VPRS 15163 Index to Photographic Negatives [1956 Melbourne Olympics Photograph Collection]

Full description

This series consists of three indexes to VPRS 10742 Photographic Negatives [1956 Melbourne Olympics Photograph Collection]. The negatives were created as part of the sale of Olympic Photographs to the public and competitors at the time of the Games in 1956. The sale of Olympic Photographs was conducted by the Press and Publicity section of the Organising Committee for the XVIth Olympiad Melbourne [1956] (VA 4153).

The Organising Committee negotiated with the Institute of Victorian Photographers to arrange for the reproduction of photographs of the Olympics for sale. Copy negatives were produced by the Institute for Victorian Photographers to assist with the reproduction of sale copies of photographs. Myer Emporium was enlisted to organise the sale of the photographs, and to assist this process a board was set up displaying the photographs for sale in three key areas: at Myer Emporium Sales Office, Melbourne Cricket Ground, and in the Olympic Village. The Organising Committee was to receive 3 pence royalty on each print sold.

The Organising Committee recognised that limited positions would be available for the taking of still photographs of the Olympic Games due to the venues, the natures of the sports involved, and the regulations of the International Olympic Committee. Discussions were held with global and Australian newspaper, newsagent, and magazine contingents and research into how previous games had dealt with the situation was also conducted. The Committee determined that a pool of 30 accredited photographers, to be known as the Olympic Photo Association, would undertake all still photography in restricted playing areas under co-operative 'pool' conditions, and that a total of 125 photographers would be permitted to operate both inside and outside the restricted 'pool' areas at any one time.

The Olympic Photo Association was made up of an Australian Segment, a Global Segment and a Magazine Segment. Mr Doyle, Chairman of the Press and Publicity Sub Committee of the Organising Committee, recalled in the Minutes of the Olympic Photo Association (VPRS 10743/P0 Unit 14 - Photographic Pool) that there was 'a provision in the photographic agreement for photographs taken by the pool to be sold to competitors, officials and the public through a sales organisation set up by the Organising Committee'. Under this agreement, the Organising Committee retained the right to sell to competitors and the public the photographs made by the Global and Australian Segments of the cooperative. Due to the 'processing problems involved in the magazine field and / or widely differing time intervals before the publication dates by magazines', the Magazine Segment was not required to supply photographs to the Organising Committee for sale purposes.

The Australian and Global Segments of the Olympic Photo Association were to provide one copy of a 10 x 8 inch soft copy glossy print, properly captioned and identified, of all selected photographs made under the cooperative pool conditions for archival and other official Olympic Committee purposes, but not for resale. And they were also to supply a second copy for the purpose of sale to the public and competitors, which was to have the following caption printed in bold on the reverse:
'Copyright throughout the world by the Organising Committee for the XVIth Olympiad. Not for resale or publication'. At the conclusion of the games, each magazine or group of magazines were to make up a similar set of 10x8 inch glossy prints for the Organising Committee to include in its archives and the official Olympic records.

Restricted photographic positions were in the following areas:
Melbourne Cricket Ground (Main Stadium - Arena) (10 photographers in total only at any one time)
Olympic Swimming Stadium (10 photographers in total only at any one time)
Olympic Park (Soccer and Hockey Grounds - Inside Fence)
Olympic Park (Cycling)
Glaciarium (Basketball & Gymnastics)
St Kilda Town Hall (Fencing)
Exhibition Building (Wrestling & Weightlifting)
West Melbourne Stadium (Boxing)
Richmond Baths (Water Polo)
Port Phillip Bay (Yachting - Aboard Destroyer or Frigates)
Ballarat (Finishing Positions for Rowing & Canoeing)
Williamstown (Shooting)
Modern Pentathlon (Restricted Positions)

The index consists of three separate indexes relating to the photographic negatives contained in VPRS 10742; An Index by Day which contained the slips of paper filled out by the photographic pool. These may contain a caption for the negative, negative numbers (both the original and the copy numbers, or only the copy numbers), the name of the photographer, and the date the photograph was taken. An Index by Events, created after the Index by Day, which listed the event name, negative number, and date of the event. And an Index by Participant, also created after the Index by Day, which listed the name of the participant or participating country involved, the negative number, and the date. The Index by Participant includes the Athletics section of the Index by Event.