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ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 52| August 2001
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Memories for the World |
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Journal of James Cook kept on HM
Barque Endeavour, 17681771 |
What are Australias most significant documentary heritage items? If UNESCO is correct they are James Cooks Endeavour journal and the Mabo Case Manuscripts. Both of these items are part of the National Library of Australias Collection and have recently been listed on UNESCOs international Memory of the World register.
Jan Lyall, the Chair of the Australian Memory of the World committee says there is a growing realisation that the past is both a precious asset and a limited resource; its future entrusted to all of us alive today.
The Endeavour journal is the original document, in Cooks handwriting, of his first exploration voyage in the Pacific on HM Barque Endeavour in 17681771. The first European charting of the east coast of Australia and the first circumnavigation of New Zealand occurred on this voyage.
The Endeavour journal has been in the possession of the Library for 77 years and has been on display to many thousands of people. The publication of the journal in 1955 and the CD- ROM produced in 1999 made the text readable throughout the world. The journal has great significance for both non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians, especially those living in the eastern States. James Cook is probably the most well-known figure in Australia and his journal is the foundation document of the Library.
On the other hand the Library acquired the Mabo Case Manuscripts between 1995 and 2000 and they were used by Mabos biographer, Noel Loos, and relied on for an award-winning film about Mabo and the Mabo Case. They have therefore indirectly had a great influence on popular perceptions of Edward Mabo and of public appreciation of the significance of the Mabo Case.
Edward Koiki Mabos personal papers are held alongside legal and historical materials relating to the Mabo Case. As a result of Edward Mabos efforts this case overturned the concept of Australia as terra nullius which had persisted from the earliest years of European settlement, instead recognising pre-existing tribal law as superior. This judgment, in June 1992 shortly after Mabos death, overrode two centuries of denial of the concept of native title throughout Australia and the Torres Strait Islands.
The Mabo Papers reveal much about the history and society of the Murray Islands in Torres Strait also containing material on social and employment conditions in North Queensland. However, the issues have a bearing on the rights of both Indigenous peoples and the descendants of European settlers throughout Australia. In addition the rights of First Nations, and especially their land rights, have been hotly debated in recent decades in New Zealand, and North America as a result of Australian debate.
Established in 1992 the Memory of the World register lists 48 collections from 26 different countries. In 2001, half of the 42 nominations were successful in their bid for inclusion.
The
criteria for inclusion on the register include material considered to have
had a major influence on the history of the world; or which transcends the
boundaries of national culture; reflects a period of momentous change in
world affairs; is about a person making a crucial contribution to major
developments in world history or culture or place having outstanding
cultural, social and spiritual value transcending a national culture.
Many of the items on the Memory of the World register are very old, including:
· Buljo jikji simche yojeol containing essential elements of Zen Buddhism printed in Korea in 1377 using movable type
More recent collections on the Memory of the World register include the
surviving Warsaw Ghetto Archives from Poland.
Jenny Underwood
Right: Mrs Bonita Mabo at the ceremony to celebrate the handover of the Mabo Papers August 1995. Photographer: Jason South Photograph Courtesy of the Townsville Bulletin
Please address any comments and enquiries to The Editor, Gateways: dthomas@nla.gov.au