AGY-3845 | Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Relics [National Parks and Wildlife Service]

Full description

The Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Relics was a non-statutory Committee established by the Minister for Lands in September, 1966. The terms of reference were as follows: (1) To fully investigate and report to the Minister on Action being taken to preserve aboriginal relics:
(2) To report to the Minister on the following:
(a) The establishment of a central record for recording and collation of data relative to relics, now available and obtained in the future;
(b) the drawing up of a system of priorities;
(c) the problem of supervision of relics with recommendations for a suitable plan of supervision and any legal provisions considered necessary:
(d) the utilisation of personnel of existing authorities for location, investigation and supervision of relics; and
(e) other such matters pertaining to relics as the Committee considers desirable The Minister appointed the following committee Professor A.P. Elkin (Chairman); Mr David R. Moore (Curator of Anthropology, Australian Museum); Mr Richard Wright (Department of Anthropology, University of Sydney); Mr D.A. Carr (Vice President of the National Trust of Australia and one officer each from the Department of Mines and the Department of Lands. (1) The first recorded meeting of the Committee was on 14 March 1967. At this meeting the major item of business was the secondment of an officer to commence work on the survey. (2) The Committee was anxious to see that major highways then being planned did not destroy any identified Aboriginal relics. The Committee saw its main task as drafting sections of the National Parks and Wildlife Amendment Act to ensure that the protection of Aboriginal relics was adequately covered in legislation. On 28 November 1967 the Minister for Lands approved that the Committee be transferred to the direction of the Director of the National Parks and Wildlife Service which was established on 1 October, 1967 (3) Following this change of administration the Director usually attended the meeting as an observer occasionally accompanied by members of the field staff. The Committee laid the foundation for community understanding of the value of aboriginal relics and steps that could be taken to preserve them. Letters were sent to schools, relevant government agencies, mining companies and other groups strategically placed to assist in the aims of the Committee. Correspondence received by the Committee advised the location of relic sites many of which were discussed in considerable detail by the members. At the conclusion of the meeting of 15 December 1969 the committee resolved to report to the Minister that its task was complete as it role was to be subsumed by the statutory Aboriginal Relics Advisory Committee which was established by the National Parks and Wildlife (Amendment) Act 1969 (Act No 78, 1969) (4) Endnotes
(1) Letter from the Under-Secretary Department of Lands to Mr David Moore (date illegible) 12/12271.1
(2) Minutes of the Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Aboriginal Relics 14/3/1967 in 12/12271.1
(3) Letter Minister to the Chairman 28/11/1967 in 12/12271.1
(4) Minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Committee on Aboriginal relics 15 December, 1969. in 12/12271.1