About the records

Administrative Information

Records of Ailsa Swan were transferred to the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre from her home, shortly after her death in 1998. The records had been sorted into 24 boxes by her husband, John Swan, who had also prepared a list of the files in each box. In 2004 a more detailed list of the contents of the files was prepared and a finding aid produced.

• The collection is comprised of records from 1 accessions. The codes used to uniquely identify each accession range from SWAN1998/0001 to SWAN1998/0001.
  
  
• The records have been allocated to 4 series. The codes used to uniquely identify each series range from SWANS001 to SWANS004.
  
  
• Through the processing of the records, 1 provenance entity was identified. The code used to uniquely identify this provenance entity, i.e. records creator or custodian, is SWANP01.
  
  
• The inventory covers 178 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 SWAN00001 to SWAN00178. The total collection occupies 211 linear cm of shelf space (or its equivalent).
  
  
• The documentation of the records at inventory level started on 9 January 2004. The latest additions were made on 20 January 2004. The latest modifications were made on 6 July 2007. This collection profile was updated on 13 November 2007.
  
  

Scope and Content

Ailsa Swan was born in Sydney in 1922. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) at the University of Melbourne in 1942 and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of London in 1949. Positions held by Swan in the field of chemistry include research chemist at Monsanto Australia and research officer at the CSIRO Division of Industrial Chemistry.

Swan later became an active conservationist. She was a member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, the Bird Observers Club of Australia and a founding member of the Phillip Island Conservation Society. Her passion for nature conservation led to Swan becoming an expert in planning laws. She made submissions, prepared material and appeared at hearings of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, representing the Bird Observers Club of Australia, the Phillip Island Conservation Society and Environment Victoria (formerly the Conservation Council of Victoria).

The collection covers Swan's early career in chemistry, including her PhD thesis and published papers. The bulk of the papers covers her correspondence regarding wildlife and conservation and her files regarding conservation battles.