More about the rescue
Newspapers
The Battye Library holds the most complete collection of Western Australian newspapers in the world. There are 971 separate newspaper titles...
Read more about the newspapers
Photographic Negatives
The Battye Library's Pictorial Collection of nearly 1,000,000 images covers social and industrial history from all corners of the State, for example, from far north cattle stations to the early days of whaling...
The Rescue
The purpose of this section is to provide the community with further information about the HRRC project in relation to the actual rescue of significant historical records...
The Rescue
Films from the State Film Archive
The State Film Archives, the only regional film archive in Australia, contains over 3,000 titles in film and videotapes. It is a collection of unique historic and contemporary films produced in, and/or relating to, Western Australia. Dating from 1907 the collection includes commercial, educational and private films, as well as newsreels.
The State Film Archives has difficult and expensive preservation issues. Most of the collection is at serious risk because acetate stock was used from the 1920s until the 1980s. Without preservation work, the deterioration of the acetate will result in a complete loss of images. The films to be rescued are ones considered of significant research value but also where tests have shown that deterioration has commenced giving the film a death sentence.
Films will be sent to a specialist preservation laboratory in Sydney and copied to a stable polyester film base.
Once preserved, the films will be available for all time to be enjoyed by Western Australians. DVD copies will be available to view in the State Film and Video Library, part of the State Library, and on loan through community organisations or associations. A special compilation will be prepared of highlights from the films to be made available in public libraries throughout the State.
A list, including descriptions, of each film rescued is available through this website. See Rescued Films.
Images supplied by ScreenSound showing film affected by Vinegar Syndrome (below)
