❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the provenance of recovered C.Y. O'Connor records auctioned by Gregsons, inquiring about the extent of investigation into their storage and whether they were stolen. The response indicates the records were part of a deceased estate and not stolen, with their presence in the estate's possession remaining speculative.
AnsweredQoN 140Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
C.Y. O’CONNOR - HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
I refer to the recovered records relating to C.Y. O’Connor, and to my question without notice 109 on this matter. I ask the minister to provide the following information - (1) Since the material constitutes a government record, to what extent has the minister investigated the previous storage and provenance of the records? (2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST
I refer to the recovered records relating to C.Y. O’Connor, and to my question without notice 109 on this matter. I ask the minister to provide the following information - (1) Since the material constitutes a government record, to what extent has the minister investigated the previous storage and provenance of the records? (2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST
AnswerView source ↗
On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(1) Since the material constitutes a government record, to what extent has the minister investigated the previous storage and provenance of the records? (2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(1) Since the material constitutes a government record, to what extent has the minister investigated the previous storage and provenance of the records? (2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(2) If there has been a thorough investigation, were the documents stolen from the State Records Office of Western Australia or from some other storage; if so, what explanation has Gregsons Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd given about its acquisition of the documents; and if there has not been a thorough investigation, why not? Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
Hon KATE DOUST replied: On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
On behalf of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Culture and the Arts, I thank the honourable member for some notice of this question. (1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(1) The State Records Office has made inquiries regarding the previous storage and provenance of the material. It is understood that the government records in question were auctioned at Gregsons as part of a deceased estate of a former public servant employed at the Public Works Department between 1921 and 1948. An independent assessor engaged by the State Records Office concluded that the file was compiled by that officer as a reference point for use in his public works career. It would be speculative to determine how the file came into the estate of the employee. (2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
(2) The documents were not stolen from the State Records Office or other storage.
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