secretary's office; but no attempt has been made to ascertain their contents, or even to arrange them so that their contents could be ascertained, by anyone in search of information they are supposed to contain ... the result is that the records, in their present condition, are not available for historical or any other purposes. (13) Archives were invariably in��var��i��a��ble?adj.Not changing or subject to change; constant.in��vari��a��bil stored in a haphazard hap��haz��ard?adj.Dependent upon or characterized by mere chance. See Synonyms at chance.n.Mere chance; fortuity.adv.By chance; casually. arrangement with nospecial premises. When the Garden Palace in Sydney was vacated after theInternational Exhibition of 1879-80, it was thought to be a good idea tostore some State archival material there. Regrettably when the Palaceburned to the ground, these irreplaceable archives, including relics relics,part of the body of a saint or a thing closely connected with the saint in life. In traditional Christian belief they have had great importance, and miracles have often been associated with them. ofthe Eora people, were also destroyed. (In a later period when archiveswere housed in old sheds at Shea's Creek in Sydney it was good luckrather than good management that led to the survival of these records asthey were stored in appalling conditions). In subsequent correspondencewith Parkes, Barton puts forward a proposal for his employment as Keeperof Public Records, but this fell on deaf ears. In 1891 a History Board was appointed to revise the text of theofficial history of NSW, to supervise the Colonial archives collectionand to publish the documents on which it was based. This grew intoHistorical records of New South Wales, edited first by Alexander Brittenand then by Frank Murcott Bladen, who went on to become PrincipalLibrarian at the Public Library of New South Wales in January 1907. Inthat role he was vociferous in his criticism of the lack of a publicrecords office in NSW, stating that: It is a disgrace to Australia as an enlightened nation that there is no place where the original papers bearing on the discovery of the continent; the exploration and settlement of the states; the constitutional history and records of their courts of law and judicial and political institutions can be consulted by the student of history. (14) As Principal Librarian Biaden occupied an influential post to pushfor the establishment of a records office, though despite his bestefforts, nothing tangible occurred during this period. Bladen hadundertaken a visit to Europe in 1902 looking at archives which wouldhave influenced his thinking during this period. The concept of arecords office was once more on the agenda with some very heavy dutysupporters: in this case the Trustees of the PLNSW who were pushing fora separate public records office for their own possibly more selfishreasons. This was the construction of a suitable building not only tohouse the library collections of the State but also the archivalcollections. The opening of the Mitchell Library in March 1910 is a significantmilestone in the history of archives in Australia. For the first time inthe history of the country there was a focal point focal pointn.See focus. for the collectionand studying of Australian history. The librarians of the MitchellLibrary were not at all concerned about purist pur��ist?n.One who practices or urges strict correctness, especially in the use of words.pu��ristic adj. arguments aboutdifferences between books and archives and proceeded down a path ofacquisition and arrangement of official documents that we are livingwith to this day. The next significant event in the history of the archives is thesubmission of a proposal by Professor Mungo MacCallum, President of theTrustees of the PLNSW, advocating the creation of an archives. This wassubmitted to the Government on 20 September 1911. The report states: The object is to establish an archives office in which all public records of a certain age shall ultimately be deposited. At present there are scattered in the premises of the government departments, of the courts, of various trusts, boards, and the like, large accumulations of documents, many of which are known to possess high historical value. In not a few cases these are exposed to great damage from fire, damp, neglect and inadequate housing; in others, they are likely to go astray or pass into private hands; in others they are intentionally destroyed without due examination; either because they are in the way or for some other reason. Even when they are satisfactorily stored they are often entirely inaccessible, or accessible only after great trouble, to the legitimate researcher; and in certain instances their contents are quite unknown. It is proposed that these documents should be (1) collected and housed under one roof; (2) placed in a building safe from accidents of fire and weather and under responsible and intelligent supervision; (3) arranged and catalogued and under due safeguards, brought within the reach of those who would use them aright. (15) As previously mentioned the report had the ulterior motive a motive, object or aim beyond that which is avowed.See also: Ulterior ofsecuring more accommodation for the Library, however, it did provide apractical and pragmatic solution to a neglected area of governmentactivity, the storage of State archives. Regrettably, like so manygovernment reports, it was noted, referred to