RPAYC ACTIVITIES
ARCHIVES REPORT
ARCHIVES HAVE A PERMANENT HOME
Sesquicentenary. A long word for a long period of time. On 17 October 2017, the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club will turn 150. For such an auspicious occasion the Board have planned a long birthday party with various social and cultural events. The Archives Committee is playing its part.
By the time of publication, you may have noticed the History Walk placards at various locations around the grounds. Did you know that there was a cattle grid across the front gates to the Club? Wonder why? Well, there will be a History Wall in the rear corridor on the ground floor of the clubhouse to find answer. So many world champions. These represent serious research and effort by various members of the Committee.
The Archive Committee have also commissioned volume two of the Club History book to build on the seminal work of the late G. B. Norman. That gentleman in turn relied on the work of earlier club historians and fortunately the Club from very early days had a sense of history. Laurie Waterman, a member of the Club from 1899 was recorded as the Club’ s first historian. After Graeme Norman Jim Robson-Scott ably assisted by Col Pratt carried on the good work reporting regularly to the Archives Committee in the late 1990s. Col, in particular took great pains over several years to identify and record a majority of the framed burgees displayed around the Club.
Some of you might have wondered what that“ stuff” was doing in the Billiard Room. That“ stuff” is part of the Club’ s valuable archives. It was necessary to move the archives temporarily while new facilities were built. After some years of being moved from cupboard to cupboard and any spare storage space the Club has purpose-built archive storage upstairs in the building. That room with certain fire rated features is now fitted out with archive quality shelving and compactus storage. The Club’ s archives now have a permanent secure home.
David McDonald, a member of the Archives Committee has spent some years developing a detailed spreadsheet record of the Club’ s trophies and memorabilia. The spreadsheet complete with photographs and, where available a detailed provenance will be transferred to a searchable database once the Club has made a final decision on suitable software.
So rather than sit“ gathering dust”, the Archives Committee has been busy preparing for the Sesquicentenary, at the same time as“ preserving the past for the future”,
The Archives Committee has been busy preparing for the Sesquicentenary, at the same time as“ preserving the past for the future”
74 YACHTSMAN