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Author: Public Record Office Victoria

Walata tyamateetj [wa-lata  tee-ama-teej], a guide to Victorian government records about Aboriginal people, was awarded a Mander Jones Award for best finding aid to an archival collection at the Australian Society of Archivists annual conference earlier this week. 

The Mander Jones Publication Awards honour Phyllis Mander Jones who, among other contributions to the profession, authored Manuscripts in the British Isles relating to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, in 1972. Miss Mander Jones was also the first Corresponding Secretary of the Archives Section of the Library Association of Australia  and she co-edited the first issue of the Society’s journal Archives and Manuscripts.

Walata tyamateetj was awarded for enabling access to and engagement with Victorian Aboriginal archival collections. 

This publication is a joint guide to Victorian government records about Aboriginal people published by Public Record Office Victoria in association with the National Archives of Australia. The guide includes information about Victoria’s Koorie history through a comprehensive listing of records which can be accessed both in hard copy and electronic formats.

Access to the records in these collections is critical to Aboriginal people, and particularly the Stolen Generations, to enable them to reconnect with family, culture and Country. Records are also important to organisations within Victoria which offer services to members of the Stolen Generations. The guide was created to help reduce the barriers and improve access to records for the Victorian Aboriginal community and general researchers.

More information about the Mander Jones Awards can be found on the Australian Society of Archivists website. 

View, download, or order a free hard copy of Walata tyamateetj here. 

walata tyamateetj means 'carry knowledge' in the Gunditjmara language of western Victoria.  

Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples