Support for Public Access to Historic Indigenous Archive
UTS Shopfront and Jumbunna are co-sponsoring a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences student to finalise an audit and public access policy for a national archive containing significant Indigenous history.
For 60 years, Tranby National Indigenous Adult Education and Training Centre has been a major centre of Indigenous vocational training and played a role in the human rights movement. Over this time, Tranby has evolved as a place of social impact and a strong voice for Indigenous activism, and has accumulated an archive of national importance which traces back through the decades.
In Semester 2, UTS: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences student, Emily Virgona, began working to establish a management and access plan for the archive to ensure its sustainability and public accessibility.
Now, Shopfront and UTS: Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research have co-sponsored Emily to finalise an audit of collections for this nationally important archive.
An image from the Tranby archive collection. (Copyright Tranby)
Under the supervision of UTS academic Michael Olsson, Emily is working to develop Tranby's library and archive, establish management and public access plans, and create a set of access policies that will preserve the archive collection.
“I have been so fortunate and grateful for the opportunity to work with Tranby, who have given me a wealth of experience in my field that I couldn’t get anywhere else, and I have Shopfront to thank for that,” says Emily, who is completing the project as the final year 'capstone' of her Information Media degree.
Emily (second row, far right) pictured with the Tranby team and representatives from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights who visited the College in December 2017. (Copyright Tranby)
Established in 1957, Tranby is Australia’s oldest not-for-profit independent Indigenous education provider and is located in Glebe, Sydney. As a nationally registered training organisation, Tranby offers units of competency, full VET qualifications, and non-accredited skill development initiatives to Indigenous adults from across Australia in a unique, culturally supportive environment.
Tranby has been involved in many important Indigenous milestones in Australian history, including the 1967 Australian Referendum and the Aboriginal Land Rights Movement.
An image from the Tranby archive collection. (Copyright Tranby)
Tranby's Business Manager, Saskia Sharp says that Emily’s knowledge has been a huge asset in revitalising the archive, “it is fantastic that a public archive will become a reality for our 60th birthday year!"
Tranby will celebrate 60 years of operation in 2018 and the public archive will become available then.