a subcommittee and notacted on. Bladen, who had certainly tried to put archives on theGovernment's agenda, had been ill for some time and retired inJanuary 1912. He died in September of the same year. He was succeeded byW. H. Ifould, who remained in charge of the PLNSW until 1942. Ifouldquickly understood the potential for conflict over the final dispositionof archives, between the Library, controlled by a Board of Trustees, andthe Government, who regarded such control as shifting responsibilityaway from the Government. This was something that many in the NSW PublicService and the Government were most unwilling to do. In a report to theTrustees in July 1914 Ifould wrote: I feel confident that responsible government officials would always oppose the idea of control by Trustees and especially by Trustees whose trusteeship for the Library and buildings would suggest an alienation of documents which theoretically should never leave the possession of the government. (16) This tension between the Government, the public service and thePLNSW and its Trustees runs like a thread through the history ofarchives in NSW, right up to the establishment of the Archives Authorityof NSW in 1961. The Government did not trust the Library to look afterits documents, but was consistently unwilling to take properresponsibility for its own archives. At the height of World War IWilliam Dixson, later knighted and destined des��tine?tr.v. des��tined, des��tin��ing, des��tines1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic.2. to become the second greatbenefactor ben��e��fac��tor?n.One that gives aid, especially financial aid.[Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin benefacere, to do a service; see benefaction. of the PLNSW, wrote a compelling letter to the ColonialSecretary, advocating the establishment of a separate archivesdepartment. According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. Doust: The Trustees undoubtedly saw the establishment of an archives office as a means towards completing their building, they never seem to have understood the special nature of archives; they saw them as a class of historical manuscripts which although to be kept separate from the other manuscripts in the Mitchell collection could well be in the same building ... It is vastly to the credit of both Trustees and their Principal Librarian that neither ever seemed to have envisaged anything but a clear and quite uncompromising separation of public archives from private documents, however they may be housed or administered. (17) During this period the establishment of a public records office inNSW was not a very high priority of the Government's agenda. WorldWar I was at its height and other more important matters were occupyingnot only the Government, but the whole Australian nation. Nevertheless,in April 1917, the Premier's Department suggested to the Ministerfor Public Instruction that the sum of 1000 [pounds sterling] be notedfor consideration in the next estimates for the express purpose ofestablishing an archives department. Regrettably the Minister refused onthe grounds of financial stringency, the amount was removed from theestimates and the idea of an archives office languished for anotherforty years or so. Ifould, seeing that this avenue was closed to him, tried to extendthe existing programme, which Doust rightly calls the 'creation ofan archives through administrative action'. (18) This system hadbeen established as early as 1910 when government departments wererequested to refer documents intended for disposal to the PrincipalLibrarian of the PLNSW, who would evaluate them for their historicalsignificance. This system operated in a partially effective fashion formany years. Large quantities of public records went out of official custody into the care of the Library, which certainly was not another department, nor empowered by legislation to receive the records. The creation of a de facto archives in this way may be thought by purists to be a negation in terms: the 'archive quality' of the records might be said to have been destroyed or impaired, although it would be straining a point to say that the records had become estrays. Against this must be weighed the fact that the records or substantial quantities of them, were preserved when otherwise they would certainly have been destroyed and it was by means of the Premier's instructions that their partial preservation was ensured. (19) It is worth quoting at some length from the request for the depositof documents from the Department of Public Instruction dated 18 August1910: I am directed by the Minister of Public Instruction to acquaint you that the Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales have represented to the Government that documents valuable only from the historical point of view are at present buried away in various government departments where they are inaccessible to the student, exposed to neglect, and in some cases likely to be destroyed. In Great Britain itself, such papers, after the expiry of twenty years, are handed over to the authorities of the Records Office. It further appears to the Trustees that this function might in part be usefully undertaken by the Mitchell Library as the chief repository of material dealing with the history of Australia. The Cabinet have now approved of a recommendation made by the Trustees that accredited representatives of the various Departments should be authorised to confer with the