Working in Australia: Sian Yates

Sian Yates travelled to Australia in August 1997, after completing the archive diploma course at the University of Wales, Bangor. A longer article about her trip appeared in the Society Of Archivists Newsletter, October 1998, no. 118.

I applied for my Working Holiday Visa twelve months before I was due to leave. I spent the intervening time preparing for my trip, including finding out as much as I could about the Australian archive profession before I left and making contact with archivists and records managers over there.

My first destination in Australia, in common with most other travellers, was Sydney. I attended a meeting of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Society of Archivists and was introduced to a woman who ran her own archive/records management consultancy business. I registered my interest with her company and a few weeks later she offered me a temporary job reorganising the filing system of the ANZ Bank in Sydney.

I spent the next few weeks travelling and sightseeing. Funds eventually reached rock bottom and I travelled to Perth in Western Australia in the hope of finding work there through some contacts I had made before I left the UK. My contact introduced me to several local archival organisations, and I was offered work at the Archives and Central Records Department of the University of Western Australia (UWA). This was a fantastic opportunity to work in a small but very forward-looking organisation. Besides looking after the University archive and running a small searchroom, the department was also responsible for the management of the University's current records. I was introduced to a number of concepts that were not on the diploma course curriculum: the `records continuum' and the Commonwealth series registration system which the Archivist was introducing to the University archives. The department was also actively tackling the problem of electronic records, and I had the opportunity to see a demonstration of the electronic records management system which they were planning to implement in the near future. I ended up working at UWA for a total of five months. I managed to dodge the three month restriction of the Working Holiday Visa by getting myself re-employed at the University through an agency - thus my employer changed, but my place of work remained the same!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Australia, particularly in Perth, and feel tremendously privileged to have lived and worked there. I have very fond memories of my experiences and am still in contact with friends `Down Under'. Since returning to the UK I have found my trip has reaped rewards, both personal and professional. I have found work in local and national government archives, and I am continuing my interest in the international archive scene by becoming a member of the International Affairs Sub-Committee.

Last modified 07/09/2004