Operational Structure

The Western Australian Museum

The Western Australian Museum first opened its doors to enquiring minds at the Old Perth Gaol in 1891, and for more than 120 years it has played a pivotal role in discovering and sharing the millions of extraordinary stories generated by this amazing State.

Customers include the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Museum’s public sites and its website; numerous scientific, curatorial and corporate clients; and the many people whose lives are touched by the work of the Museum. We are committed to providing the best possible service to all of our customers at every level, and at every point of contact.

Our Mission:

We will inspire people to explore and share their identity, culture, environment and sense of place, and contribute to the diversity and creativity of our world.

Our Vision:

To be an excellent and vibrant Museum service valued and used by all Western Australians and admired and visited by the world.

Our Values:

We are dedicated to community value, which means we will be:

• Accountable – we exist for the benefit of all the people of Western Australia and recognise that we are accountable to them, and are custodians of their collections.

• Inspirational, Inclusive and Accessible – we will inspire people to explore our world and will advance knowledge through study, research and life-long learning; making sure our facilities, programs and resources are accessible to all.

• Enterprising and Excellent – we will be creative, resourceful, imaginative, innovative and entrepreneurial; we will be commercially astute and aspire to excellence in all that we do.

• Sustainable – we will aspire to be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable and we will work in partnership with others to maximise public benefit and value for money.

• We recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of Australia – we acknowledge the primary rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in their cultural heritage and will work collaboratively to advance understanding people all peoples.

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Responsible Minister and Legislation

Responsible Minister

The Hon John Day MLA is the Minister responsible for the Culture and the Arts portfolio.

The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio.

Enabling Legislation

• Museum Act 1969 (WA)

Legislation and Regulations administered by the Museum

• Museum Regulations 1973 (WA)
• Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA)
• Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 (Commonwealth); sections 10 (1), 11 (1), and 15 are administered by the Chief Executive Officer of the WA Museum, as Delegate in Western Australia for the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment.

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Western Australian Museum Board of Trustees

The Western Australian Museum is governed by an eight-member Board of Trustees, seven of whom are appointed by the Governor of Western Australia, while the eighth Trustee is the Director General of the Department of Culture and the Arts. The Board is the accountable authority under the Financial Management Act 2006. The Board met on four occasions during 2013–14.

Name	Designation	Occupation	Initial Appoint.	Expiry	Meetings Attended
Emeritus Professor Alan Robson AO	Chairman	Academic	1/1/2012	31/12/2015	4/4
Sara Clafton	Vice Chair	Managing Director	25/9/2007	10/7/2016	4/4
Ian Fletcher	Trustee	Retired businessman	1/1/2012	31/12/2015	3/4
Dr Kate Gregory	Trustee	Historian	10/7/2012	10/7/2016	3/4
Steve Scudamore	Trustee	Company Chairman	24/10/2006	31/12/2015	4/4
Irene Stainton	Trustee	Senior Aboriginal Affairs Advisor	13/12/2011	6/10/2013	2/4
Rubini Ventouras	Trustee	Group Executive Legal Affairs	10/7/2012	10/7/2016	4/4
Alan Ferris	Ex-Officio	A/Director General	Ex-Officio	N/A	3/4

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Emeritus Professor Alan Robson AO CitWA, Chair of the Trustees

Professor Robson was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia from 2004 until 2012. Prior, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost of the University from 1993. He was also:

• Chair of the Group of Eight Universities from 2007–10.
• Deputy Chair of the Council of the National Library from 1998–2005.
• Deputy Chair of Universities Australia from 2009–11.
• Member of the Western Australian Science Council 2003–09.
• Member of the Board of the CSIRO from 2003–08.

In 2003 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and awarded a Centenary Medal; in 2009 he was made a Citizen of Western Australia; and in 2013 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. Emeritus Professor Robson was appointed Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees in 2012.

