A WA parliamentary question addresses the confiscation of historical C.Y. O'Connor documents purchased at auction. The government confirms the documents are government records and will be retained, with compensation for the buyer under consideration.

AnsweredQoN 109Legislative Council
Asked
4 April 2006
Portfolio
Arts

QuestionView source ↗

C.Y. O’CONNOR - HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
The government confiscated some historical C.Y. O’Connor documents from Mr Cam Tinley, who had lawfully purchased them at auction. (1) Has the records office established whether this material constitutes a government record? (2) If so, where was it stored, and how did it come into the ownership of Gregson Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd? (3) If this material is a government record, does the government intend to retain it, and will Mr Tinley be reimbursed the purchase price he paid at auction and for safely storing a government document? (4) If the material is not classified as a government record, when will it be returned to Mr Tinley? Hon ADELE FARINA

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(1) Has the records office established whether this material constitutes a government record? (2) If so, where was it stored, and how did it come into the ownership of Gregson Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd? (3) If this material is a government record, does the government intend to retain it, and will Mr Tinley be reimbursed the purchase price he paid at auction and for safely storing a government document? (4) If the material is not classified as a government record, when will it be returned to Mr Tinley? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(2) If so, where was it stored, and how did it come into the ownership of Gregson Auctioneers and Valuers Pty Ltd? (3) If this material is a government record, does the government intend to retain it, and will Mr Tinley be reimbursed the purchase price he paid at auction and for safely storing a government document? (4) If the material is not classified as a government record, when will it be returned to Mr Tinley? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(3) If this material is a government record, does the government intend to retain it, and will Mr Tinley be reimbursed the purchase price he paid at auction and for safely storing a government document? (4) If the material is not classified as a government record, when will it be returned to Mr Tinley? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(4) If the material is not classified as a government record, when will it be returned to Mr Tinley? Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
Hon ADELE FARINA replied: I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
I thank the member for some notice of this question. (1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(1) Yes, the material constitutes government records. (2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(2) The material’s previous storage and provenance prior to being auctioned at Gregson Auctioneers is unknown. (3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(3) The government will retain the record as part of the state’s archive collection. Mr Tinley has made an application for compensation in accordance with the State Records Act, and this is being considered. (4) Not applicable.
(4) Not applicable.

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