ANNUAL REPORT2007/2008The 2007/08 Committee of the History Council of WA was as follows: Dr Sue Graham-Taylor (President); Dr Jean Chetkovich (Vice President); Ms Moira Mulligan (Secretary); Mr Robert Mitchell (Treasurer) and Committee Members: Mr Glen Bennett, Ms Jennie Carter, Ms Dianne Davidson, Associate Professor Jenny Gregory, Dr Bill Leadbetter, Dr Bobbie Oliver, Ms Ruth Marchant James, Ms Felicity Morel-Ednie-Brown, Mr Richard Spence, Ms Merredith Southee, Mr Glen Stasiuk, Ms Lise Summers and Ms Aileen Walsh. During the year the resignation of Mr Richard Spence was accepted with regret and Mr Douglas Ayre was co-opted to stand in his place until the AGM. Following in the inspirational footsteps of Associate Professor Jenny Gregory who served as President for four years, I have found the role challenging, time consuming but very enjoyable. At last year’s AGM, we reported on the restructure of our sub-Committee system to include just three – the Communications, Advocacy and Indigenous Sub Committees. This system has been operating for the past year and we will undertake a review of the role and operations of these Sub Committees in the coming year. As well as ensuring that the work of the Council is carried out efficiently, we look on these committees as an opportunity to encourage the participation our members and urge more of you to become involved. This would lighten the load of those members already participating and ensure we operate more effectively and efficiently. I will not report separately on each of these sub Committees but instead provide an overview of the work of the History Council over the past year to which each of these bodies has contributed. The major issues that have occupied the History Council this year were again history in schools (and more recently the Federal Government’s plan for a national curriculum, the lack of funding for Western Australia’s cultural institutions (in particular the State Library and the State Records Office), the need for a new State Archives Repository, the restructuring of the Battye Library and the ongoing role and operation of this vital institution, a range of heritage issues related to development in this State including issues such as the Fremantle and Albany Port developments and more recently, the proposed Kimberley Gas Hub and the work of the Northern Development Taskforce. The Battye Library Our aim of ensuring that the J S Battye Library of West Australian Historyremains adequately funded, that staff members have a good knowledge of the documentary heritage collections, that the collections are secure and well maintained and there is a good research environment, is ongoing. To this end, the History Council, together with a range of other history groups (including the PHA, the Royal WA Historical Society and Friends of the Battye) and with the support of the State Library, undertook a Survey of Battye Library users to assess levels of satisfaction with the Battye Library. We await final analysis of this survey and members will receive copies of the results of this survey and then in consultation with all groups, decide on how best to further our aims. The State Records Office As you may have seen in the press coverage, the History Council lobbied the Premier as well as the Minister for Culture and the Arts in attempting to get the Government to provide for a new and improved Archives Repository. Our history is at risk while records grow with no space to ensure that they are taken into secure and suitable conditions. This is an urgent situation and despite promises, the Government has made no public commitment to funding for this much needed facility. This need will be a continued focus for the History Council. Heritage In these economic boom times, when there should be funding for and understanding of the need for heritage preservation, the History Council has found that the opposite is the case. We lobbied hard for ways and means to prevent ‘demolition by neglect’ as demonstrated by The Cliffe, but last week this important building was taken off the State Heritage Register. We continue to be concerned about the scale and nature of the proposed ING Victoria Quay development and the consequent loss of heritage values both to the historic port precinct and to the linkages between Fremantle and the port. We have also been involved on the Northern Development Taskforce Community Advisory Committee and the President attended its recent site assessment Broome Workshop in an attempt to ensure that history and heritage is identified, documented and seen as a key factor in the site selection process for a Gas hub in the Kimberley. The President represented the History Council at the Western Australian Heritage Summit held on 29 and 30 May 2008at Fremantle Prison. The Minister for Heritage had asked the National Trust to organise the Summitwith the assistance of the Heritage Council to bring the heritage community together to discuss the state of heritage in Western Australia. A Summiton Heritage was a good idea but unfortunately in reality it failed to go far enough. Key areas such as natural and indigenous heritage and archaeology were missing in