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Ms Sara Clafton, Vice-Chair

Ms Clafton completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Western Australia and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Currently, Ms Clafton is the Managing Director of Clafton Counsel, an investor and media relations consultancy. She also served as:

• General Manager at Porter Novelli Perth (now FTI Consulting).
• Manager of External Relations at ARC Energy Limited (Perth).
• Head of Investor and Media Relations at Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (Sydney).
• National Public Affairs Manager at Multiplex Constructions.
• Board member of the University Club of Western Australia.

Ms Clafton was appointed a Trustee of the WA Museum in 2007 and Vice-Chair in 2012.

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Mr Alan Ferris (ex officio from 6 May 2013) 

Mr Ferris has recently retired as the Acting Director General, Department of Culture and Arts (DCA). His substantive positive previously was General Manager of the Perth Theatre Trust, a position he had held since 2008.

Prior to this Mr Ferris was Chief Financial Officer at DCA, a role which also carried responsibility for the Art Gallery of WA, Perth Theatre Trust, ScreenWest, the State Library of WA, the State Records Office and the WA Museum. A Chartered Accountant with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, Mr Ferris was also Mayor of East Fremantle from 2007 to 2013.

Mr Ferris has been a Trustee of the Swan Bells Foundation. As Acting Director General of DCA, Mr Ferris was also on the boards of the Art Gallery of WA, Perth Theatre Trust, ScreenWest and the State Library of WA.

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Mr Ian Fletcher, Trustee

Mr Fletcher has had more than 40 years’ experience in the public and private sectors. He has served as First Assistant Secretary and State Director for a number of Australian Government departments, department head in the Tasmanian Government and CEO of the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder. He was also:

• CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Canberra.
• Principal of Fletcher Rowe & Associates.
• Chief of Staff to WA Premier Richard Court.
• Principal Private Secretary to the Federal Minister for Social Security, Senator Fred Chaney.
• Vice President, External Affairs, BHP Billiton, Western Australia.
• Non-Executive Director of Horizon Power (current).
• Deputy Chair of the WA Australia Day Council (current).

A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Mr Fletcher is also a Justice of the Peace. He is a Paul Harris Fellow (Rotary) and a Churchill Fellow. Mr Fletcher was appointed a Trustee of the WA Museum in 2012.

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Dr Katherine (Kate) Gregory 

Dr Gregory is the Battye Historian with the State Library of Western Australia, where she provides leadership for the JS Battye Library of West Australian History collections and services. Previously, she was:

• Historian with the National Trust of Australia (WA) managing historical research, oral history projects and developing interpretation and cultural heritage programs with communities around the State.
• On the State Committee of Museums Australia (WA), the national organisation for the museum sector.
• Museum Manager and Curator of Claremont Museum.
• At the National Gallery of Victoria during the development of the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square.

Dr Gregory has a PhD in Art History from the University of Melbourne (2004) on contemporary art and interpretation in museum practice since 1970. Her postdoctoral research at Curtin University was in the area of Cultural Heritage. Dr Gregory was appointed a Trustee of the WA Museum in July 2012.

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Mr Steve Scudamore

Mr Scudamore has held a number of senior positions, including Chairman of the WA office of KPMG for eight and a half years and a senior partner with KPMG for 20 years specialising in the Energy and Natural Resources sector and Corporate Finance Services. He also serves as:

• Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Aquila Resources, Altona Mining and MDA Insurance.
• Chairman of not for profit organisation Amana Living (formerly the Anglican Homes group).

He is a Councillor to Curtin University and the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a special adviser to Lazard Australia. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and England and Wales, Senior Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia and Fellow of the Institute of Company Directors, Mr Scudamore was appointed a Trustee of the WA Museum in 2006.

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Ms Irene Stainton

Ms Stainton works as the Senior Aboriginal Affairs Advisor at INPEX where she provides strategic policy advice relating to working with Aboriginal Australians. Prior to this, Ms Stainton was:

• General Manager at Australian Interaction Consultants.
• Executive Director of the Organisational Cultural Change Program at the Department of Community Development.
• Executive Director of the Family and Domestic Violence Unit and the Assistant Director within the Aboriginal Affairs Department.
• Registrar of Aboriginal Sites.
• Chairperson of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee.

