Merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative...¹

The value of public records as a rich source of information and insight for historians is fairly much beyond doubt these days. It is perhaps less clear how valuable such records can be for the historian working at an outdoor museum such as Sovereign Hill, where accuracy of re-creation has always been a high priority.

The Sovereign Hill Museums Association is a not-for-profit, community-based organisation structured as a company limited by guarantee. It is responsible for managing a network of museums whose mission is to:

...present, in a dynamic group of museums, the mining, social, cultural and environmental heritage of the Ballarat region and its impact on Australia's national story.²

One of the major problems with attempting to envisage and create a 'whole' environment (that is, the interior and exterior of a building, and its function) is that the nature of the private records left behind by the people of the gold rush are often incomplete, sometimes vague, and usually lacking in detail. However, over the years, one of the most significant resources for Sovereign Hill's researchers has been the richness and strength of Victoria's public records.

From the museum's earliest days, public records have been used in many of our most important projects to establish accuracy and detail, and to impart meaning and understanding to their function. They have also been a source of wonderful, visual information for historians trying to re-create the life and colour of Victoria's gold rushes. The use of public records, of course, is critical because at Sovereign Hill we are trying to re-create a township which really existed. 'Making it up' is not an option. Almost every building which has been re-created at Sovereign Hill is based on a real building which was present in Ballarat in the decade 1851-1861; the historian's brief at Sovereign Hill is to provide visual, architectural reference for the building, and as much detail as possible about its function. How valuable, then, are public records, and how marvellous it has been when the opportunity has arisen for us to research a building which has been 'on the public record'!

Use of public records at Sovereign Hill goes back to our earliest days, and continues to the newest projects. The list of projects covers a broad spectrum, and in itself is indicative of the range and depth of public records as they define a society:

• the Post Office;
• the Government Camp;
• the Chinese Village;
• the Red Hill National School;
• The Eureka Stockade (Blood on the Southern Cross).

In this article, there is only time to deal with a couple of these projects.

The Government Camp
The Government Camp is an example of Sovereign Hill's use of public records to supply a visual image of buildings. When, in the 1980s, Sovereign Hill was considering the provision of accommodation, on a site adjacent to the outdoor museum, a group of buildings was needed to fulfil this function. The organisation had for a long time been aware that its representation of the colonial administration at Ballarat needed to be developed. The historians went to work, and found that many of the plans for the 1850s Government Camp existed in mint condition at PROV. It was decided to re-create the exterior of the 1857 Government Camp, and build the interior to cater for modern accommodation needs. The buildings which we chose to re-create were designed principally by Henry Bowyer Lane, the Government Architect. They were simple but attractive weatherboard buildings, and the original plans and elevations are still held at PROV.³

Maps, plans and photos drawn from PROV records constituted the research material for the re-creation of the 1857 Government Camp.