discussions, which focused on built heritage. The History Council still has a lot of work to do in the area of heritage and will work to get new heritage legislation and heritage related education in the State. Other Issues The History Council continues in its aim of raising awareness of Indigenous History and Indigenous perspectives of History and to this end wrote to the Prime Minister congratulating him on his Apology on the 13th February this year. The Council is planning an event to be held on the anniversary of the speech in 2009 and when this is finalised members will be advised. The Indigenous History sub committee is actively working on ways to recognise Indigenous historians and would welcome the participation of Indigenous and non Indigenous members to this sub committee. In part due to the lobbying of the History Council the post compulsory Course of Study Ancient and Modern has now been split into two courses, Ancient and Modern. We also successfully lobbied for the inclusion of a compulsory Australian unit. Of continuing concern is the move towards a national curriculum and the Council is taking an active interest in how History is to be addressed. For example, we are concerned that any national history curriculum should allow for a Western Australian perspective. To this end, the President and History Councillor Glen Bennett recently met with Professor Bill Louden, Western Australia’s representative on the National Curriculum Board and we plan ongoing engagement in the process of development of the National Curriculum for History. Council received a presentation this year from Mr Neil Foley regarding access to the Births Deaths and Marriages Register, his appeal to the State Administrative Tribunal, the outcome and its implications for historical research. We will continue to keep this issue under review. We worked with a range of other history groups, both Australia wide and local, to promote history in various ways over the year. Some of these were as follows: · A Proposed History House The Royal WA Historical Society has led with this initiative – a home for history related groups in WA - and we look forward to supporting this concept as it is further investigated and working towards its realisation. · 1 October 2007, Sponsorship of Oral History Conference for WA Week – “Voices of WA”, held at the State Library. · 5 December 2007, End of Year Function at MidlandRailway Workshops Interpretative Centre to congratulate editors Patrick Bertola and Bobbie Oliver and the various authors of The Workshops. A History of the Midland Government Railway Workshops winner of the WA History Category in the 2007 Premier’s Book Awards. · 9 March 2008, ‘Passion, Pain and Partiality in the Practice of History’ – a forum on ethical issues, co badged with other history groups held at the State Library Perth. · 18 May 2008, Northbridge History Studies Day, a joint event with the Northbridge History Project, held at Central TAFE. · September 2007 Panel Discussion of Interstate History Councils, Armidale: Our retiring President, J Gregory represented the History Council of WA at a panel discussion of Interstate History Councils at the Australian Historical Association 2007 Regional Conference at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW in. More recently Sue Hart has represented us at another meeting of Interstate History Councils, this time in Melbourne at the AHA Conference.
We thank all retiring members — Robert Mitchell, Dr Bobbie Oliver, Jennie Carter, Associate Professor Jenny Gregory, and Glen Stasiuk — for their valuable work on the committee of the History Council. Robert was Treasurer from the inception of the Council, Jenny, Jennie and Bobbie have been involved with the Council since and even before its inception and Jenny Gregory was previous President again from the Council’s inception to 2007. Glen has been one of our two indigenous representatives for the past two years and has been a real asset to the Council and the Indigeous Sub Committee. All five Councillors have provided vital support to the Council over a long period – and to me as President over the past year - and will be sadly missed. Bobbie has led our work on History in Schools and Robert will be missed as Treasurer (but fortunately we have persuaded him to stay on as a Councillor). Jennie Carter has played a key role in producing our newsletter - for that we thank her - and she has promised to continue supporting us in that role. Jenny Gregory will I am sure, continue to provide advice and assist the Advocacy Sub Committee where she can.
The efficiency and hard work of our Executive Officer Ms Julia Wallis continues to be invaluable and we thank her for her support and commitment to the organisation and for her efforts to keep us all up to the mark! We would not be able to operate, as effectively without her support and in this we are very grateful for the continuing financial support of the WA History Foundation.
The Constitutional Centre of WA provides the History Council Committee with meeting space and we are grateful to Ms Betty O’Rourke and her staff for their support.
Dr Sue Graham-Taylor President September 2008 |