About the records

Administrative Information

• The collection is comprised of records from 2 accessions. The codes used to uniquely identify each accession range from PMAL2008-001 to PMAL2008-002.
• The records have been allocated to 67 series. The codes used to uniquely identify each series range from PMAS0001 to PMAS0067.
• Through the processing of the records, 12 provenance entities were identified. The codes used to uniquely identify each provenance entity, i.e. records creator or custodian, range from PMAP001 to PMAP012.
• The inventory covers 1,239 items, and may include records of continuing value, records sentenced for destruction and records that have been destroyed. The codes used to uniquely identify each inventory item range from PMA0001 to PMA1239. The total collection occupies 1,794 linear cm of shelf space (or its equivalent).
• The documentation of the records at inventory level started on 11 March 1996. The latest additions were made on 10 December 2008. The latest modifications were made on 12 February 2009. This collection profile was updated on 30 March 2009.

Scope and Content

The records in the Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited (PMA Ltd) collection cover the full period of Company operation and also show a range of the Company's activities (although certain financial, personnel and technical records were disposed of elsewhere). Also included are a number of records from Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand Limited (ICIANZ), who operated the Pigments Plant at Laverton from 1960 to 31 December 1969 before forming PMA Ltd as a joint venture with BASF Australia Ltd. Strengths of the collection include general managers' files, detailed monthly reports, outgoing correspondence from senior staff, files and notebooks from the Development department of the company, and a large number of colour sample cards.

Surveying and Mapping the Records

Gavan McCarthy and staff from Museum Victoria visited Alan Barlee (General Manager) at PMA Ltd, Laverton. Initially, it was believed that most of the records dealt with the recent history of the company, with little remaining from the early years of PMA Ltd, or from the 1960s when ICIANZ operated the Laverton plant. However, additional material from this time was located and is included here.

In January 1991 an onsite working bee was conducted and a "List of Record Series" or Archives Survey document was produced. This document, as well as further information about this guide and the records it describes, including transfer arrangements, custodianship and other contextual information, is held in the office files and the Heritage Documentation Management System (HDMS) database at the eScholarship Research Centre, University of Melbourne.

Arrangement and Description of the Records

Following the transfer of the records to the State Library of Victoria, eSRC staff recorded the physical arrangement of the collection in the HDMS database, and then undertook a survey of the collection, including the arrangement and description of the records. Some series and groups of records were subsequently re-arranged, and (in collaboration with the State Library of Victoria) the full collection was re-housed to ensure its preservation. At the same time, all provenance, series and item descriptions were reviewed and, in most cases, substantially rewritten and expanded.

The 2008 edition of the Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Guide to Records has been produced as a result of this work.

Provenance

Dates of Records

Digitisation

In June 2006 a further 1,993 records from 18 different inventory items were imaged as part of work for the University of Sydney's School of Business.

All the digital images produced as a result of Austehc's interaction with these organisations are attached to the relevant inventory item descriptions in this guide.

Museum Victoria

How These Records Can Be Used

Where material from the Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Collection is copied or quoted the source of the material must be acknowledged.

Preferred Citation

For citation of the published guide, an acceptable form would be: Barbara Cytowicz, Ann McCarthy, Gavan McCarthy, Michael Jones and Rachel Tropea, Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Guide to Records, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, 2008 [URL and date accessed].

Publication History

• HTML Edition, 2008: Barbara Cytowicz, Ann McCarthy, Gavan McCarthy, Michael Jones, and Rachel Tropea, Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Guide to Records, eScholarship Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, 2008
• HTML Edition, 2004: Barbara Cytowicz and Gavan McCarthy, Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Guide to Records, Australian Science and Heritage Technology Centre, The University of Melbourne, 2004

Copyright

The Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Collection is held by the State Library of Victoria. The State Library of Victoria manages any rights (including moral rights) in all material contained in the Pigment Manufacturers of Australia Limited Records.

All information in the guide to this collection and in the material of the collection itself, served from Australia, is administered under Australian Intellectual Property Laws.

Guide Image