Principal Librarian and the Mitchell Librarian in regard to such papers, of the age of 25 years or more, as are not of current use in the particular departments, and to hand over to the Mitchell Library those of them that the Librarians consider to be of historical value. The Cabinet, however, makes the proviso that 1) all records dealing with the antecedents of early settlers should be excluded from consideration; and 2) the consent of the Minister of the Department concerned shall be obtained before any search is made or documents removed to the Library. (20) These requests were issued irregularly until the late 1950s by thePremier's Department and by the Public Service Board. Over theyears these requests and directives did have a positive effect on thegrowth of the State's archives so that by 1961 there wereapproximately 2500 metres of archives held in the Library whichotherwise would not have been there. Key departments such as theDepartment of Lands, Chief Secretary's Department and the SupremeCourt were represented. Shamefully shame��ful?adj.1. a. Causing shame; disgraceful.b. Giving offense; indecent.2. Archaic Full of shame; ashamed. there was also considerabledestruction of records and some departments are very poorly representedin the archives. Destruction often occurred in crisis situations causedby moves, administrative change and lack of storage space for archivalmaterials. Despite all these apparent setbacks, the Archives Authoritynoted in its first annual report in 1961 that it 'was pleased tofind that although there had been no previous statutory authority, asound foundation had been established for the control and management ofState archives'. (21) In the same report, the Authority alsostated: Without previous statutory authority the preservation of public archives had hitherto necessarily been somewhat haphazard, while many records of importance had been inadvertently destroyed or had been allowed to decay through inadequate care; some archives had been allowed to go into private hands and even to leave the State. (22) While this was not an ideal method of building an archival recordof State Government activity, it was the only system in place and it didensure that at least some of the State's archival heritage wassaved, as Doust observes: The 'de facto' State archives which the Trustees of the Public Library so carefully nurtured for fifty years could not have functioned and did not function as effectively as it might have done, had there been any way of ensuring that the instructions to departments concerning the disposal of their unwanted records would always be complied with. (23) He goes on to observe that librarians were not aware or as fullytrained in archival matters as they should have been: By their training and experience the librarians were accustomed to dealing with discrete items which could be handled by ordinary techniques of librarianship; and not unreasonably, they had no experience of the research value of complete archival series of records as distinct from the particular uses of individual items within a series. They tended therefore, to request only particular items of special interest, with consequent loss of completeness of the record, and this 'jewel box' approach was further reflected in the treatment accorded to records when they were handed over to the Library. (24) The 1910 NSW Premier's Directive started a tradition that haslasted until this day in a variety of manifestations, whereby agenciesare reminded of their responsibilities in relation to archives atirregular intervals. Though it took the passing of the State Records Act1998 to create a fully rounded regime that covered record keeping fromcreation to archiving or destruction. During the 1930s significant transfers of records took place fromthe Chief (formerly Colonial) Secretary's Department, Supreme Courtand from the Department of Public Instruction. From a purely archivalperspective the transfer of Government archives to the Library was not asatisfactory arrangement, in that the 'ownership' of thearchives passed from the State of NSW to that of the Trustees of thePLNSW, a point a number of departments made from time to time over theyears. Nevertheless, on a purely practical basis the deposit of Governmentarchives in the Mitchell Library did ensure their long termpreservation. Without the initiatives taken by Bladen, Ifould andsubsequent State Librarians right up to the 1950s, the State of NSWwould be far poorer in its archival heritage, despite the fact that muchwas lost because of the rather subjective nature of deciding in eachdepartment what was, and was not, of historical significance. Anotherfactor that helped in the retention of official archives was theinherent inertia of the public service and the unwillingness to discardfiles, especially when there was sufficient room for storage. The great weakness of this system of collecting archives was its random andad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. nature, the reliance on untrained staff in departments to makekey decisions about the disposition of the archives and the lack ofarchives trained staff in the Mitchell Library to arrange and describeGovernment archives. Since the 1930s there had been some agitation by bodies outside ofgovernment for the establishment of a proper public records office alongthe lines of the Public Records Office in Britain, most notably by theRoyal Australian Historical Society The Royal Australian