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FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETIES INC

 

E-BULLETIN No. 69 – 17 July 2010

 

Hon Editor, Dr Ruth S. Kerr

 

 

 

1)  Engineering heritage protection – Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986

 

2) Electronic distribution of Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers

 

3)  Australian learning and teaching academic standards in history and geography – invitation to attend Academic Standards Update

 

4)  Radio programs recorded on disc for preservation

 

5)  Local history – Peroomba House at Warrawee in Sydney

 

6)  Consider joining the online Australian Historical Societies Support Group

 

 

1)   Engineering heritage protection – Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986

 

One of the members of the TICCH Email Group expressed concern over the operation of the Protection of Movable Cultural heritage Act 1986. He noted that over the past 25 years or so some 114 United Kingdom built Traction Engines, Steam Wagons & Steam Cars out of a total of approximately 200 known to exist have been exported out of Australia, mainly to the UK where there is a booming trade in such collectable items (and who knows how many have been unaccounted for).

 

Many of these were unique survivors out of the total production built not only in Australia, but on a worldwide scale. Especially targeted have been Steam Wagons, Road Locomotives (a large specialised traction engine) and Steam Cars, with the result that these items are now incredibly rare now in the country they were used in.

 

It appears that far too many engines are being assessed by the assessors appointed by Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and The Arts (DEWHA) as not culturally significant. Traction Engines are also being exported in ever increasing numbers - with the Australian Government assessing most as "not significant" items. As the numbers here decline they may eventually be deemed significant.

 

Items such as a Super Sentinel Steam Tractor- the only one of its type in the world, a Leyland Steam Truck, an Atkinson Steam Wagon, Foster Steam Wagon, Gardner Serpoliet Steam Car, Stanley Steam Cars, Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies Steam Wagon,Garrett Steam Wagon and literally dozens of Road Locomotives have now left Australia.

 

The TICCH member advocated that the issue ought to be highlighted with the DEWHA department.


(Source: ticcih-in-oz@googlegroups.com  – 11 June 2010)

 

2)   Electronic distribution of Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers

 

The Joint Committee on Publications has produced the report of its inquiry into the development of a digital repository and electronic distribution of the Parliamentary Papers Series. The report was tabled on Thursday 24 June 2010.

 

Mr Christopher Hayes MP, Member for Werriwa and Government Whip, in his speech to the House of Representatives on 24 June 2010 summarised the findings noting:

 

‘As a result of their overwhelming support for the development of an electronic Parliamentary Paper Series, the committee has made a number of recommendations in this report which will result in the parliamentary departments developing a digital format repository for the PPS to be based in the parliament. Further, the committee has recommended that the repository be implemented in time to coincide with the start of the 2011 PPS. I would like to stress at this point that there is no intention to stop the printed copy of the series.’

 

See the full speech at

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F2010-06-24%2F0060%22

 

Australian Library and Information Association and other organisations had recommended this approach to the committee in their submissions.

 

The approach will significantly improve access by the community to the record of policy making.

 

(Source: aliaaglin@lists.alia.org.au – 25 June 2010)

 

3)   Australian learning and teaching academic standards in history and geography - invitation to attend Academic Standards Update

The Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (ASSH) aspects of the Learning and Teaching Academic Standards (LTAS) project are led by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC Discipline Scholar, Professor Iain Hay, and his Project Officer, Jill Rashleigh (both based at Flinders University). They are working consultatively with academics, students, employers and other stakeholders over 2010 to define the threshold (or core/minimum) learning outcomes for the bachelor level degree (as defined in the draft Australian Qualifications Framework [AQF]) with a major in Geography or History. Demonstrated achievement of these threshold learning outcomes (TLOs) is expected to be one aspect (among others) of TEQSA’s evaluation of Australian universities. The specific ways in which TEQSA will monitor standards will be negotiated separately.

They are now seeking stakeholder comments on the draft threshold learning outcomes for Geography and History. A consultation paper will be available on 30 July 2010 and the closing date for comments will be 30 September 2010.

