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To: Phill Black, [log in to unmask]


Hi Phil,

Two things you might be interested to staying in touch with:  1) Friends of
DMR (very small, and will NOT be official), and 2) DMR Heritage Committee
(official and just recently formed).

I'm on the heritage committee.

I'd appreciated you ideas on anything.

Specifically I am looking for:

- Work on guidelines for staff that will assist them in making determination
of what items lack
  have historical significance, and what items may have significance.

- Names of persons in the history writing business who may be looking for
work.  (The Committee will, I guess, select someone to commission to write a
history of DMR).




Kind Regards



John Byrnes, Geologist


********************************************************************
*  John G. Byrnes , Geologist , [log in to unmask]        *
*  NSW Department of Mineral Resources, MEA Section                *
*  PO Box 536  ST LEONARDS  NSW 2065, AUSTRALIA                    *
*  Ph: +61 2 9901 8789   FAX: +61 2 9901 8783                      *
*  http://www.minerals.nsw.gov.au                                  *
********************************************************************





@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Heritage Committee ideas from the first meeting
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@


Members of the Heritage committee have agreed to review and share their
progress weekly, on Fridays.

Here's a few notes.  Please contact me on 8789 if you know of any
"odds-and-end" historic items or if you have any queries.


ASSUMPTIONS
===========

* DMR has more historical/heritage material than it will wish to move to
Hunter Valley.

* Londonderry has to be cleaned out of all the publications currently there.

* Lidcombe will be downsized and/or be closed entirely (probably will be
demolished?).

* Material at Londonderry is currently not being well cared for (fide DB).

* Potential recipients of material for disposal are needed:
- State Archives
- State Library
- Other government instrumentalities
- Local community based museums
- Private museums
- Private collectors
(Start getting information on these)


STAGES OF PLANNED ACTION
========================

* Stage 1 - Taking inventory.
* Stage 2 - Prioritising what DMR should keep and what needs to be disposed of.
* Stage 3 - Divestment/disposal arrangments.
* Stage 4 - Consideration of any special preservation requirements.
* Stage 5 - Secure any needed additional/special funding for implementation.


SPECIALISATIONS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
====================================
(Committee members are Leanne Greville, Jim West, John Byrnes, David Barnes,
Peter Goulder, Ian Pecival, Al Bashford)

DB
--
* Photographs and glass slides

IP
--
* Specimens; historic mining equipment or artefacts.

JB
--
* Historic "odd-and-ends", things not within any of the major identified
systems.
- Put out an ID call for these, via Adminfo and personal contacts.
  (at the moment just track such items, do not acquire any or accept offers)
- Inventory whereabouts but don't attempt any gathering (but some furniture
already gone to Lidcombe).

* Work on guidelines for staff that will assist them in making determination
of what items lack
  have historical significance, and what items may have significance.

JW
--
* Current manager of DIGS
* Current manager of the core library

PG
--
* Lidcombe foyer contents (fate of these); stand-in for IP when IP is away.


ORIGIN
======

Origin of the desire to have a heritage committee in DMR was discussed;
where did the idea come from(?), why(?), is anyone known to have previously
suggested anything like this?  Nobody had any ideas or knowledge of any of
this except for Leanne, who said that the first she knew of it was from RSC
on 5th March 2003.  But it fairly obviously would not have originated from
the RSC and probably was put to them by TAC.


OTHERS WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HERITAGE
==========================================
(Yet to be contacted)

- David Branagan (JB suggested contacting DB, esp. about departmental history)
- Dennis Hayes
- Phil Black
- Rob Hirst
- Bill Chestnut


SOME SUGGESTIONS SO FAR
=======================

- Move gold stamper (now at Lidcombe) to out front of Maitland building
- Publicise heritage matters via Adminfo and the intranet.
- Also place any heritage news in GS weekly reports.
- All staff to be group photographed before they start disappearing.
- Some suggestions in the odds-and-ends category was the old folios/ledgers
(big leather-bound books).


NEXT MEETING
============

May 2, 10 a.m.  - Wardens Court

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@@@@@@@@@@@@@

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Hello All,


I am a geologist with NSW Government's department of Mineral Resources, in
Sydney Australia.

The department is to be moved to Maitland which is a long way further north
in the same state.

As you would be well aware, moves are a time of greatest danger to the
heritage of organisations.

Item are lost, or thrown out, and knowledge too can be lost to a significant
degree, especially when large staff turnover accompanies a long distance
relocation.

In similar relocations that I know, about only 5-25% of staff survive in
their positions across the move, and organisations are usually restocked
with newcomers.

Our heritage items could include maps, books, specimens, photographs, glass
slides, old laboratory and museum equipment, etc.

Formerly the department had a large Chemical Laboratory for doing analyses
of coal, ore, waters etc.; and a Geological & Mining Museum concerned with
keeping and displaying ores, rocks, minerals and fossils.

The analytical chemical work has all been privatised out of the realm of
government now, and the NSW Treasury saw fit to pull the pin on the
geological and mining museum, and to no longer fund it - whence it soon
closed down.

Broadly speaking this is part of a general devaluing of geology and other
sciences which can be seen to have been happening in Australian society over
a protracted periond.  It is presumably a worldwide phenomenon.  Not only
government deptarments are affected but also most of the universities.  Some
of these have ceased to any longer want rock or fossil collections that they
had built up for a hundred years or more .. They offer them to government
but what are government servants to do with them when we often don't even
know with great certainty if we (officially) want all our own stuff any more(?).

Also, because most of the older staff might be lost in the coming relocation
it is obviously a vital time to think about means of capturing and
preserving the history of the Department - Should a history be written?  By
whom - an amateur afficionado type who is keen and who knows the place well,
or by a professional who doesn't know it well but who has proven him/herself
with some good historical books publications already?  I'd particularly like
your opinion on that question.

Or what about individual stories - are they worth preserving?  Should staff
be just requested to write them, as part of their terms of employment, or
should they be offered extra money to do so?

I would be grateful if you could point out to me, esp. by URLs, other
organisation (or named individuals) faced with any similar sort of situation.

As we will be having pack up to move the department, and perhaps throwing
things out willy nilly, do you know of any guidelines that would assist them
in making decisions on what are heritage items; or what is worth keeping and
what to toss?

The risk is that items of historical significance either to the Department
or the State will be lost if inadequate precautions and planning are not
undertaken now, well in advance of the actual move.

Besides the physical items of historical or heritage significance, we also
wish to capture/preserve the historical knowledge that may be lost as key
staff leave.  The actual relocation takes place in late 2004.

Please send information or suggestions to me directly and off list.


Thank you very much,



John Byrnes,