Historical Society is a voluntary organisation founded in Sydney, Australia in 1901 to encourage Australians to understand more about their history. It has a membership throughout Australia and all its activities and facilities are funded by contributions from (RAHS RAHS Royal Australian Historical SocietyRAHS Roseville Area High School (Roseville, Minnesota)RAHS Rio Americano High SchoolRAHS Regional Animal Health ServiceRAHS Ramstein American High School (Ramstein, Germany)). This was especially the casein 1938, around the time of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary ofthe establishment of the Colony of NSW and the mounting of an exhibitionby the RAHS to commemorate that event. This brought into sharp focus thelack of a proper Government archives in NSW. There was even somediscussion of the RAHS taking on this role itself, in a rather fancifulway through the establishment of a permanent historical museum. This wasfollowing a model that had been established in the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. wherelocal historical societies became responsible for their State'sarchives and were funded accordingly. However, not everyone was of thesame opinion in relation to the RAHS or to the Mitchell Library and H.J. Rumsey President of the Society of Australian Genealogists wrote, ina letter dated 3 February 1938 to the editor of the Sydney morningherald: I was delighted to hear Mr Stevens [B. S. B. Stevens, Premier of NSW] express, at the Historical Exhibition, his opinion of the need for a public records office, where official records that may later be of value for historical or genealogical purposes may be stored and indexed. I was surprised however, to hear Mr Justice Evatt the next day declare that the Mitchell Library was quite sufficient for the purpose. While no one could have a higher opinion of the Mitchell in its own sphere than I have, I do not think that it would take the place of a Public Records Office. Having spent many weeks among the documents of the Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, and being familiar with the Mitchell and its treasures, I cannot imagine the Trustees of the Mitchell storing and indexing the many thousands of public documents that should be saved from destruction. (25) Meanwhile at the Library the Trustees were still of the opinionthat the Mitchell Library should be considered the de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually.This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. statearchives department. As in the past the Library was more concerned withthe completion of library buildings rather than the disposition of theState's archives. This was not at all unusual in Australia duringthis period, with many states adopting a similar system to NSW of defacto government archives housed within the State Libraries. However, atthis point, world events overtook o��ver��took?v.Past tense of overtake. this eternally simmering archivaldebate with the outbreak of war in September 1939. Once more thearchives were placed on the back burner Noun 1. back burner - reduced priority; "dozens of cases were put on the back burner"precedence, precedency, priority - status established in order of importance or urgency; "... , to be ignored until the War wasover in 1945. Nevertheless, it is a regrettable fact that during the Wara great amount of potentially valuable archival material was recycled byzealous government departments for the war effort. Though slightly out of chronological order here, the visit of Dr T.R. Schellenberg, Director of Archival Management at the NationalArchives in Washington, DC, was a significant milestone. Schellenbergproved to be a consummate salesperson in relation to archives and hisvisit started a trend that led to the gradual separation of librariesand archives in Australia. Increasingly government archives wereacknowledged as being separate, distinct and requiring specialtreatment. This was a great conceptual leap forward in the waygovernment archives would be dealt with from this point on. According toDoust: 'It was the sound practices evolved, on good theoreticalgrounds, by this Department of the Library, which laid the foundationsof the work of the Archives Office of New South Wales'. (26) In 1955 Marjorie Jacobs of the University of Sydney The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. It is a member of Australia's "Group of Eight" Australian universities that are highly ranked in terms of their research performance. , a notedacademic historian, experienced archives user and commentator on recordsand archival matters, wrote: Experience in New South Wales suggests that the abandonment of the practice of asking departmental officers to assess the historical value of materials has much to commend it. In the past instructions to departments to transmit to the Mitchell Library material of 'historical importance' led to the destruction of valuable records, simply because their importance was not obvious to an officer who had no knowledge of the methods of historical research. If the practice of permitting departments to destroy records is developed in Australia, both local experience and the Committee's investigations in Britain suggest that an historical assessment of the older records which have now accumulated should be made and that they should be disposed of only by experienced archivists. (27) This problem was not a new one, but Jacobs' article broughtinto sharp