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FEDERATION OF AUSTRALIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETIES INC

 

E-BULLETIN No. 71 – 19 August 2010

 

Hon Editor, Dr Ruth S. Kerr

 

 

 

1) World Heritage Listing of Australian convict sites

 

2) Museums Libraries and Archives Authority, United Kingdom

 

3) Contributions invited for NLA Australian Newspapers service

 

4) Public Record Office of Victoria online indexes

 

5) New South Wales - Volunteer Initiated Museum Small Grants

 

6) Local history - Northern Territory field trip

 

9) Consider joining the online Australian Historical Societies Support Group

 

 

1) World Heritage Listing of Australian convict sites

 

The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia has added the serial nomination of the 11 Australian convict sites to the World Heritage List.

Kingston and Arthur`s Vale Historic Area, Norfolk Island
Old Government House and Domain, Sydney
Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney
Brickendon and Woolmers Estates, Tasmania
Darlington Probation Station, Tasmania
Old Great North Road, New South Wales
Cascades Female Factory, Tasmania
Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania
Coal Mines Historic Site, Tasmania
Cockatoo Island Convict Site, Sydney
Fremantle Prison, Western Australia

For more information, see:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/647
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306

Researching, selecting and nominating these sites has been a very long process and has involved many people across Australia.

The Minister, Hon Peter Garrett MP, announced the listing with a Press Release in his electorate of Kingsford Smith.

(Source: Minister’s Press Release – 1 August 2010 & TICCH List Serve – 7 August 2010)


 

2) Museums Libraries and Archives Authority, United Kingdom

 

The Museums Libraries and Archives Authority (MLA) in the United Kingdom is to be abolished.


In line with commitments set out in the Coalition Agreement the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, has undertaken a review of public bodies within his sector. On 26 July 2010 he announced that the MLA would be wound up and its functions transferred to other organisations by 2012.


The MLA has called for more creative and systematic planning to ensure the public get the most out of the sector. They stated that their prospectus launched in 2010, ‘Sharper Investment for Changing Times', recognises that around three quarters of the £2bn-plus spent on cultural services in England is in the control of local, not central, government.


(Source: http://www.mla.gov.uk/news_and_views/press_releases/2010/mla_gov_announcement
26 July 2010)

 

 

3) Contributions invited for NLA Australian Newspapers service

 

The National Library of Australia is now inviting contributions to its Australian newspapers service.

 

This service provides free online access to digitised Australian newspapers through Trove (trove.nla.gov.au), the national resource discovery service.

 

With 40 million articles from over 100 newspaper titles representing every Australian state and territory scheduled to be in the service by June 2011, Australian newspapers will enable users to explore online an unprecedented quantity and range of Australia's newspaper heritage. From July 2011, the National Library will be implementing a model which enables other institutions, such as historical societies and local libraries, to fund digitisation of specific newspaper titles.

 

The Australian newspapers service is part of the Australian Newspaper Plan (www.nla.gov.au/anplan), a cooperative endeavour through which Australian libraries collect, preserve and provide access to Australian newspapers.

 

For further information about how to contribute to the Australian newspapers service, please see the Contributor Guidelines (http://www.nla.gov.au/ndp/get_involved/documents/ANScontributorguidelines2010final.pdf) and Factsheet (http://www.nla.gov.au/anplan/documents/Benefits_of_ANDP_Model_for_Contributors_000.pdf), or call the National Library on 02 6262 1685.

 

David Ong,
Manager, Australian Newspapers Digitisation Program

Hilary Berthon,
Coordinator, Australian Newspaper Plan

 

(Source: Hilary Berthon, National Library of Australia)

 

 

4) Public Record Office of Victoria online indexes

 

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) has migrated its online indexes as well as its Eureka Stockade and Ned Kelly online exhibitions to new permanent URLs.

 

In one month's time the old URLs will be deactivated and so PROV advises that bookmarks be updated.

 

Ned Online: http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/nedonline
Eureka on Trial: http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/eureka
Indexes: http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/indexes

 

PROV’s contact for any queries is Daniel Wilksch, Coordinator, Digital Projects
T 03 9348 5691 l M 0413 733 298 l F 03 9348 5656 daniel.wilksch@prov.vic.gov.au
Public Record Office Victoria, Victorian Archives Centre, l 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051 http://www.prov.vic.gov.au

 

(Source: aus-archivists@archivists.org.au – 6 August 2010)

 

 

5) Victoria's regional cultural institutions opening their doors to their back-of-house

 

Sunday 17 October 2010

 

Ballarat: Art Gallery of Ballarat and Gold Museum
Bendigo: Golden Dragon Museum and Bendigo Art Gallery - City Museum
Geelong: Geelong Heritage Centre and National Wool Museum

 

See how objects are stored and conserved.
Learn how maps, plans and photos are scanned and preserved.
Talk to curators about managing exhibitions.
See how works of art are managed.
View textiles on displayed and undergoing restoration.
Learn about digitising records for greater public access.

 

Visitors will take a return V/Line train from Southern Cross Station, Spencer Street, Melbourne to the regional centres.

 

Cost: From $70 per person (yum cha lunch in Bendigo, cafe lunch in Ballarat & Geelong)

 

For further information: Contact Steve Stefanopoulos steve.stefanopoulos@loretotoorak.vic.edu.au or (03) 9823 8157

 

To register: Complete a Conference Registration Form:

www.archivists.org.au/sitebuilder/conferenceinfo/knowledge/asset/files/3/asaconferenceregistrationformregular.pdf

 

(Source: Aus-archivists ListServ  – 6 August 2010)

 

 

5) New South Wales - Volunteer Initiated Museum Small Grants

 

Museums and Galleries NSW (M&G NSW) has announced that applications are now open for Round 2 of the Volunteer Initiated Museum (VIM) Small Grants (funding up to $1,500) and Development Project Grants (funding up to $5,000).

 

The first round of Small Grants for 2010 funded 15 volunteer museum projects including the purchase of a computer cataloguing system, purchase of storage and display materials, and production of a promotional brochure. Previous VIM Development Projects Grants have funded strategic and marketing plans, significance assessments, exhibition development, touring exhibitions and public programs.

 

The Guidelines for all VIM Grants can be downloaded from: http://mgnsw.org.au/grants/museum_grants/

 

Applications for both these grant close on Friday 22 October 2010. Please contact Phoebe Arthur, Sector Development Coordinator on 02 9339 9913, free call 1800 114 311 or email phoebea@mgnsw.org.au  to organise an application form.

 

Link Posted with this message

http://mgnsw.org.au/grants/museum_grants/

 

(Source: Vicki Court mc2@vicnet.net.au – 9 August 2010)

 

 

6) Local history - Northern Territory field trip


Field trip to Newcastle Waters Station, Longreach Waterhole and Powell Creek Overland Telegraph Station

 

Meeting at Warlock Ponds, the first site was Gorrie Airstrip, 10kms from Larrimah it supported the largest Army base during WWII.  Named after a Flying Officer killed in action near Menado, Dutch East Indies in 1942.  Further down the track was the memorial to Alexander Forrest who had set out from WA and arrived at the 'Track' at this point.  Overland Telegraph (OT) workmen found the party and brought them to safety as they were suffering severely from thirst.  A visit was made to the old Qantas hangar at Daly Waters, now maintained by the National Trust.  Arriving at Newcastle Waters (named after the Duke of Newcastle by Stuart) we inspected the small township built in the 1930s and again, maintained by the National Trust.  Newcastle Waters is at the end of the stock route from Top Springs through to Queensland and notable stockmen associated with the area were Nat Buchanan, D"Arcy Uhr, Pic Willetts and Ross & Keith Smith refuelled here during their epic journey from England to Australia in 1919.

 

The Longreach waterhole was full of water and the bird life was magnificent.  Barry Leithhead and Robyn McIntyre talked about the research they were doing re Robin's father, Dr Cecil Cook then (the next day) we headed south to the Powell Creek OT station, again listed on the register of the national estate.  The site contained the station, stone and tin accommodation for the stockmen and staff, 3 water tanks, on old stone well and the remains of a mechanical workshop and outstation.  Much crockery and glass and stone tools were laying around with lots of 'Oppenheimer' poles still standing.  Oppenheimer poles were used by the OT Staff to replace the wooden poles, many eaten by termites.

 

(Source: Historical Society of the Northern Territory – August 2010)

 

 

7) 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)