 

Stakeholders are invited to attend presentations updating progress on the proposed threshold learning outcomes. Presentations will be held during the consultation period as follows:


Sydney                        Wednesday 28 July                University of New South Wales
Adelaide                     Tuesday 3 August                   Flinders University, Victoria Square
Brisbane                      Monday 9 August                   Queensland University of Technology
Melbourne                   Friday 20 August                   Monash University and University of Melbourne
Canberra                      Wednesday 25 August           Australian National University
Perth                             Friday 10 September             University of Notre Dame and Curtin University
Hobart                          Friday 17 September              University of Tasmania
 
Specific time and venue details will be distributed closer to the event.

 

Further information may be obtained from

http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/group/ltas-project-history
http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/group/ltas-project-geography


Contact Details

 

ALTC Project Officer (jill.rashleigh@flinders.edu.au) (Tel (61-8) 8201 7715)

ALTC Discipline Scholar (iain.hay@flinders.edu.au) (Vice-President (President Elect), Institute of Australian Geographers http://www.iag.org.au/)

 

Geography, Population and Environmental Management, School of the Environment,

Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001 (Phone: 61-(0)-8-8201-2386)

 

(Source: Jill Rashleigh, ALTC Project Officer, Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Flinders University, Adelaide – Email – 1 July 2010)

 

4)   Radio programs recorded on disc for preservation

 

The National Film and Sound Archives database at www.nfsa.gov.au has details of how radio programs were recorded on discs for preservation. Some historical societies may have some of these in their collections.

 

In decades past syndicated radio shows were recorded onto discs for playing at various stations by W & G Record Processing Co Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of White and Gillespie (W&G) of Melbourne. W&G Records was the main company for doing this in Melbourne and basically only operated in Victoria. Distributing shows this way apparently continued on into the early 1970s.

 

(Source: aus-archivists@archivists.org.au – 13 July 2010)

 

5)   Local history – Peroomba House at Warrawee in Sydney

 

The New South Wales Minister for Planning, Hon Tony Kelly MP, has intervened to save Peroomba House at Warrawee. It was designed by architect, William Rae Laurie, in the a Cape Dutch style for former high court judge, Sir Victor Windeyer and  Lady Windeyer in 1938. The New South Wales Heritage Council decided in 2009 not to place the house on the State Heritage Register. The owner sought a demolition order from Ku-ring-gai Council who did not have Peroomba on their Local Heritage List. Heritage architect, Clive Lucas, had made representations to the Planning Minister on the rarity of the architectural style and its intactness. The Minister accepted that. Ku-ring-gai Council Mayor stated that the Council will now arrange for the house to be listed on the Ku-ring-gai Council heritage list and nominate it for the State Heritage Register. Ku-ring-gai Council indicated that the demolition proposal had been assessed by a private certifier not the Council. The owner, Georgina McCullagh, has stated that the requirements for protection of heritage values raises a financial burden. She said she did not know of the heritage values when she purchased the house in 2008.


(Source: Sydney Morning Herald 17 June 2010 p.8 including three photos)

 

6)   Consider joining the online Australian Historical Societies Support Group

 

The online Australian Historical Societies Support Group, through an arrangement between the Federation of Australian Historical Societies (FAHS) and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, is one of the My Connected Community (mc2) groups initiated and funded by the Victorian Government’s Connecting Communities policy. 

 

The Australian Historical Societies Support Group offers participating historical societies, like-minded bodies and their members a variety of free, easy to use Web-based services which they can use to communicate with each other across the nation and the world on any topic that is of interest or concern to their organisations.

  

The mc2 website provides easy access to online technologies now available for communicating between group members. Features of mc2 include a forum, an events list, space for sharing files, space for sharing photos, a links page and a chat room.

 

Details on how to join the Group are available at the FAHS website at: http://www.history.org.au.  Follow the “Support” and “Support Group” links from the home page.

 

(Source: FAHS Council)