focus the increasingly difficult problems faced by governmentdepartments as to what was considered an historical record, what to keepand what to discard. Doust also comments on the mindset of librarians inthe organisation of archival materials noting that 'the mistakemade by librarians was in thinking that their indexing methods could beapplied to archival materials generally'. (28) Jacobs had gone onto say: Australian archives have perhaps, reached the point where the desirability of relieving the libraries of the burden of their selection and custody must be reviewed and consideration given to determine procedures for their disposal and assign the responsibility for records management and archives administration to officers directly responsible to the Prime Minister and the Premiers. (29) In essence the battle lines Battle Lines may refer to: "Battle Lines" (DS9 episode), first season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Battle Lines (novel), Star Trek: Voyager novel See alsoBattleline Publications Line of battle were drawn between the forcessupporting the status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. , which on the positive side had saved many anarchive from destruction, but on the negative side had led to ahaphazard growth of government archives in NSW. These archives werestored in a library which applied the techniques of librarians,preferring a subject and indexing approach to the arrangement of thesearchives rather than that of archivists who rightly favoured that theState's archives be maintained in their original order as createdin each department. After World War II there was a massive growth in the NSW publicservice as more and more services were demanded of government by thegeneral public. This placed greater pressure on accommodation andstorage of records. The NSW Public Service Board which had beenestablished in 1895 played a pivotal role in the overall control of thepublic service, including accommodation. In the 1950s and 1960s thequestion of unnecessary storage of Government records was once more onthe agenda. The Board, ever keen for economy, turned its attention tothe advocacy of centralised Adj. 1. centralised - drawn toward a center or brought under the control of a central authority; "centralized control of emergency relief efforts"; "centralized government"centralized storage for Government records. Two ratherinappropriate locations in George Street, Sydney and at GoldsboroughHouse at Circular Quay QUAY, estates. A wharf at which to load or land goods, sometimes spelled key. 2. In its enlarged sense the word quay, means the whole space between the first row of houses of a city, and the sea or river 5 L. R. 152, 215. had been approved, but according to PhyllisMander Jones, the then Mitchell Librarian, Goldsborough House was a firetrap and quite inadequate for the proper storage of Government archives.The Government and the Board were keen to remove unwanted records fromcity storage to cheaper storage in the suburbs, but continually chosesubstandard substandard,adj below an acceptable level of performance. and inappropriate locations and facilities for the recordsstorage. In 1951 a committee was established by the Public Service Boardto look at the whole question of records storage. It recommended: That departmental records be reviewed, inventoried and classified either for disposal or retention. That the inventories of records prepared by departments be examined by a Records Committee for each department consisting of representatives of the Public Service Board, the Public Library and the department, and the records committee make appropriate recommendations on the disposal of the records, including an assessment of storage space required. That a State Records Repository be established. That disposal action, including the management of the proposed repository be under the control of the Principal Librarian. (30) Inevitably the question of the storage of records and archives wasanchored firmly at the bottom of any list of government priorities, ashad been the case from the very earliest days of the Colony. It wasclear that the storage at Goldsborough House was most inadequate, butthe proposal to move records to Shea's Creek was greeted with somedismay by the Principal Librarian of the PLNSW, John Metcalfe This article is about the British musician and composer. For the British science fiction and horror writer, see John Metcalfe (writer). John Metcalfe . He notedthat the building was very rough, it was situated close to otherbuildings which had been used as wool stores and had over the years,become saturated with highly inflammable in��flam��ma��ble?adj.1. Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; flammable. See Usage Note at flammable.2. Quickly or easily aroused to strong emotion; excitable. lanolin lanolin,greasy, yellow substance extracted from wool. When purified, it is used as a base for ointments and creams, as a lubricant, and in finishing and preserving leather. It is also a constituent of some varnishes and paints. . Hardly the place forthe storage of the State's archives! In July 1953 Metcalfe presented a major report on the archives tohis Trustees. The report outlined developments with archives in theLibrary and called upon the Trustees to 'reconsider and re-affirmtheir policy as the controlling body of an Institution which has becomein fact the repository for the archives of the State of NSW'.Metcalfe clearly wanted to entrench en��trench? also in��trenchv. en��trenched, en��trench��ing, en��trench��esv.tr.1. To provide with a trench, especially for the purpose of fortifying or defending.2. the Library's control over thearchives and the report was accepted by the Trustees. (31) A major event in the history of the archives in NSW came inNovember 1953 with the establishment of an Archives Department at thePLNSW. Most significantly it was independent of the Mitchell Library.Allan Horton, who later became University Librarian at the University ofNew South Wales The University of New South Wales, also known as UNSW or colloquially as New South, is a university situated in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. , was appointed to the position and reported to thePrincipal Librarian. From an administrative viewpoint the new ArchivesDepartment operated within the Library but was responsible to the PublicService Board. The reason for the existence of this Department wasprimarily for the storage and care of archives, semi active and noncurrent records. The separation of control of archives from the Mitchell Library initself is a significant milestone in the history of archives in generaland in NSW in particular. The debate over the control of archives bylibrarians had been aired in the Sydney morning herald and the Journalof public administration. In the 1950s Jim Gibbney indicated that'He resented the subordination of archivists to librarians and sawMiss Mander Jones, Mitchell Librarian, in the Public Library of NewSouth Wales, as a prominent member of the enemy camp'. (32) Gibbney was not the only archivist who resented the control of thearchives by librarians in Australia and Schellenberg's visit hadbrought this issue to a head, though during his visit he had to be quitetactful tact��ful?adj.Possessing or exhibiting tact; considerate and discreet: a tactful person; a tactful remark.tact as his host was the Commonwealth National Library. In many waysSchellenberg's visit was a call to arms ! a summons to war or battle.See also: Arms for Australian archivistsas he recognised the divide and distinction between librarians andarchivists and the work they do. Schellenberg also encouraged Australianarchivists to start their own professional journal and to begin acooperative descriptive project. Librarians and archivists had treatedeach other with civility, but throughout the history of the detachmentof the archives from the control of the State and Commonwealthlibraries, there had always been strong tensions and undertones ofdissatisfaction, especially from those in the archives camp. This wasalso apparent with the Library Association of Australia requiringlibrary qualifications for professional membership and not admittingexperienced archivists as members. This naturally rankled with thearchivists. This underlying tension persisted right up to and beyond theestablishment of the Archives Authority of NSW and persisted in minorways for many years. In 1954 the Commonwealth National Library Archives Division held aseminar on archives in Australia. Questions dealt with included suchweighty topics as the authority accorded to the archivist and theessential features of archival legislation. The seminar did come up withrecommendations for archives legislation and a draft Archives Bill forNSW was prepared by Allan Horton. He drew on the recommendations of theseminar, which was also attended by Schellenberg, as a basis for thedraft. According to Doust: Schellenberg's visit to Australia was important in crystallizing points of view and in informing Australian archivists of modern overseas practice, especially in North America. It spurred on those who had been working towards archival legislation in New South Wales. It accelerated proper provision for archives; but it did not do more than give impetus to momentum which had been gathering speed over the years and which by 1954 could not have been stopped. (33) In 1955 the NSW Minister for Education, R. J. Heffron commented:'I would be very happy to see an Archives Act on the statute booksof this State ... I suggest that Mr Metcalfe lets me have, on theTrustees behalf, whatever he thinks might be useful for a Cabinet Minuteand a draft bill'. (34) However, the draft bill took another sixyears before it became legislation. From 1955 until the Archives Act was assented to on 17 November1960 there were many behind the scenes machinations. One camp was keenthat the archives be completely separated from the PLNSW. The other, ledby Metcalfe, would have preferred that the Library retain control.Jacobs has recently thrown new light on the jockeying for positionbetween the Library and the Archives. She credits Dr Harold Wyndham withthe insight, foresight and intelligence to realise that the days ofarchives being the appendages of libraries were well and truly over.