MUSEUMS IN AUSTRALIA 1975 Report of the Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections including the Report of the Planning Committee on the Gallery of Aboriginal Australia Australian Government Publishing Service Canberra 1975 Printed by Watson Ferguson & Co, Brisbane Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections Canberra, A.C.T. 2600 Senator the Hon. Douglas McClelland Special Minister of State Parliament House Canberra, A.C.T. Dear Mr Minister, The Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections has completed its inquiries into the matters assigned to it. We have pleasure in forwarding our report which includes the Report of the separate Planning Committee - on the Gallery of Aboriginal Australia. The Planning Committee reported to your Committee of Inquiry in accordance with the arrangements set out in the statement of the Special Minister of State in the House of Representatives on 10 April 1974 and the Committee’s comments on the proposals of the Planning Committee are set out in our Report. Yours sincerely, P. H. Pigott (Chairman) G. N. Blainey R. W. Boswell Mrs A. Clayton D. J. Mulvaney F. H, Talbot D. F. Waterhouse F. J. Waters E. E. Payne (Executive Member) Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Major Recommendations 3 3 What is a Museum? 5 4 The Major Museums—Their Aims and Deficiencies 8 5 Local and Provincial Museums 19 6 University Museums 30 7 The Parameters of the Inquiry— 33 What is a ‘National’ Collection? 8 The Australian Government Collections 38 9 A National Organisation to Co-ordinate 52 Museum Activities 10 A Proposal for an Australian Museums Commission 58 11 Conservation of Cultural Materials 62 12 Outline of a National Museum of History 70 13 Arguments for Other National Museums 82 14 Marine and Historical Archaeology 89 15 Export and Import of Cultural Material 94 16 The Encouragement of Gifts to Museums— 100 The Tax Question Appendixes 103 Acknowledgements 123 Report of the Planning Committee on the Gallery of Aboriginal Australia 1 Introduction 1.1 The establishment of the Committee was announced on 10 April 1974, and the Committee met for the first time on 7 May of that year. 1.2 The terms of reference given to the Committee were as follows: (i) to advise on the scope, objectives and functions of an Australia Institute to develop, co-ordinate and foster collections, research and displays of historical, cultural and scientific material of national significance, giving particular attention to its relationship with Government and other institutions. (ii) to recommend steps to establish such an institute; (iii) in relation to the Australian Government’s direct field of responsibility and interest, to recommend measures which should be taken in the immediate future to: (a) improve collection and conservation facilities for national material, with particular attention to research needs and training; (b) ensure effective co-ordination of the Australian Government’s activities in this field; (c) institute new developments and institutions, with particular attention to the establishment of a national museum of history in Canberra; (iv) to recommend longer-term measures in the field of museums and collections, with particular attention to the Australian Government’s role in relation to state, local government, and institutional authorities. 1.3 Soon after its first meeting, the Committee arranged for notices to be published in the national press throughout Australia inviting interested organisations, persons and groups to make written submissions to the Committee. In the public notice the Committee stated that it did not see museums as simply buildings where ancient objects are preserved and displayed. It saw museums as vital places of education, entertainment and research where facets of the daily life of past generations of Australians can be seen and where our heritage of old trades, crafts and skills can be displayed and practised. More than 400 written submissions were made to the Committee, including detailed papers from most of the major museum authorities in the States. In addition, Australian Government Departments and Authorities were asked to inform the Committee whether they had in their custody any material or items which were regarded as being of historical or cultural significance. 1.4 Appendix 1 analyses the submissions received, and classifies them into various categories. While many of the submissions were in the nature of requests for financial assistance, they did serve to give a more comprehensive view to the Committee of regional museums existing in Australia today, and of the plans for future development or new initiatives. 1.5 With the co-operation of State Governments and the Directors concerned, the Committee visited the major museums in all States and a miscellany of other museums, in order to inspect their facilities and collections; and the Committee was accorded the advantage of meeting with many of the Boards of Trustees and museum staff for detailed discussions on problems experienced in museum administration. A listing of museums visited by the Committee is at Appendix 11. 1.6 Because of the multiplicity of smaller or newer museums outside the metropolitan areas, the Committee engaged consultants to report on museums in selected regions. These reports formed a valuable addition to the Committee’s knowledge of museums 2 and the importance of the collections which they house. A comprehensive report on all museums in Australia and their collections would require a costly and substantial effort over several years, and the Committee took the view that a representative sampling of museums would be sufficient to obtain essential information on regional museums. 1.7 When the Committee of Inquiry on Museums and National Collections was established, the Special Minister of State and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs announced that a separate committee, including representatives of the Aboriginal people, would examine and report on the possibility of establishing a Gallery of Aboriginal Australia. This separate committee was to report to the main Committee, and Professor Mulvaney by his membership of both Committees, would provide the appropriate linking of the separate committee’s work. The Report of the Planning Committee on The Gallery of Aboriginal Australia has now been received, and is attached to the main report. The recommendations of that Committee are also considered in Chapter 12, when a museum of national history in the A.C.T. is discussed. 1.8 Four members of the Committee travelled overseas during January and February 1975 to examine museum developments in particular countries. During the six weeks in Europe and America, they inspected, more than 40 museums in 9 countries. The main objectives of the visit were to obtain first-hand knowledge about: • the organisational structure of museums and any developments towards the framing of national policies and programs for museums and national collections; • museums which have been established in more recent years, and the approaches adopted in way of museum siting, design, facilities and display; • facilities for the conservation of collections, and arrangements for the training of conservators; • the funding arrangements for museums; • the use of museums and their collections for research and education; • particular types of museums which might stimulate or guide new initiatives in Australia, e.g. maritime, aviation, technology and national history museums. 1.9 Many of these issues were pertinent to the development of a museum of national history in the A.C.T. Through the support of Mr A. Powell, Commissioner, National Capital Development Commission, a First Assistant Commissioner of that authority accompanied the Committee members on most of the museum visits in other countries. The Committee members who did not travel overseas at this time had recently visited a wide range of museums in many countries in the course of journeys made in private and official capacities. The accumulated experiences of’ the Committee members therefore included some knowledge of a wide cross-section of the major museums of the world. 1.10 During the course of its inquiries, the Committee has had the advantage of close consultation with the Interim Committee on the National Estate, particularly through the Chairman of that Committee. Mr D. Yericken, and senior officers of the Department of Urban and Regional Development, The Committee of Inquiry has been invited to comment on various proposals to the National Estate Committee for assistance grants which concern the development of museums or the use of material in collections, and there has been consultation between both Committees to overcome the inherent problem of overlapping interests and responsibilities between ‘national heritage’ and ‘national collections’. These issues are referred to later in Chapter 7. 2 Major Recommendations 2.1 The Committee of Inquiry, in the course of the following chapters, sets out many conclusions and recommendations, major and minor, about museums and collections in Australia. The main recommendations can be briefly summarised as follows. 2.2 To assist in co-ordinating federal expenditure on museums and art galleries, and to foster the development of museums generally in Australia, we recommend the creation of an Australian Museums Commission, a statutory authority employing its own small staff and enlisting, whenever possible, the advice and specialised services of other government agencies. 2.3 For the purposes of defining the level