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

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Introducing the Western Australian Museum
BACKGROUND
The Western Australian Museum was established in 1891 (as the ‘Perth Museum’) and its initial
collections were of geological, ethnological and biological specimens. Indeed, it can claim to
be one of the oldest scientific institutions in the state. In 1959, its botanical collection was
transferred to the new Herbarium and it continued to concentrate on earth sciences and zoology.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the addition of responsibility for developing and maintaining the
state’s anthropological, archaeological, maritime archaeological and social and cultural history
collections.
The collections, currently numbering more than two and a half million specimens/artefacts, are
the primary focus of research by the Museum’s own staff and others. The Museum’s aim is to
advocate knowledge about the collections and communicate it to the public through a variety
of media, but particularly through a program of exhibitions and publications.
During the year, a total of 751,795 visitors, of which 48,923 were school students, visited the
various Museum sites.
The Museum’s recurrent Consolidated Fund Appropriation for this year was $18,874,000, plus
$800,000 for Capital Works. A further $2,055,804 was attracted from external funding sources,
of which $332,864 comprised research grants. The Museum has a total staff of 199.52 full-time
equivalents.
ESTABLISHMENT
The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio,
established under the Museum Act 1969. It is a Body Corporate with Perpetual Succession and
Common Seal, governed by a Board of seven Trustees, including the Chair and Vice-Chair. The
Governor of Western Australia appoints the seven Trustees. The Director General of the
Department of Culture and the Arts, or his/her nominee, is a Trustee ex officio. Appointments
are made for up to four years and incumbents are eligible for reappointment.
Under section 36 of the Museum Act, the Trustees have established the following branches of
the Western Australian Museum:
• Western Australian Museum–Science and Culture (Perth site; Fremantle History Museum;
Samson House)
• Western Australian Maritime Museum (based at Cliff Street, Fremantle)
• Western Australian Museum–Albany
• Western Australian Museum–Kalgoorlie-Boulder
• Western Australian Museum–Geraldton
ACCOUNTABLE AUTHORITY
The Trustees are the Accountable Authority for the purposes of the Financial Administration and
Audit Act 1985.
OTHER RELEVANT LEGISLATION
State Acts (as amended)
• Maritime Archaeology Act 1973
Commonwealth Acts (as amended)
• Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976
• Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act 1986
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2001–2002