- Uniting Church in Australia

cases been translated. This work has
been appreciated. The document, along
with our disposal and retention
schedules, has also been used as a
basis for archival work with Cook Island
Christian Church and Nungalinya
College. The second document was
‘Guidelines on Closure of Church
Buildings’ with advice about heritage
issues. This has been useful for some
Presbyteries.
Assembly Historical
Reference Committee
1.
ACTIVITIES OF THE
COMMITTEE
1.1
The Assembly Historical Reference
Committee has a role as guardian of
corporate memory. By providing for the
appropriate care of UCA archives and
being able to direct others where to find
what they need, historians, storytellers
and church leaders are offered the
resources to share our UCA story
truthfully, based on evidence.
1.2
In November 2014, the whole
Committee met for the Triennial
gathering at the Centre for Ministry in
Sydney. As we heard from each Synod
and the Assembly Archivist, we learned
that in almost every context the
archivists had had to deal with the
disruption of relocation of the archives,
with managing archives as just one of
multiple responsibilities and with a
sense of isolation from others who
understand the challenges of their task.
Despite the difficulties, there was a
genuine commitment to the task and a
vision for fresh ways in which archivists
could support each other and provide
excellence in their field.
1.3
The time has come, we believe, for
reconsideration of our Mandate which
has been almost unchanged since
1998. It is recognised that some aspects
of the Mandate are the direct
responsibility of the Assembly Archivist
under the oversight of the General
Secretary rather than the activity of the
Committee. We have been working to
reframe our Mandate in terms that
express the reality of who we need to
be. Energy has been invested in
imagining a different shape for the work
which will include greater collaboration,
and focus on specific projects
undertaken by smaller teams.
1.4
Two key guidelines documents have
been produced by the Committee. ‘What
are the Archives?’ document is
designed to give basic information about
the nature of archives and why they are
important for the use of the culturally
and linguistically diverse communities
within UCA. This has been distributed to
many of these groups, and in some
1.5
Work is in progress on a policy covering
retention, care or return to source of
special gifts listed in an Asset Register
for items given to the Assembly, often
by partner churches; some objects are
artefacts with significance to UCA and
donor overseas churches. Another
project now under way relates to the
preservation and appropriate locations
for photographic collections and other
images with a considerable amount of
research already done.
2.
ASSEMBLY ARCHIVIST
2.1
At a time of transition in several larger
agencies such as Frontier Services and
UnitingWorld, with changes of focus or
moves to different premises, Christine
Gordon’s expertise has helped to guide
valuable archival resources to the
appropriate repositories. These moves
have generated a great deal of work in
processing material. Material from most
of the agencies of Assembly has been
received and processed. A data base of
former mission workers of UnitingWorld
and its predecessors is being
developed. The large collection of
material from Uniting Aboriginal and
Islander Christian Congress (UAICC),
previously held in Townsville and
Tasmania, has been sorted and indexed
and is a very comprehensive and
important collection. The vast bulk of the
archives of UCA Assembly and
Assembly agencies (and their
predecessors) can be found at the
Mitchell Library in New South Wales,
while the AIM/Frontier Services
collection is housed at the National
Library of Australia. Other material is
housed at the Australian Institute of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Studies (AIATSIS), the National Film
and Sound Archive and at the Centre for
Ministry at North Parramatta. A finding
guide is available from
[email protected].
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Reports to the Fourteenth Assembly – The Uniting Church in Australia
B11 - 1
2.2
2.3
3.
As part of her work and in a voluntary
capacity, Christine Gordon has provided
archival advice and practical guidelines
to our partner church the Cook Island
Christian Church in the Cook Islands
(April-May 2012) and to Nungalinya
College, Darwin (June-July 2013). Both
visits were very valuable. One result of
the visit to Darwin was the generation of
many enquiries which led to the
scanning of the Methodist Overseas
Missions (MOM) catalogue and the
Presbyterian (BOEMAR) catalogue of
materials in the Mitchell Library, Sydney.
Resources for the film ‘Croker Island
Exodus’ and the Frontier Services
Centenary Book were provided. Copies
of some significant old films made by
MOM and BOEMAR in the National Film
and Sound Archive have been copied to
DVD.
Synod archivists and the Assembly
Archivist have spent significant time on
preparing the necessary documentation
for the Uniting Church National Task
Group for engaging with and responding
to the Royal Commission into
Institutional Responses to Child Sexual
Abuse. It has been important, but not
always possible, to be able to provide a
clear paper trail of records in this difficult
matter. These external demands on
both the archives and the work of the
archivists remind us, the Committee,
and should remind the wider church of
the importance of professional record
keeping and the necessity of archivists
to the work of the Church.
