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| News from Public Record Office Victoria |
June/July 2009 |
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rEsearch is a bi-monthly update of Public Access News from PROV ISSN 1449-0323 Copyright © 2009 Public Record Office Victoria |
L-R: Craig Neiman, CEO, City of Greater Bendigo, Jacinta Allan, MP and Justine Heazlewood, Director and Keeper of Public Records.
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1. Bendigo Regional Archives Centre
(BRAC) official opening A partnership between PROV, the City of Greater Bendigo and the Goldfields Library Corporation, the Centre has been established to permanently preserve public, private and business records in their place of origin and make them accessible to the public. Minister Allan said at the launch, ”One of the Centre's key objectives is to ensure important historical documents and permanent public records are retained locally in Bendigo and become more accessible to the public. This in turn will ensure that the community's historical memory is secure and accessible now and into the future." The BRAC collection will continue to grow as public and community records are transferred to the Centre. BRAC Reading Room Visit the BRAC
website for further information.
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Jacinta Allan, MP officially launches BRAC. |
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2. Sir Rupert Hamer Records Management Award winners
announced The awards, named after Sir Rupert Hamer, who was the Victorian Premier when the Public Records Act was passed in 1973, have been offered annually by the Public Records Advisory Council (PRAC) and held by Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) since 1998. Amongst the one hundred and fifty guests at the event were patron Lady April Hamer OAM; Judy Maddigan MP, Member of the Legislative Assembly for the seat of Essendon; Debbie Prout, Director, Records Management Association of Australasia, Victorian Branch; Helen McLaughlin, ASA Convenor, Victorian Branch and Ross Latham, Victorian State Director, National Archives of Australia. Adam Fennessy, Executive Director, Policy and Cabinet, Department of Premier and Cabinet delivered the keynote speech where he expressed his personal interest in record keeping and praised the work of the Victorian government institutions and communities represented at the Hamer Awards. PRAC President Peter Harmsworth who also spoke at the ceremony said, "[The awards] provide an opportunity for record keepers and project teams from across the public sector to be acknowledged for the hard work that goes into ensuring and enabling continuous improvements in the records management function within government. "We are in awe at the dedication and contribution of the various small bands of volunteers dotted across the State in finding a myriad of innovative ways to bring the history of communities alive at the local level." Projects demonstrating excellence and innovation in records management can be nominated for the Hamer Awards in Victorian government agency or community archives categories. Winning nominations for projects from the 2008 calendar year were considered by an Awards Judging Committee consisting of members of PRAC, PROV, the Records Management Association of Australasia and the Australian Society of Archivists Inc. To see which projects won awards or were highly commended, visit the Sir Rupert Hamer Record Management Awards page on PROV's website.
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Keynote speaker Adam Fennessy, DPC.
L-R: Justine Heazlewood, Director and Keeper of Public Records with Alleyne Hockley, Ray Pattle and Ian Hockley from Castlemaine Historical Society and Peter Harmsworth, PRAC President.
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3. An Aboriginal Moomba: 'Out of the Dark' To coincide with NAIDOC Week, the exhibition will open on 14 July and be on display until 31 August before being available for loan to community groups and organisations. An Aboriginal Moomba: 'Out of the Dark' features photographs taken of the 1951 all Indigenous theatrical display of the same name held at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne. The travelling exhibition is based on a 2008 exhibition entitled Making a Show of It, Indigenous Entertainers and Entrepreneurs in 1950s Melbourne. It was developed by City Gallery, Melbourne in partnership with PROV and curated by Virginia Fraser and Destiny Deacon. For further information and bookings, contact the Online Exhibitions Officer on (03) 9348 5600 or email ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au
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Still from a performance of 'An Aboriginal Moomba' at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne between 23-27 June 1951.
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4. 'Chart of 300 Voyages' – a special visit by
scientific experts During his time in Victoria, Neumayer drew up the 'Chart of 300 Voyages from Europe to Australia 1858-1863' (VPRS 4680/P0). Originating from the observatory, the chart is now one of the treasured items held in PROV's collection at the VAC. The chart, as its name suggests, lists information on ships which sailed from Europe to Australia, their route of passage with latitude and longitude locations at various points of the voyages, and the period of time the voyages took. Gathered in Melbourne in May for a three day symposium held in recognition of Neumayer's contribution to the sciences, a number of eminent scientists from Germany and Australia visited PROV for a special viewing of the chart and other records relating to Neumayer and his astronomical studies. They expressed delight in seeing first hand the material relating to the great scientist and are thrilled that the chart is stored safely in PROV’s repository for future generations to view.
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'Chart of 300 Voyages from Europe to Australia 1858-1863'. PROV, VPRS 4680/P0. |
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5. PROV volunteers' voyage of discovery Recently the volunteers indexed the first ship that left for the Boer War. Aptly named the 'Medic', the ship was captained by J Thornton. The 'Medic' set sail on 28 October 1899 and it lists "330 Officers, Non-Com Officers and men, 3 War Correspondents, 190 Horses, 8 Wagons, Fodder and Equipment" on board. Boldly written in red ink at the bottom of the list is "The above comprised contingents of Victorian Mounted Rifles, Victorian Infantry, and Tasmanian Infantry, en route to South Africa for service in the War with the Boers".
