AGY-3629 | Division of Cultural Activities (1976-1984) Office of the Minister for the Arts (1984-1988)

Full description

The Division of Cultural Activities was established within the Premier’s Department circa 14 May 1976.(1) The Division was transferred to the Department after the main functional areas of the Department of Culture, Sport and Recreation were separated. The cultural function was transferred to the Premier’s Department and the sport and recreational functions were transferred to the newly created Department of Sport and Recreation [I].(2) The Cultural Activities Division within the Premier’s Department was responsible for providing advice to the Premier on arts and cultural matters, and for implementing programs of assistance for arts and cultural development. The Division’s functions were: 1) policy co-ordination and research;
2) administration, including co-ordination and liaison between the Premier’s Department and the State’s cultural institutions;
3) Arts Development (Policy and Projects) – to rationalise basic resources, increase professionalism and encourage wider community access to the arts;
4) Arts Development (Cultural Grants) – management of grants programs. The Division worked with the Cultural Grants Advisory Council in carrying out its responsibilities in providing assistance for activities in music, theatre, literature, community arts, visual arts and crafts, and other fields of the arts.(3) Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Division of Cultural Activities was involved with the restoration of buildings in Sydney, including the Ultimo Tram Depot and Powerhouse, the Mint, and Barracks buildings.(4) The 1980s saw the opening of the Power House Museum and the National Maritime Museum. The Division administered the Premier’s Literary Awards inaugurated in 1979. Through the Division, the Government continued to sponsor the Art in Gardens exhibition as well as regular concerts and exhibitions in Sydney’s western suburbs.(5) In February 1984, the Premier assumed responsibility for the newly created portfolio of Minister for the Arts. The Minister for the Arts became responsible for legislation administering the Archives Authority of New South Wales, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, State Library, Sydney Opera House, the Australian Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, and the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales.(6) On 16 April 1984, the Office of the Minister for the Arts was established, replacing the Division of Cultural Activities.(7) Despite this, the Office of the Minister for the Arts remained within the New South Wales Premier’s Department and the Arts did not become a fully autonomous portfolio until June 1988.(8) On 20 August 1986, responsibility for the Archives Authority, the Australian Museum, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, the Historic Houses Trust and the State Library of New South Wales was transferred from the Minister for the Arts to the Minister for Heritage.(9) On the same date, responsibility for the Sydney Opera House was transferred from the Minister for the Arts to the Premier.(10) As a result, the Minister for Arts was now only responsible for the Art Gallery of New South Wales and for the Trustees of Schools of Arts Enabling Act 1902 (No.68). These legislative allocations remained until after the election of the Greiner Government in March 1988.(11) On 13 April 1988, legislative responsibility for the State’s cultural institutions was again allocated to the Minister for Arts(12), although it was not until 4 May 1988 that legislation administering the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Entertainment Centre was officially transferred from the Premier to the Minister for the Arts.(13) Also on 4 May 1988, the following branches, or groups of staff principally involved with the following organisations were transferred from the Department of Planning (this Department became responsible for the following agencies when the Heritage portfolio was abolished on 25 March 1988) to the Office of the Minister for the Arts: Archives Authority of New South Wales, the Australian Museum, the Historic Houses Trust, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, and the State Library.(14) The Office of the Minister for the Arts was replaced on 15 June 1988 when the Ministry for the Arts was established as a fully autonomous Ministry.(15) The Ministry now became the entity responsible for arts funding and policy. As the Ministry for the Arts Annual Report in 1988 stated “In creating a fully autonomous Ministry, the new Government has given official recognition to the importance of the arts in the life of the community, and established a mechanism for greater co-ordination and accountability in the operations of all the State’s cultural instititions.”(16) ENDNOTES
(1) NSW Government Gazette No.67, 17 May 1976, p2139.
(2) Department of Sport, Recreation and Racing Annual Report for 1987-1988, p7.
(3) New South Wales Premier’s Department Annual Report for 1980, p13.
(4) ibid., p29.
(5) ibid., p30.
(6) Premiers Deortment Information Sheet 15/84
(7) New South Wales Premier’s Department Annual Report for 1984, p29.
(8) Ministry for the Arts Annual Report 1987-88, p7.
(9) NSW Government Gazette No 134, 22 August 1986, p4090.
(10) NSW Government Gazette No 134, 22 August 1986, p4090.
(11) Prior to the March 1988 election, an allocation of the administration of Acts was published in the NSW Government Gazette No.54, 11 March 1988, p1651 and there was no change from the previous arrangements. On 15 April 1988, the allocation of Acts after the election gave responsibility for the following legislation to the Minister for the Arts (the position of Heritage Minister was abolished and responisibilities were divided between the Minister for the Arts, Minister for Planning, and the Minister for the Environment): Archives Act 1960 (No.46), Art Gallery of New South Wales Act 1980 (No.65), Australian Museum Trust Act 1975 (No.95), Copyright Act 1879 (No.20), Historic Houses Trust Act 1980 (No.94), Library Act 1939 (No.40), Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Act 1945 (No.31), New South Wales Film Corporation Act 1977 (No.55), New South Wales Film Council (Dissolution) Act 1977 (No.90), Sir Henry Parkes National (War) Memorial Museum and Library Act 1957 (No.47).
(12) NSW Government Gazette No 74, 15 April 1988, p2280.
(13) NSW Government Gazette No.82, 6 May 1988, p2485.
(14) NSW Government Gazette No.82, 6 May 1988, p2486.
(15) Ministry for the Arts Annual Report 1987-88, p15.
(16) loc. cit.