NRS-20122 | Agendas and Business Papers [Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust]

Full description

The series consists of  copies of previous minutes, agendas and papers relating to the monthly meetings of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust. The records also include some minutes of meetings relating to committees and steering committees.

The Trust's objectives were:
- to maintain and improve Trust lands, the National Herbarium of New South Wales and the collections of living and preserved plant life owned by the Trust
- to increase and disseminate knowledge about the plant life of Australia, and of New South Wales in particular; and
- to encourage the public use and enjoyment of Trust lands by promoting and increasing the educational, historical, cultural and recreational value of these lands. (1)

The series is in order by date created. The numbering pattern BGT/ZZ/_ _ _ has largely been done retrospectively as most of the minutes and agendas were previously unregistered and were not registered in any records or other database or known registration system and they didn’t have a sequential number associated with them accept for file RBG-244 Parts 1 to 6.

According to research prepared by K.T. Dodds, Secretary, Royal Botanic Gardens and Government Domain Trust on 26 October 1970 'Trustees for the Royal Botanic Gardens were initially named by the Minister for Lands in the notification, under section 26 of the Crown Lands Consolidation Act, which appeared in the Government Gazette of 22nd December 1916 [and they] were the Hon. W.A. Holman, M.L.A (Premier), the Hon. F. Flowers, M.L.C (President of the Legislative Council), the Hon. W.C. Grahame, M.L.A (Minister for Agriculture), Mr C.H. Hay (Under Secretary, Premiers Department), Mr J.H. Maiden (Director, Botanic Gardens) and the Hon. R.D. Meagher, M.L.A. (Lord Mayor and also Speaker of the Legislative Assembly).' (2)

K.T. Dodds' research also states that 'It was not until the 17th December 1946, some thirty years after the first Trustees were appointed that minutes were recorded of a meeting at which were present Dr R.J. Noble (in the chair), Mr J.W. Ferguson, Mr R.H. Anderson and Mr N.J. Simmons (Acting Secretary). Despite the resolution, it was not until 10th August 1948 that the next meeting took place. The frequency of meetings since that time has been dedicated by the amount of business on hand.' (3)

Endnotes
1. Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Web page "Trust, Trustees, Trust committees", http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/about_us/our_people/trustees.
2. State Records NSW: NRS 20122, Minutes of Meetings - Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, RBG 244/1.
3. State Records NSW: NRS 20122, Minutes of Meetings - Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, RBG 244/1.