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Detail of the 'Medic' passenger list.
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6. Last days to enter the PROV Family History Competition 2009 – are there skeletons in your closet? As part of PROV’s Family History Competition for this year, we want to hear the stories and secrets you've uncovered in the archives while researching your ancestors. Were they convicts, ratbags or scoundrels? Were they reluctant heroes or humble adventurers? What have you discovered lurking in your family's past? In 2000 words or less tell us your ancestors' tales of intrigue, mystery, bravery or scandal that have lain hidden in the archives until now. Prizes will be awarded for submissions that best meet the judging criteria. Entries must be in by 3 July and winners will be announced during Family History Week in August. Refer to the website for judging criteria and conditions of entry. |
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7. Get involved in the PROV Wiki PROV has for the past six months been promoting the new PROV Wiki site as a place where people can link their own stories to PROV records. Nearly 6,000 people have visited with many adding content to the site. The 1956 Melbourne Olympic photos, the Women's Suffrage Petition 1891, and the Ned Kelly sites are the most visited to date with many people adding their own information to the Olympic & Petition sites. The PROV wiki is located at http://wiki.prov.vic.gov.au
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PROV Wiki homepage.
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8. PROV's Mildura road trip Community Archives staff Lauren Bourke and Margaret Sawyers took a three day road trip to Mildura in May to present a talk to over 70 people at the Mildura Carnegie Centre on researching family and local history at PROV. The trip was also an opportunity to call in on some existing Places of Deposit (PODs) in the region and a chance to visit with another five community groups that had expressed interest in joining the POD network. The trip proved to be a resounding success with: Millewa Pioneer & Forest Historical Society; Robinvale – Euston Vintage Machinery Association; Swan Hill Genealogical & Historical Society; and Kerang Historical Society facilities all passing the criteria and due to be appointed as PODs in the near future.
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9. Victorian Community History Awards winners announced The Victorian Community History Awards 2009 winners were announced at a ceremony held at Parliament House on Saturday 16 May. The awards, sponsored by Information Victoria, aim to develop an awareness of community history and excellence within historical research based on Victoria. The winner of the Best Print/Publication category is The place for a village: How Nature has Shaped the City of Melbourne. Author Gary Presland said he referred to records from the Department of Crown Lands and Survey when conducting research for his publication. The place for a village draws on a wide range of historical, scientific and graphic evidence to create a picture of what the physical environments of the Port Phillip area would have looked like at the start of European settlement in part of the 19th century. For information on all winning entries, visit the Community History Awards website.
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10. Reading Room User Survey - have your say! The Bi-annual Reading Room User Survey is now underway. The survey is being conducted online and is accessible on the PROV homepage or by completing a hard copy of the survey in the Reading Room. The survey will finish on Tuesday 30 June 2009. Participants can go into a draw to win a PROV publication of their choice. This survey will help us collect data on how PROV can improve services to the public. This survey will also help us understand who our audience is and the variety of records they access.
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11. VAC building work update As part of a program of building works being conducted at PROV to improve its facilities there will be some disruption to all PROV services. As a result of the building works the Victorian Archives Centre in North Melbourne, including the Reading Room, is now closed on Mondays and Saturdays until February 2010. To bring PROV services into alignment during this time the Ballarat Archives Centre (BAC) is also closed on Mondays until February 2010. BAC, including the Reading Room, is now open on Tuesdays AND Wednesdays (in lieu of Mondays) during this time. Due to the building works, tours of the VAC will not be held between June 2009 and February 2010. This necessary work will ensure that the archival collections of both PROV and the National Archives of Australia stored in the Victorian Archives Centre continue to be preserved in state-of-the-art facilities. On Tuesdays to Fridays PROV will conduct business as usual, including the reading rooms. For Reading Room opening times please refer to the PROV website. We apologise for any inconvenience experienced during these closures. If you have any queries or concerns regarding PROV building works please refer to the building works update page or send us an email.
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12. Access the collection – server upgrade The recent publication of our Wills and Probate Index has greatly increased demand on the PROV website. The website infrastructure was not able to support this increased demand, resulting in a limited number of people being able to use Access the Collection concurrently. To rectify the problem, PROV has installed a new server which is able to keep up with the demands on our website. PROV website users should now find that they will be able to conduct their online research with fewer delays or 'timed out' blank pages, as were being previously experienced.
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13. Records now available from PROV Visit our new records page to view new series that have been added to the online catalogue Access the Collection. The list is updated every two months to coincide with the publication of rEsearch.
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14. Calendar of public events Visit our events calendar for a list of upcoming PROV speaking engagements. Book now!
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15. Feedback If you would like to send feedback and suggestions on the content of this newsletter or if you know someone who would be interested in receiving rEsearch, please email ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au.
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16. About this publication We have included you on our mailing list because you have indicated interest in receiving PROV information. However, if you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please email ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au or phone PROV reception (03) 9348 5600 and we will remove you from our list. Back issues of this publication are also available at http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/publications/
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