Archives are a rich resource for study and enquiry, from formal research to finding out more about your local community and family. In Australia there are thousands of individual archives: government archives, archives of public and private institutions, manuscript collections, and personal archives, as well as archival organisations.
The National Archives of Australia is the archives of the Commonwealth government and has offices in each State and Territory. All State governments and the Northern Territory have archives, eg the Archives Office of Tasmania and the Public Record Office of Victoria. Then there are local government archives, archives of statutory authorities and individual departments, and parliamentary archives. Universities have archives, as do churches, schools, colleges, banks, and companies.
Archivists refer to these as 'in-house' archives, because these institutions manage their own records, the ones they have created themselves.
Archives are also found in 'collecting' institutions, which hold records of other institutions, associations, societies, companies and of prominent people. There are manuscript collections within libraries, such as the National Library of Australia and State Libraries, and special format collections, such as the ScreenSound Australia (formerly the National Film and Sound Archive).
Some universities maintain research collections, such as the Noel Butlin Archives Centre at the Australian National University, and there are also many museum and local history collections held throughout Australia. Archives can serve a dual purpose: for instance, some university archives manage their own institution's administrative records and also collect research material in particular subject areas.
The National Archives collects the archives of Prime Ministers, Federal Ministers and other Commonwealth government office-holders, while State Archives perform a similar role for State government office-holders.
The Australian Science Archives Project locates, documents and places the archives of scientists and scientific bodies in other archives. The archives of prominent Australians in the arts, business and the community are collected by the National Library of Australia, State Library manuscript collections and other research archives.
Many archives are held in private hands. For instance, your own correspondence, documents and photographs can be described as your personal archives.
Cooperation between archives institutions is fostered by the Australian Council of Archives. Other bodies such as the Council of Federal, State and Territory Archives, the Archives Working Group of the Cultural Ministers Council, and the Pacific Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives play a similar role but with a different scope.
The Australian Society of Archivists is the peak professional association. It has branches in all states and territories. Its services to archivists in Australia include: professional literature and publications, training and opportunities for exchange of ideas and experience, such as the aus-archivists listserv and conferences. The Records Management Association of Australia is the national organisation for records managers in Australia.
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CAPTION:
The need for a working farm vehicle which could also carry the family at weekends
prompted the "Ute", designed by engineer Lewis Bandt at the Ford Motor
Company works in Geelong, Victoria, in 1934. The first Holden utility was produced
in 1951.