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The National collection

It’s your AMMPT

he following article is reproduced with appropriate

modifications and permission by AMMPT member and

Australian Cinematographers Society federal President Ron

Johanson. Ron was involved in compiling the original as a wake-up

call to ACS members who like to belong to, but do not materially

contribute to the growth and activities of the organisation. The

message to all AMMPT members has universal application.

The Australian Museum of Motion Picture & Television (Inc.)

is your Association. According to Webster’s dictionary an

Association is: “A Society, the members of which are united

by mutual interests or a common purpose”.

ll items donated to the AMMPT’s National Collection

legally belong to the national association, i.e. to every

member of AMMPT. Regional branches collect and store

items as custodians for the national body. This is established

on all our legal Deed of Gift / Donor receipt forms which have

been signed by donors over the past seven years, with copies

retained by the donor and both regional and national

Registrars. This is a vital part of our documentation.

AMMPT’s policy is to ensure where possible, all items are

retained in their region of significance, rather than be removed

to other areas. Till recently, and because of the lack of any

established AMMPT branches outside of Western Australia, a

few items of significance were sent to Perth, purely by default,

as the donors indicated they had planned to otherwise send

them to the tip.

There are members of your Association who think they know

how it can be improved, but do nothing about it.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN !

Long distance transport, especially for heavy items, is very

expensive, making local custodianship, preservation and

storage the preferred option. Local storage of items also offers

the advantage of a pool of significant items, photos etc., being

made available to other community museums in the region on

loan at short notice, as well as having personnel nearby to

assist with researching and recording the provenance of the

objects. Once other branches are firmly established and

operating within established parameters, transfer of locality

significant items between branches can begin.

There are others who talk about it a lot, but don’t put anything

into action.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN .

There are some who ask for change, but do nothing to bring

about that change.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN !

There are those who think it would be great to try something

new, but don’t actually bother to suggest something new.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN !

A national internet based Collections Cataloguing database has

been established into which all regional curators and registrars

will be able to access. Once regional branches have established

operations in accordance with mutually agreed parameters,

arrangements will be made for their appointed office bearers to

attend training courses so they can competently operate within

and actively contribute to this network. This database will

ensure transparency of what is held in each region and permit

locating missing items to be identified or where several

identical objects are held. It is possible these can be loaned or

transferred between regions by mutual consent and ensure all

our members get to see interesting objects in our collection that

they would otherwise not be able to sight.

There are some who come up with some great ideas, but leave

it entirely to others to implement.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN !

There are a few, who say it should be done, but don’t actually

contribute to the “doing”.

To them I say… IT’S YOUR AMMPT – MAKE IT HAPPEN !

There are members who when asked their opinions or to RSVP

they don’t. We are in the visual communication business. So

let’s communicate.

IT’S YOUR AMMPT– MAKE IT HAPPEN !

There will be times where items of very high State or National

significance are donated. In some cases it will be obvious that

AMMPT has neither the facilities nor technical expertise

within the membership to properly care for and preserve them.

In these instances both the regional curator and national

curator should decide if either the state or national

museums/archives should be approached to determine if they

would be interested in taking the object into their collection. If

affirmative, the donor should be approached if he/she is happy

with this proposal as there are many who have purposely not

offered the item to established public entities due to concern of

possible future restricted access to the item or it may be placed

in storage unlikely to be on display in easily accessible

locations.

Then, there are those few, who do the work, the thinking and

the putting it into action. To them I say….

THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN !

There are also those who don’t complain, they just get in and

do it. To them I say….

THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN !.

To those who do put their hand up and become active

participants.

I again say…. THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN !.

I guess the point Ron and I are making is don’t sit on your hands,

don’t assume somebody else will do it, pitch in and make the

Association stronger, better, give it a louder voice.

There are those through ill health or distance can’t participate in

events or attend meetings. Even so, the occasional phone call or

email to the committee with ideas or suggestions lets those giving

freely of their time know that their efforts are appreciated and

gives encouragement to continue. Please get involved. Contact

your AMMPT Regional Branch President or Secretary and let

them know you want to do more for the Association and not just

talk about it.

With the increasing amount of significant and priceless objects

being donated to community and government museums, the

storage problem is universal – not just one facing AMMPT.

The Western region branch still does not have a single central

storage or operating base even after seven years. It is operating

out of four shipping containers on member’s properties,

donated units at a suburban domestic storage complex, some at

a television station, and a lot stored at member’s homes – a

nightmare for our registrar in keeping track. It will be up to

each branch to address this problem and come up with

solutions to store our collection.

Daryl Binning

AMMPT National President

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