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President’s report to the

2011 AGM

It is hoped that this same respect for each other’s

contribution towards a common objective could be

achieved at a national level, with AMMPT branches

possibly sharing in storage or other facilities and joint

participation and partnership in future exhibitions.

even years ago, when the concept of an organisation

dedicated to the preservation of our industry’s heritage

became a reality, I did not anticipate it would take so long

to convince those in other parts of Australia the value of

what we were attempting. Fortunately this year we have

established a new branch in Sydney and one in the process

of being registered in Melbourne with a significant

increase in membership numbers in these regions.

Evolution is a constant process and is always evident with

AMMPT. The recent registration of the name

AUSTRALIAN MEDIA MUSEUM in all States appears

to have been well received by all branches. The name

appears to have greater public appeal and allows our

association to embrace kindred media industries. The

national committee will be considering any further action

in this direction at forthcoming meetings, at which input

from all branches will be considered. Also the dropping of

the word “regional” and replaced with the name of the

State, has also been asked to be considered.

The early reluctance to support our project could be

attributed to our inability to convince many of AMMPT’s

national objectives and some concern over the original

legal structure of our association. Feedback from

interstate members and others interested in our activities

assisted us in developing a new arrangement of

autonomous regional branches, working under a common

set of procedures and networking for mutual support.

A major common problem being faced by all branches is

the availability of storage space – a dilemma faced by

Perth Members for seven years without a permanent

solution yet in sight. It is obvious we need government and

corporate support in this area as there is a limit to what

members can be expected to provide on their own

premises, nor is it convenient to have scattered locations

for the accession teams and members to work on the

objects. The national committee will be exploring what

federal funding options are available, while the branches

are encouraged to investigate State grants and similar

financial support.

There was also some concern that we were attempting to

duplicate or compete with existing government or industry

based organisations. This was never intended or has ever

been the case. In fact we rely heavily on the collaboration

with, and support of these organisations, some of which

are our corporate members such as the NFSA in Canberra

and ACMI in Melbourne. What AMMPT hopes to be able

to offer in return to these supporters is our nationwide

group of volunteers who are passionate about preserving

their industry’s heritage. However for various reasons,

many don’t want to get too closely tied in with “the

establishment”. Some have indicated they are willing to

loan items from their private collections for AMMPT

exhibitions and at which they can maintain some control

over their objects, rather than be subject to the more

rigorous demands placed on them by some mainstream

entities.

Finally, the success of our project will depend on the

strength of our membership. As we are often reminded of

the constant passing of old colleagues, it is evident we

need to recruit newer, younger members. A concept is

being prepared to encourage interaction with the education

sector – especially the colleges and universities with

media courses. From these areas will emerge many of our

future members. Our task is to awaken an awareness of

the heritage of an industry they intend to join and make

them feel proud to become part of it. For these objectives

the national committee have introduced a new membership

category – Student , for those undertaking media related

courses.

Our policy of taking our exhibitions out into the

community rather than having the public try to find them

in distant centralised locations is designed to promote

local awareness of AMMPT’s objectives in both city and

rural areas. We are encouraging our members who operate

their own small museums to develop the conservation

skills and level of presentation which would attract their

local community and tourists to their display. With wide

community appreciation of Australia’s moving image and

media heritage, it is expected many items of significance

will emerge, the existence of which may have previously

been unknown. In some instances it may be decided to

refer these items to the NFSA or similar government

entities where the professionalism is available to properly

restore and preserve selected objects.

I urge all members to make an effort to recruit like minded

souls to our ranks. Also they should aim to take an active

part in branch activities. Your local committees can do

with all the support and encouragement they can get.

Daryl Binning

President, AMMPT. Oct 20 th 2011

Cinemaweb donation

While AMMPT may be perceived in some professional

quarters as just a bunch of well intentioned amateurs, we

are able to offer government funded entities the indirect

support of a growing volunteer membership dedicated to

the same ideals as themselves, albeit at a “second tier”

community museum level. As the newer branches develop

a rapport with their local museums and enroll members in

courses to attain the basis skills necessary to successfully

operate a community museum, they will gain the

credibility with the mainstream museum fraternity. This

has been achieved in Perth where the Western Australian

museum has loaned some priceless objects for AMMPT’s

exhibitions. All branches can achieve similar outcomes.

ontinuing s upport is being received from Dr. Ina Bertrand

who originally established her website Cinemaweb which

was subsequently transferred to AMMPT. Recently Dr.

Bertrand who lives in Melbourne

sent across the entire research

collection on which Cinemaweb

was compiled. Photographs of

WA cinema pioneers, newspaper

cuttings and other memorabilia

adds to the extensive collection of

audio interviews we have in our

collection.

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