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 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.
Separation
In 1988 the State Archives became a separate directorate within the Library and Information Service of Western Australia and in 1990 a Records Management Branch,, was established to enable more active engagement in records management matters at both state and local government levels. 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, 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 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 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.
State archives collection
The State Records Office maintains approximately 15 linear kilometres of archival records, comprising approximately 2 million items and created by over 1,300 individual State and Local Government agencies, many of which are now defunct or have had significant changes in name or function. The state archives collection is the largest collection of documentary heritage in Western Australia and archives date from the foundation of the Swan River Colony in 1829. The state archives collection includes:
Records of land surveys, 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 the mid-20th century.
Records of the Education Department and various state schools
Harbour and shipping records and 19th-century passenger lists
Health Department and hospital records
The records of local government in WA
Mines Department records
Police Department and police station records
Premier, cabinet and parliamentary records
Prison records
Records about the development of railways
, it was estimated that approximately 53 shelf kilometres of archives were awaiting transfer to the SRO but could not be accepted owing to "a lack of specialised storage space."
Annual award
Since 2003 the Margaret Medcalf award has been given to published and unpublished research utilising the SRO records. Recent winners have been:
2018 - Joint winners: Agents of Empire. How E.L Mitchell's Photographs Shaped Australia by Joanna Sassoon, and After the War: Returned Soldiers and the Mental and Physical Scars of World War 1 by Leigh Straw.
2017 - Turning men into stone by Criena Fitzgerald
2016 - Take me to the river: the story of Perth’s foreshore by Julian Bolleter
A list of all previous winners is available on SRO's website.
Accessing the state's archives
The State Records Office of Western Australia is located on the ground floor of the Alexander Library Building, in the Perth Cultural Centre. State archives can be viewed in the SRO's search room. Online access and provision of digital copies are also available to the general public. Information about the records in the collection can be found using the SRO online catalogue.