Ms Stainton is the Chair of the Western Australian Museum’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee, is the Deputy Chairperson of the Aboriginal Lands Trust Board and a member of the National Museum of Australia’s Indigenous Advisory Committee. She is a past member of the Return of Indigenous Cultural Property Program Management Committee. Ms Stainton was appointed a Trustee of the Museum in 2011 – her second term of office.

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Ms Rubini Ventouras

Ms Rubini Ventouras holds degrees in law and commerce (Accounting) from Murdoch University and is admitted to practice law. She is currently the Group Executive – Legal Affairs Asia Pacific at Newmont Asia Pacific across Australia, PNG, the Solomon Islands, New Zealand and the Netherlands. She is also a member of Newmont Asia Pacific’s Leadership Team which is responsible for operating four gold mines in Australia and New Zealand as well as a Director of the Newmont Australia group of companies. Previously, Ms Ventouras was:

• Senior Corporate Counsel with Newmont Asia Pacific in Jakarta and Perth; and
• a lawyer (1999 to 2003) and Senior Associate (2004 to 2005) at Freehills.

Ms Ventouras was appointed a Trustee of the WA Museum in July 2012.

 

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Executive Management Group

 

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Advisory Committees

Western Australian Museum Aboriginal Advisory Committee

Ms Irene Stainton (Chair)
Ms Sonia Tait
Mr John Mallard
Ms Bev Port-Louis
Mr Tony Calgaret
Mr Martin Bin Rashid

Western Australian Museum Maritime Archaeology Advisory Committee

Prof. John Penrose (Chair)
Prof. Geoffrey Bolton AO, CitWA
Dr Joseph Christensen
Ms Maddy McAllister
Dr Alistair Paterson
Mr Rodney Hoath
Mr Mark Polzer
Mr Ron Shepherd
Mr Don Newman
Ms Aileen Walsh

Western Australian Maritime Museum Advisory Committee

Mr Ronald Packer (Chair)
Dr Nonja Peters (Vice-Chair)
Mrs Pat Barblett
Mr David Lynn
Hon Richard Court AC
Prof. Geoff Shellam
Ms Astrid Norgard
Prof. Geoffrey Bolton AO, CitWA

Western Australian Museum – Albany Advisory Committee

Cr Sarah Bowles (Chair)
Prof. Stephen Hopper
Mr Bruce Manning
Mr Lester Coyne
Mr Rod Hedderwick
Ms Vernice Gillies
Mr David Heaver
Ms Helena Stoakley
Mr Richard Harloe (from June 2014)

Western Australian Museum – Geraldton Advisory Committee

Mr Malcolm Smith (Chair)
Mr Bob Urqhart (Vice-Chair)
Mayor Ian Carpenter
Cr Victor Tanti
Dr Mort Harslett
Cr Gary Martin
Ms Andrea Selvey
Ms Marilyn McLeod
Ms Trish Palmonari

Western Australian Museum – Kalgoorlie-Boulder Advisory Committee

Ms Carol Mann (Chair)
Mr Frank Andinach
Mr Scott Wilson
Cr Deborah Botica
Cr Laurie Ayers
Mr Morrie Goodz
Mr Glenn Richardson

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Volunteers at the Western Australian Museum

Volunteers play a very important role at the WA Museum and their ability to enhance the Museum’s programs, events and operations is greatly valued. Through the engagement of volunteers, the Museum is able to extend its reach into the community, facilitating the two-way transfer of skills, knowledge and information. The Museum believes that volunteers must also benefit from the relationship and this is achieved through training, skills development and opportunities to meet a variety of new people.

The Museum has two Volunteer Coordinators based in Perth and Fremantle, and additional volunteering opportunities are managed at site level across the organisation. In this reporting year, the Museum has been assisted by the commitment of 364 volunteers who dedicated an estimated 20,563 hours service, valued at $667,578.67.