(35) Remarkably for archives this topic of discussion spilled over intothe pages of the Sydney morning herald and the Sydney Daily telegraph.On 13 November 1956 the Telegraph reported that the government was toform an Archives Department and that the Department would preservehistorical public documents and receive documents that Governmentdepartments no longer required. In the following year the Sydney morningherald was much more critical of the Government, taking it to task overthe Archives Bill: It would be pleasant if one could welcome the Government's Archives Bill unreservedly. After nearly 60 years of neglect of state records it is encouraging to see the Government tackling this matter at last and appointing the first State Archivist in New South Wales history ... the invaluable historical records in this State have never been properly looked after. Fortunately, the wonderful, if somewhat chaotic Mitchell collection of public records and private papers went some way to make up this neglect ... It is for that reason, no doubt, that the Government has now decided to perpetuate this arrangement by handing over all its State records to the Public Library and making the Principal Librarian, State archivist. This may seem a natural development, but is it really wise? In all civilized states in Europe and America it is now recognised that it is better to keep archives separated from libraries. The care and collection of records needs special skills which the librarian cannot be expected to have. (36) The RAHS weighed into the debate indicating that it too was fullysupportive of the separation of any Government archives function fromthe control of librarians at the Mitchell Library. Clearly a newperception on the importance of the State's archival heritage wasdawning and the days of selecting items based on historical importance,the jewel box approach to archival management, were drawing to a close.Richardson, then Principal Librarian, threw his weight behind thelegislation but still tried to ensure that the PLNSW retained control ofthe archives. Richardson stated in a letter to the Minister of Educationon 4 September 1959: The reasons for this urgent need for archival legislation in New South Wales can be summarised as follows: (a) To legalise the present 'de facto' State archives so that its custody of public records is a recognized legal fact; (b) To give the archival authority the legal power to prevent the unauthorised destruction of public records; (c) To enable those departments and authorities who have the legal obligation of permanent custody to transfer records for safe preservation, to release valuable office space, and for use by properly authorised research workers and to clear up legal doubts in general; (d) The whole concept of 'public records' should be based on the premise that such records are public property, the property of the sum of all the citizens who collectively constitute the State. Only by proper archival legislation can such records effectively be made public records in fact as well as in name. (37) Clearly in point (a) Richardson was tilting the debate in favour ofthe Library to ensure it retained control. However, the government wasmore influenced by the arguments of Wyndham, the head of the Departmentof Education, and Jacobs. Both had worked behind the scenes for theestablishment of a separate and independent government archival agencythat was not under the control of the Trustees of the PLNSW. AnEducation Department minute of 16 February 1960 was possibly the lastnail in the coffin for the continued control of Government archives bythe Trustees. The minute strongly supports the establishment of aseparate archives entity: It is considered that it would be a regrettable error to vest in one part time body such as the Trustees of the Public Library the added responsibility of establishing and maintaining State archives ... a function which deserves nothing less than a single purposeful thought of a separate part time body ... It is felt that the Trustees of the Public Library by their composition are ill equipped to attract without difficulty, the cooperation of other independent authorities which are very jealous of their traditions and standing. (38) Even so, the Archives Act proved to be a very weak piece ofarchival legislation and certainly did no favours for the newlyestablished Archives Authority. NSW had to wait until the passing of theState Records Act in 1998 before a comprehensive piece of legislationrelating to records and archives was in place. On 21 September 1960 the Daily telegraph reported the StateGovernment would establish an Archives Authority, chaired by a judge,but as it happened the first Chairman of the Authority was actuallyHarold Wyndham. (39) The Act was proclaimed in July 1961 and for thesake of continuity Richardson, Principal Librarian was appointedPrincipal Archivist. This had the effect of diffusing any concerns theTrustees of the Public Library may have had, but clearly placed the newAuthority well out of their control. It must be noted that it was 1976with the appointment of Ian Maclean to the position of PrincipalArchivist, that the apron apron,n a piece of clothing worn in front of the body for protection.apron band,n a labioincisal or gingival extension of an orthodontic band that aids in retention of the band and in proper positioning of the bracket. strings were finally severed sev��er?v. sev��ered, sev��er��ing, sev��ersv.tr.1. To set or keep apart; divide or separate.2. To cut off (a part) from a whole.3. . As Doustdescribes the proclamation An act that formally declares to the general public that the government has acted in a particular way. A written or printed document issued by a superior government executive, such as the president or governor, which sets out such a declaration by the government. of the Archives Act: The hopes and expectations of fifty years had at last been realised: legislation was in being to provide for the proper custody and control of the State archives, suitable accommodation was assured, and most importantly, there was promise