ELECTRONIC ARCHIVING
This issue has had a long and
frustrating history. A major detailed
proposal was prepared in 2006. In 2009
a revised formal proposal was
presented to Assembly and was passed.
Lack of funds to implement, and other
factors have led to a long delay in what
is an increasingly urgent matter. The
Committee remains deeply concerned at
the lack of progress and implications for
the UCA's archival resources in the
future. For those with a responsibility for
the care of archives, as well as those
who need to be able to access the
records, the questions are broader than
basic records management. The earlier
work on this proposal has been updated
in 2015 in the light of the current
technology, costs and opportunities and
is presented once more in hope of
action.
4.
PUBLICATIONS
The resources of UCA Archives in
Assembly and Synods have been very
valuable in the research and writing of
several publications of church history
relating to UCA during the past three
years. These include among others An
Informed Faith: The Uniting Church at
the beginning of the twenty-first century,
W. Emilsen Ed. 2014, Methodism in
Australia, G.O’Brien and H.Carey Eds,
2015 and Australian Methodist
Biography Bicentenary Project,
W.Emilsen and P.Curthoys Eds. 2015.
Several members of this Committee
have been involved as writers and
editors of these and other recent
publications and have valued the mutual
support, advice and resources offered
by the rest of the Committee.
5.
ANNIVERSARIES
Resources of Assembly Archives have
supported the centenary of Frontier
Services in 2012 and will do so for the
Bicentenary of Methodism in Australia in
2015. Synod Archivists and Historical
Societies are encouraged to recognise
and celebrate the Bicentenary of
Methodism.
6.
APPRECIATIONS
The Committee wishes to place on
record its gratitude to retiring
Chairperson Margaret Reeson, and
retiring Secretary Lorraine Macknight.
Margaret Reeson has been a member
of the Committee since 2003. She has
been an outstanding member of our
group with her first-hand experience and
insightful understanding of our history
and appreciation of our Archives. This,
along with her organisational and
pastoral gifts, has been of great value to
the Assembly in general and to this
Committee in particular. Lorraine
Macknight has brought important
insights as a professional archivist since
joining the group in 2009 and has
served as Secretary since 2012.
Margaret Reeson
Chairperson
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Reports to the Fourteenth Assembly – The Uniting Church in Australia
APPENDIX A
HISTORICAL REFERENCE COMMITTEE
MANDATE
Responsible to:
The Assembly
Reporting arrangements: The Assembly and the Standing Committee.
Mission Statement:
To advise the Assembly and the Standing Committee on historical and
archival matters of significance to the Church.
Mandate:
1. To oversee the care and collection of all records of the Assembly and
Assembly Agencies;
2. To co-ordinate the cataloguing of Assembly archival material;
3. To circulate advice throughout the Church on appropriate methods of
keeping records, in the light of modern archival techniques;
4. To negotiate terms of access, care and preservation of Assembly
and Assembly agency records with any approved repositories;
5. To consult with Synods:
 on the designation of buildings and sites of national importance
to the Church, and advise on relationships with conservation
bodies;
 on the collection, maintenance and cataloguing of records;
 on the appropriate policies regarding matters of historical
importance;
6. To foster interest in the Church's heritage, and encourage research
and publication on the history of the Uniting Church in Australia and
its parent churches;
7. To draw attention to significant dates, events and people in the
history of the Church and its parent churches, so that appropriate
resources can be provided;
8. To negotiate with appropriate bodies on the funding of historical
activities and conservation.
General:
The responsibilities include:
 focusing the activities of the agency on the vision of the Assembly as a whole;
 advising the Assembly and/or the Standing Committee on policy matters within their area of
responsibility;
 making policy decisions where the Assembly or the Standing Committee has delegated authority
for certain policy areas, either through the agency mandate or by resolution;
 assisting the Assembly Archivist and any other agency staff in the implementation of policies
determined by the Assembly and/or the Standing Committee;
 ensuring that appropriate pastoral support is offered to agency staff members;
 participating in cross-agency projects and teams established by the Assembly.
Power to appoint:
 To establish working groups for special tasks related specifically to the mandate.
 To make recommendations to the Standing Committee to establish other working groups for
special tasks related to but not part of the mandate.
Membership of the Reference Committee:
Chairperson, from the Synod of New South Wales and the ACT area (appointed by the
Assembly);
 the appointed archivist of each Synod or another person appointed by the Synod;
 five persons from the Synod of New South Wales and the ACT area, of whom one will be
designated as Assembly archivist, appointed by Standing Committee; these five persons and the
chairperson comprise the Executive of the Reference Group;
 power to co-opt up to two additional persons to ensure appropriate competencies, representation
and development of new leadership.
Approved by the Assembly Standing Committee, March 2009