Annual Report 2001-2002 - Western Australian Museum - The ...

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Corporate and Commercial Development
Security was improved through the installation of closed-circuit television at the Perth site, and
a range of improvements were made at the regional museums in Albany and Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The Museum intranet was launched in mid-2001 and is an important information tool. The
Museum renewed its IT Maintenance Contract with Alphawest after an extensive tender and
evaluation process. Alphawest undertook a review of the Museum’s IT infrastructure, and a
major project to upgrade the network has commenced.
A similarly extensive process was undertaken to choose a contractor to redevelop the Museum’s
web portal and to create a virtual exhibition based on the very successful Western Australia:
Land and People exhibition in Hackett Hall.
DOCUMENTARY UNIT
The Western Australian Museum Documentary Unit began official operation in July 2001. The
unit functions as a coordinating and liaison unit between the Museum and the private
documentary industry. As such, it is responsible for the popularisation and dissemination of
museological information in the documentary format.
The unit’s first production, Life on the Edge—Down Under, was launched in August 2001 by the
Hon. Sheila McHale MLA, Minister for Culture and the Arts. A second launch, funded by Woodside
Energy Ltd, was held in Karratha. Both launches were successful and well attended, with
extensive media interest. Hit Entertainment in the United Kingdom is distributing the documentary
internationally and Channel 10 has purchased the Australian rights. The non-theatrical rights
have been granted to Ronin Films, Canberra, which is actively promoting the program to schools
and libraries throughout Australia and New Zealand. The Museum’s Education Section has
developed an educational resource booklet to accompany the video.
Currently in postproduction is Our Backyard, a re-edited version of Life on the Edge—Down
Under. This program is specifically aimed at school students and is presented by the students
themselves. The two student presenters were chosen by a Museum-organised competition
from high schools in the Karratha region. This production is sponsored by Woodside Energy Ltd
and Dampier Salt Ltd, with considerable in-kind sponsorship from local Karratha businesses.
The production Off the Edge, a nine-minute mini-documentary about the marine biological
assessment survey associated with the offshore fossil fuel industry, was completed in May
2002. Funded by Woodside Energy Ltd, this project is essentially a pilot video to explore the
possibilities of producing a full-length production in the future.
Co-production partnerships have been developed with Fisheries WA, the National Trust,
Storyteller Productions, Artemis International, Seadog Films and Location Equipment.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The Department of Culture and the Arts’ Code of Conduct has been distributed throughout the
Museum, and forms part of all new employees’ induction kit.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The Western Australian Museum received no freedom of information requests during the year.
CUSTOMER FOCUS
In a sponsorship program, Hides Consulting has continued to assist the Museum’s audience
research program. This ongoing program accurately assesses visitor satisfaction through exit
surveys and is part of a quality improvement program for visitor experiences.
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2001–2002