An update from the Public Accounts Committee

In response to the Auditor General’s Report No. 1, February 2012, entitled Working Together: Management of Partnerships with Volunteers – an audit of the volunteer practices of a number of agencies including the WA Museum – the Museum finalised a suite of documents to underpin the processes supporting its extensive volunteer program. The Museum’s response was both considered and thorough, and received the following positive response from the Auditor General through the Public Account’s Committee’s published Review of Auditor General Reports (Report No1, Sept. 2013):

The WA Museum provided a comprehensive response to the previous Committee, which demonstrated full acceptance of the Auditor General’s recommendations and a clear program for implementation of corrective measures...

It concludes:

While the responses of all agencies to this performance audit were encouraging, the efforts undertaken by WA Museum were particularly thorough.

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Friends of the Western Australian Museum

The Friends of the WA Museum is an integral part of the Museum’s support structure, promoting and encouraging the Museum’s development journey for the past 20 years.

This year the Friends secured two Lotterywest grants; the first of $50,000 to scope the second phase of work reimaging the World War II wreck sites of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran, managed by the Museum under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. This grant enabled the Friends to work with the project partners and the wider community to scope the potential for compelling and meaningful access to the images created.

The Friends also secured a $105,000 Lotterywest grant to scope the development of My WA – a user-generated, on-site and online community resource to support the New Museum. The project aims to use advanced digital technology to encourage people to explore and contribute to the State’s Collection by uploading their own comments, images and stories.

Former Museum Trustee and Chief Scientist of WA Professor Lyn Beazley was this year appointed Patron of the Friends of the Museum. The Museum is grateful for the ongoing support it receives from all Friends members. The Friends membership at 30 June 2014 was 265.

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Western Australian Museum Foundation

The WA Museum Foundation’s objective is to provide meaningful and sustainable financial support to the Museum by building private and corporate investment in the Museum and its programs and, where possible, advocating for the interests of the Museum in the private and public sphere.

This year the Board of the Foundation resolved to pursue an action program to establish a substantial endowment fund to coincide with the opening of the New Museum for Western Australia in 2020.

The objective of this fund is to deliver at least $1 million a year in today’s dollars, in perpetuity, towards supporting the WA Museum’s mission. In very simple terms, the Foundation believes that a world class WA Museum deserves to have a world class endowment behind it.

The Government is making its very substantial investment in the New Museum Project, and the Foundation firmly believes its role is to leverage that investment and maximise the benefit of the New Museum project for all Western Australians.

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Major Project

‘Two Lost Ships’ expedition

The Foundation has been actively assisting the Museum to raise additional funds for the scheduled 2014–15 expedition to reinvestigate and reimage the wreck sites of the World War Two ships HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran.

This expedition seeks to use high resolution 2D and 3D imaging technology to survey the wrecks in much greater detail than was possible when they were originally discovered in 2008, so they can be properly assessed, documented and interpreted for future generations.

Community research, commissioned by the Friends of the WA Museum and generously funded by Lotterywest, confirms that the Australian public believes the story of the Kormoran should be told as well as that of the Sydney.

The importance of this expedition has been recognised by the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Australian War Memorial which have independently expressed strong interest in acquiring the new data, which will inform new exhibitions at these institutions.

The majority of the expedition budget has been secured through a Commonwealth Government Grant and through the generous in-kind support of project partners including Curtin University, the University of Western Australia, DOF Subsea and the WA Museum.

The Foundation has also been seeking corporate partners and private philanthropists to support the expedition. The Foundation acknowledges the generous commitment of the GMA Garnet Group and Curtin University’s financial contribution which was matched by the Foundation through its endowment fund.

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Sponsors, Benefactors and Granting Agencies

The profile and activities of the Museum are enhanced by the acquisitions, exhibitions and research made possible, in part, by the generosity of our sponsors and benefactors. Generating income in straitened economic times is always a challenge and it is with immense gratitude that the Foundation acknowledges the generous donors, benefactors, corporate sponsors and partners which have helped make 2013–14 such an exceptional year.

Highlights include:

The Stan Perron Charitable Trust

The WA Museum Foundation’s valuable community work and ambitious plans to establish an Endowment Action Program were recognised by a generous contribution from The Stan Perron Charitable Trust.