of proper financial provision. (40) The debate continues on the true meaning of 'proper financialprovision'. However, the archives-library relationship has maturedsince these early days of rancour and testiness. Having grown out of thesame institution, there is a continuing and abiding level of goodwilland respect between the State Library of NSW and State Records NSW. Notes (1) Gordon Richardson, The archives of the Colonial Secretary1788-1856, MA thesis, University of Sydney, 1951. The authoracknowledges the work of Gordon Richardson, and of Russell Doust,footnoted next, on whose theses he has drawn in the writing of thispaper. (2) Russell Doust, The administration of official archives in NewSouth Wales, 1870-1960, MLib thesis, University of NSW, 1969, p. 24. (3) Ralph Darling, Governor's minute no 81, 10 October 1827,State Records NSW, NRS NRS Nevada Revised StatutesNRS National Runaway Switchboard (Chicago, IL)NRS Natural Reserve System (University of California)NRS National Readership SurveyNRS National Relay Service 906 [4/991]. (4) Archives Authority of New South Wales, Annual Report, 1961, pp.1-2. (5) The papers are all now available on the State Library of NewSouth Wales The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place.The public library started as the 'Australian Subscription Library' in 1826. web site www.sl.nsw.gov.au/banks. (6) James Bonwick, 'The writing of colonial history: anabstract of a paper delivered to the Royal Colonial Institute, 26 March1895', Royal Colonial Institute proceedings, vol. 26, 1894-5, pp.270-272. (7) James Bonwick, The first twenty years of Australia, London,Melbourne and Sydney, Sampson Low, 1882, p. v. (8) Bonwick to Parkes, 16 January 1884, Mitchell Library, StateLibrary of NSW, Parkes correspondence, A9, p. 51. (9) Bonwick to Parkes, 8 May 1885, Mitchell Library, State Libraryof NSW, Parkes Correspondence, vol. 2, A872, p. 363. (10) Sydney morning herald, 20 January 1894, p. 4. (11) Historical records of New South Wales, Sydney, GovernmentPrinter, vol. 1, part 1, p. xi. (12) Bonwick to Parkes, 2 November 1891, Mitchell Library, StateLibrary of NSW, Parkes Correspondence. (13) Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW, Parkes Correspondence,vol. 6, A876, p. 39. (14) F. M. Bladen, Manuscript notebook on archives, MitchellLibrary, State Library of NSW, C710, p. 12. (15) PLNSW Trustees to Attorney General, 20 September 1911, Reporton the establishment of an archives office. (16) PLNSW, Report by me Principal Librarian to the Trustees, 16July 1914. (17) Doust, Administration of official archives in New South Wales,p. 83. (18) Ibid., p. 89. (19) Ibid., p. 91. (20) Quoted in Doust, Administration of official archives in NewSouth Wales, p. 93. (21) Archives Authority of New South Wales, Annual Report, 1961, p.2. (22) Ibid., p. 3. (23) Doust. Administration of official archives in New South Wales,p 98. (24) Ibid., p. 99. (25) Sydney morning herald, 7 February 1938, p. 6. (26) Doust, Administration of official Archives in New South Wales,p. 108. (27) Marjorie Jacobs, 'A new approach to departmentalrecords', Public administration, June 1955, p. 121. (28) Doust, Administration of official Archives in New South Wales,p. 126. (29) Jacobs, 'A new approach to departmental records',pp. 122-123. (30) Public Service Board, 52/14770. (31) PLNSW Trustees Minutes, 'Archives', 27 July 1953,State Library of New South Wales records. (32) H. J. Gibbney, 'Illusory Enemy', Archives andmanuscripts, 14 May 1986, pp. 33-34. (33) Doust, Administration of Official Archives in New South Wales,p.150. (34) Education Department, Report of deputation, 8 August 1955,67/08362. (35) Marjorie Jacobs, 'Lobbyists for the Archives: somereminiscences', Record, University of Sydney Archives, 2006, pp.7-14. (36) Sydney morning herald, 2 August 1957, p. 2. (37) Principal Librarian to Minister for Education, 4 September1959, Education Department, 59/622/60748. (38) Education Department, Minute dated 16 February 1960,59/622/60746. (39) Daily telegraph [Sydney], 21 September 1960, p. 2. (40) Doust, Administration of official Archives in New South Wales,p. 190. Alan Ventress is Associate Director at the State Records Authorityof New South Wales. He first worked as a librarian at the University ofNSW and became Collection Development Librarian at the State Library ofNSW in 1987 and Mitchell Librarian in 1993. Active in the RoyalAustralian Historical Society, the NSW Working Party of the Australiandictionary of biography, the Henry Parkes Foundation and the NSWGeographical Names Board, his services have been recognised with aCentenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government. and Life Membership of the History Council of NSW. Aformer editor of LASIE LASIE Louisiana Association of Self Insured Employers (Library automated systems information exchange),his most recent publication is a chapter in Bridging Sydney, publishedin 2006 to accompany the Museum of Sydney The Museum of Sydney is built on the ruins of the house of Australia's first governor-general, Governor Phillip on the present-day corner of Phillip and Bridge Streets, Sydney. exhibition of the same name.Alan may Alan Randy May (born January 14, 1965 in Barrhead, Alberta) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player.May began his NHL career when he was signed as a free agent by the Boston Bruins, although he would spend most of his time in the minors. be contacted at: adcity@records.nsw.gov.au