State Records Office of Western Australia
Encyclopedia
The State Records Office of Western Australia is the Western Australian
government authority with responsibility for identifying, managing, preserving and providing access to the State's archives. The SRO also delivers best practice records management services to State and Local Government agencies.
The State Records Office (SRO) operates under its own legislation, the State Records Act 2000, which was formally proclaimed in the Government Gazette on the 30th November 2001. The SRO is an independent Government agency within the Department of Culture and the Arts.
In 1988 the State Archives became a separate Directorate within the Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA)and in 1990 a Records Management Branch, (now called Recordkeeping Services), was established to enable more active engagement in records management matters at both State and Local Government level. In 1995 the State Archives was renamed the Public Records Office and the responsibility for private archives was transferred to the Battye Library in 1996. In April 1999 the SRO moved to its current home on the ground floor of the Alexander Library Building and was officially christened with its current name.
In November 2000 the State Records Act was passed and the State Records Commission was established and the State Records Office became independent of LISWA.
The SRO has legislative responsibility for ensuring government records are appropriately created and maintained.
The SRO also manages the State archives collection , defined as those government records recognised as having continuing and enduring value for the State and the community and which have been transferred to the SRO's custody.
The current legislation has its genesis in the recommendations of the 1996 Commission on Government - Specified Matter 9. The Commission on Government was itself the result of the Royal Commission into the commercial activities of Government and other matters, better known as WA Inc.
The State Archives collection includes:
- Records about Aboriginal Western Australians
- The architectural and engineering plans of the Public Works Department
- Records of land grants and purchases from the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Colonial/Chief Secretary's Office records from 1828 until early 20th century
- Records of Convicts transported to Western Australia, 1850-1868. These have been inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
- Court Records; including those of the Supreme Court dating from 1832 until mid 20th century.
- Records of the Education Department and various State Schools
- Harbour and shipping records and 19th century passenger lists
- Records about hospitals and Health Department records
- The records of Local Governments in WA
- Mines Department records
- Police Department and Police Station records
- Premier, Cabinet and Parliamentary records
- Prison and Gaol records
- Records about the development of railways in Western Australia
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
government authority with responsibility for identifying, managing, preserving and providing access to the State's archives. The SRO also delivers best practice records management services to State and Local Government agencies.
The State Records Office (SRO) operates under its own legislation, the State Records Act 2000, which was formally proclaimed in the Government Gazette on the 30th November 2001. The SRO is an independent Government agency within the Department of Culture and the Arts.
History
The nucleus of the State archives collections is the Colonial Secretary's Office records acquired in 1903 by the first Librarian of the Public Library, Dr James Sykes Battye. Concern about the destruction of valuable records prompted the formation of the Public Records Committee (chaired by Dr Battye) in 1923, which was later revived as the State Archives Board in 1929, functioning until 1943. In March 1945, Mollie Lukis was appointed as the first Archivist overseeing the development of the State's archival collections and in 1956 the State archives collection became part of the J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History.In 1988 the State Archives became a separate Directorate within the Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA)and in 1990 a Records Management Branch, (now called Recordkeeping Services), was established to enable more active engagement in records management matters at both State and Local Government level. In 1995 the State Archives was renamed the Public Records Office and the responsibility for private archives was transferred to the Battye Library in 1996. In April 1999 the SRO moved to its current home on the ground floor of the Alexander Library Building and was officially christened with its current name.
In November 2000 the State Records Act was passed and the State Records Commission was established and the State Records Office became independent of LISWA.
Legislation
The State Records Act 2000 replaced the archives and recordkeeping aspects of the Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951-1983. Providing for an independent State Records Commission (SRC) with standards-setting, auditing and reporting responsibilities, the SRC is accountable directly to Parliament. Membership of the Commission is at a level commensurate with the high degree of accountability and transparency that are hallmarks of the legislation. The four members of the Commission are the Auditor General, the Information Commissioner, the Ombudsman, and an appointee with recordkeeping experience from outside Government.The SRO has legislative responsibility for ensuring government records are appropriately created and maintained.
The SRO also manages the State archives collection , defined as those government records recognised as having continuing and enduring value for the State and the community and which have been transferred to the SRO's custody.
The current legislation has its genesis in the recommendations of the 1996 Commission on Government - Specified Matter 9. The Commission on Government was itself the result of the Royal Commission into the commercial activities of Government and other matters, better known as WA Inc.
The State Archives collection
The State Records Office maintains approximately 15 linear kilometres of archival records, comprising over 2 million items and created by over 1,300 individual State and Local Government agencies, many of which are now defunct. The State archives collection is the largest collection of documentary heritage in Western Australia and records date from the foundation of the Swan River Colony in 1829.The State Archives collection includes:
- Records about Aboriginal Western Australians
- The architectural and engineering plans of the Public Works Department
- Records of land grants and purchases from the 19th and early 20th centuries
- Colonial/Chief Secretary's Office records from 1828 until early 20th century
- Records of Convicts transported to Western Australia, 1850-1868. These have been inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
- Court Records; including those of the Supreme Court dating from 1832 until mid 20th century.
- Records of the Education Department and various State Schools
- Harbour and shipping records and 19th century passenger lists
- Records about hospitals and Health Department records
- The records of Local Governments in WA
- Mines Department records
- Police Department and Police Station records
- Premier, Cabinet and Parliamentary records
- Prison and Gaol records
- Records about the development of railways in Western Australia
Accessing the State's archives
Records in the State archives collection can be viewed onsite in the SRO's Search Room in the Alexander Library Building in the Perth Cultural Centre, 9.30am - 4.30pm, Monday - Friday. The State Records Office is located on the Ground Floor of the Alexander Library Building, in the Perth Cultural Centre. Information about the records in the collection can be found using the SRO database AEON (http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/aeon).External links
- http://www.sro.wa.gov.au Official site
- http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/src/src.asp Information about the State Records Commission
- http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_924_homepage.html - State Records Act 2000
- http://www.sro.wa.gov.au/aeon - Archives Explored Online Database
- http://www.naa.gov.au/ National Archives Australia
- http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/battye.html J S Battye Library