.4 AL
EMBARGOED UNTIL 9.30 P. M. CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MIN4ISTER
OPENING OF NATIONAL FILM AND-SOUN4D ARCHIVE BUILDING
CANBERRA, 3 OCTOBER 1984
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Max Gillies has just brought George Wallace back to us
all. There's something aboait our mate George Wallace
that's not only entertaining and he was one of our
greatest comedians but also very endearing. He was
the little Aussie battler: independent, never over-awed
by authority or pretension. And-he always won in the
end, as his films and radio shows preserved * in the
National Film and Sound Archive demonstrate.
George is the sort of bloke who'd enjoy a goodl party
like this. The opening of national buildings and
national institutions are often solemn occasions. But
not tonight: that wouldn't suit George and it doesn't
suit us.
This splendid evening has been put togEther to mark the
permanent housing of a new kind of national institution,
an institution devoted to the popular cultural
expression of our age, and dedicated to the preservation
of some of the best manifestations of Australian
character and imagination.
This is appropriately a night for light-hearted
celebration, because we are dealing with media which are
synonymous with entertainment, immediacy, and the stdff
of our life and times and dreams.
But our purpose is serious.
The most popular and pervasive cultural phenomena of our
time moving images and sound recordings -are
threatened.
Not only do the laws of physics and ch' mistry limit
:-heir life span but there is also a widespread
inclination to regard such material as expendable or of
secondary value.
To succumb to such thinking is t~ o make a big mistake.
Anyone with an historical sense would appreciate that a
great deal is bound up with the survival and
accessibility of this major form of record and art
characteristic of our cenitury.
Too much of this great national heritage has already
been irretrievably lost.
of the silent films made in Australia before 1930 no
longer survive.
To put a stop to such losses -the loss of these vital
expressions of Australia's national creativity the
Government has established the National Film and Sound
Archive. The Archive will ensure the development of the necessary
skills, facilities, ethos and methods, needed for
Australia to preserve our heritage. Its work will
ensure the acquisition, preservation and continuing
accessibility of films, radio and television programs,
sound recordings and associated items thiat are in I
their own right of lasting cultural value whether as
historical record, art, entertainment, or otherwise.
More than that: the Archive will represent and promote
this heritage nationally and internationally. Through
it Australians may take due pride in their past, present
and future achievements in these media.
The film and sound media have an impressive and
distinctively Australian tradition.
Their birth is coincident with the emergence of
Australian nationalism nearly 100 years ago.
This makes them, by definition, of particular cultural
importance to us.
Indeed, Australia has one of the oldest film industries
in the world our first film ( significantly of a horse
race the Melbourne Cup) was made in 1896, years before
many European countries began making films.
In that same year Henry Lawson wrote a story called " The
Australian Cinematograph", and in doing so presaged the
concept then unknown of the story film.
In 1906, with " The Story of the Kelly Gang", Australia
invented the concept of the modern feature film
subsequeitzly the ecoliomic foundation of film industries
the world over.
With sound recordings we have almost from the beginning
of the medium, produced worlCd-renowned recording artists
and film and radio stars. That grand tradition
continues and is well represented tonight.
Here we also pay our respect equally to those greats
behind the scene, the directors, producers, writers,
technicians: the people on the other side of the camera
or the microphone.
We all recognise that the travelling picture show man
and a spreading network of rad-io stations kept
Australia's sparse and scattered population in touch
with the outside world from the 1920' s onward.
It shaped our perception of it, broadened our
horizons in those days " when the world beyond was wide".
Indeed, when Australia first introduced the basic wage
it was the only country to take the cost: of a weekly
family visit to the pictures into its calculation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Australians have expressed their national identity most
directly and most potently through the screen and sound
media. That is what has so often made Australian films and
sound recordings interesting and attractive to people
overseas, as much as to Australians.
The establishment of the National Film and Sound Archive
is the expression in institutional terms of a need, long
felt by both participants and observers, to guarantee
the preservation and availability of this fragile but
vital heritage.
Its establishment is a cultural landmark for Australia.
It also has made clear the Government's intention to see
this work given the status and resources it deserves, as
well as to see long-standing problems properly addressed
and solutions found.
This is the culmination of much hard work and effort by
many people. I should particularly like to mention with
appreciation the energetic and effective role played . by
my own Senior Adviser, Bob Hogg in helping achieve this
result. jyfrfl~~ r r.
The decision, once announced, was implemented without
delay. This building, which formerly housed the Australian
Institute of Anatomy, has been initially refurbished by
the National Capital Development Commission in order to
allow prompt occupation by the Archive. The National
Capital Development Commission, in conjunction with the
Archive, is currently preparing plans for the earliest
possible complete refurbishment and extension of the
building in order to provide the necessary specialist
facilities for storage, access, preservation, and for
the general public.
The 1984 budget provided for the approximate doubling of
funds and included provision for additional staff and
equipment. I expect the Archive to be very busy in the months
ahead. The Bicentennial National Travelling Film retrospective
has already been announced as part of the official
celebrations in 1988.
The Archive,' in conjunction with the Australian
Bicentennial Authority, will shortly commence initial
planning for this year-long event.
In April 1986, the Archive will host the Congress of The
International Federation of Film Archives, the first
time such a gathering has been held in the southern
hemisphere. In conjunction with this, the Archive will organise a
training school for Film Archive Administrators from
developing countries, especially those in the
Asia/ Pacific region.
On that unprecedented occasion, Australia's stature in
film archiving, as well as its special regional role,
will be on show to Lhe world and Australia will properly
take its place as a responsible and significant
contributor to international affairs in this field.
Similar opportunities will be sought in the field of
international sound archiving.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Part of the Government's vision for the Archive is that
it should be accessible in the fullest sense to all
Australians.
While that vision has many facets, ane cannot be
realised overnight, some iT~ portant steps in that
direction will be taken during tne coming moaths.
As from tomorrow, this building, and this Exhibition
Hall, will be open to the public. A simple beginning
perhaps, but, I am sure, the start of what will be many
exhibitions and activities in the months and years
ahead.
As well, access restrictions to the co. llections, which
were introduced over two years ago, are to be
progressively lifted as staff numbers are built up.
A copying service will also be provided to radio
broadcasters to allow the Australian community to enjoy
historic recordings in the colle! ction.
In due course the Archive will release selected material
for public sale on videocassette and LP recordings.
The Archive's interstate offices will also provide
access services.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are obviously at the beginning of an. exciting
venture. I personally have much pleasure in declaring open this
building as the permanent headquarters of the National
Film and Sound Archive. " 9