BACKGROUND
The Tom Roberts Festival
was held in Inverell in 1996 and 2001. The basis of the
Festival is the relationship between artist Tom Roberts
and the Inverell district where he painted over a dozen
works including the Australian 'icons' 'Bailed Up' (AGNSW),
'Shearing at Newstead' (AGNSW) and 'In a Corner on the
Macintyre' (NGA). This relationship is highlighted in a
number of events developed for the Festival including
the very popular 'Heritage Tour' of the sites where
Roberts stayed and painted. A sixty-page booklet has
been developed to outline the district's history, the
history of the Newstead area (Paradise, Newstead, and
Elsmore) and the families who lived and worked there.
The Inverell Branch of the
National Trust prepared this booklet in conjunction with
the Inverell and District Family History Group from many
sources, mostly secondary research documents, from
Elizabeth Wiedemann and Heather Gibson in particular.
The Inverell Cultural and
Arts Council is aware that there are a wealth of primary
documents, artefacts, photographs available through
family and public institutions that could be brought
together as a resource both for the Inverell community
and the region. Access to these could give an insight
into early life in the region and improve the quality
and experience of the presentation of the Festival
itself and any other 'cultural tourism' experience for
visitors to the region.
OUTREACH AND NETWORKS
Discussions have been held
with
-
Peter Watts of the
Historic Houses Trust of NSW - committed $10,000
towards the project.
-
Janis Wilton of the
newly established Heritage Futures Research Centre
at UNE - committed $5000 towards the adaptation of
the Golden Threads database to create a database
that will suit this project but will also be a pilot
for other diverse regional collections
-
Jack Ritchie of Arts
North West - who acquired a Ministry of the Arts
grant of $10000 on ICAC's behalf towards Festival
development.
-
Network of over forty
people that attended the Newstead/ Paradise/ Elsmore
Re-union during the 2001 Festival. We have contacted
them suggesting that this project could be a
possibility.
-
The owners of the
Paradise Station, Newstead South and the Newstead
North private collections, as well as the Inverell
Pioneer Village, about their collections being
included and the response has been enthusiastic.
THE PROJECT
The Objectives of this
proposal is to :
-
Develop a pilot program
for identification and management of and community
access to movable heritage collections linked with
rural district using the Newstead/ Paradise/ Elsmore
community.
-
Develop a computer
database, and possibly a web site, for the
collection
-
Encourage the
development of the New England Resources Centre as
the chosen repository of original documents from
regional collections
-
Establish a research
resource with copies
of original documents from sources including
national, state, regional and private collections.
PROJECT COMPONENTS
The project
-
Establish a database of
contacts for Newstead/Paradise/Elsmore
-
Identify source and
location of primary research collection - documents,
photos, artefacts
-
Assess volume, quality
and condition of the collection
-
Develop a database for
the collection (similar to the Golden Threads
Project)
-
Advise on alternative
collections management
-
Conserve and archivally
store the collection
-
Copy all primary
sources and make available for research
-
Transcribe of documents
-
Edit and update the
National Trust 'Heritage Tour' booklet
OUTCOMES
-
Conservation of a
nationally significant collection
-
Recognition of the New
England Resources Centre as a 'centre for
excellence' in conservation and access to regional
historical resources
-
Support, with the
primary source documents, the presentation of the
Tom Roberts story as a significant cultural heritage
tourism opportunity
-
Allow access for local
researchers to significant primary sources
-
Develop cultural
tourism opportunities based on historical research
FUTURE WORK
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