Butler Bequest

The Foundation received another significant contribution from the Butler Bequest in 2013–14, with funds allocated to four fieldwork projects undertaken by the WA Museum including a multi-taxa survey of Roe Reef at Rottnest Island by the Aquatic Zoology department; research into late summer bees of the southern coast of WA by the Terrestrial Zoology department; and minerals of the Mt Deverell variscite deposits at Milgun Station by the Earth and Planetary Sciences department. The Butler Bequest has generously supported the Museum since 1976 by funding many successful and significant fieldwork projects, adding to the Museum’s collection and knowledge base.

Chevron: Terrestrial Invertebrate Fauna of Barrow Island

The Foundation was delighted to assist in developing the partnership between the WA Museum, Curtin University and Chevron to produce and publish a Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement on the Terrestrial Invertebrate Fauna of Barrow Island. The Foundation is particularly grateful to Chevron for its contribution towards the production costs of the publication, which is co-authored by the WA Museum and Curtin University.

Rangelands Natural Resource Management

The Foundation is delighted that Rangelands has become a Presenting Partner of the Museum’s 2014 In the Wild West lecture series. This sponsorship will allow the Museum to present seven regionally relevant lectures in the Pilbara and Kimberley, helping meet one of the Museum’s key objectives to engage with audiences beyond traditional WA Museum sites. Lectures will be presented from June to November 2014 in the regions, and also the Maritime Museum and the Perth Museum sites.

FameLab

The Foundation welcomed the support of the McCusker Charitable Foundation to sponsor the inaugural FameLab Finals at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle this year. First run at the Times Cheltenham Science Festival in 2005, FameLab has become the world’s leading science communication competition for young people. It aims to find, develop and mentor young science and engineering communicators, and the WA Museum was delighted to host the State and National Finals of the inaugural FameLab series in Australia.

Ungar Family Foundation

The Ungar Family Foundation generously donated funding to film and record a series of interviews with renowned anthropologist Kim Akerman, about the highly significant Akerman Collection. The collection contains more than 600 objects from Kimberley Aboriginal communities and was acquired over the course of Mr Akerman’s 60-year career. These interviews will complement the documented provenance of the collection, and allow the unique stories behind the artefacts to be recorded and shared.

Transparent Sea

The WA Museum continued to benefit from the generosity of Andrew and Nicola Forrest and the Minderoo Foundation this reporting year, with the kind donation of a glass sculpture entitled Transparent Sea by WA artist Vaughn Bisschops. One of the signature pieces at the 2013 Sculpture by the Sea exhibition, this sculpture has been permanently installed on the balcony of the Maritime Museum, looking out towards the Indian Ocean. The play of light created by the ever-changing position of the sun enhances the beauty of the sculpture and emphasises the importance of the whale shark as a motif for marine conservation.

‘Thank You’ event

An event to inspire potential benefactors to become involved with the Museum’s future and to thank those who have already provided significant support was extremely well attended, with His Excellency the Governor Malcolm McCusker QC presenting six awards to some of the Museum’s staunchest supporters. Representatives from Woodside, Alcoa, Rio Tinto and the North West Shelf Shipping Company, as well as Andrew and Nicola Forrest and Stan and Jean Perron, were recognised for their ongoing support and generosity.

A full list of our generous sponsors, benefactors and granting agencies is shown in the appendices.

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Western Australian Museum Foundation Advisory Committees

Western Australian Museum Foundation Board of Governors

Mr Justin Mannolini (Chair)
The Hon Julie Bishop MP (Deputy Chair)
Dr Marina Hogan (Deputy Chair)
Mr Nick Brasington
Mr Fred Chaney
Mr James McClements
Mr Tim Lester
Ms Sara Clafton (ex-officio member)
Mr Alec Coles OBE (ex-officio member)

Western Australian Museum Foundation Investment Committee

Mr James McClements (Chair)
Mr Justin Mannolini
Mr Fred Chaney