The Sunshine Rebooted exhibition featuring information from the 1987 Cabinet Minutes highlighted a landmark year for Queensland State Archives (QSA), according to Minister for Digital Technology Mick de Brenni.
Mr de Brenni, who today (Tuesday) tabled QSA’s annual report in Parliament, said 2017/18 was "a year of innovation and digital transformation for Queensland’s record keeping authority".
"Our digital channels have been the catalyst for this transformation and we continue to seek new partnerships in this area," Mr de Brenni said.
"Using digital technologies in exhibitions like Sunshine Rebooted: the final Bjelke-Petersen Cabinet Minutes helped Queenslanders understand one of the most infamous years in the history of our state.
"1987 was the year a spotlight was shone on the state’s seedy underbelly – with the Phil Dickie articles in The Courier Mail, and the ABC’s Moonlight State exposing allegations of political and police corruption, sparking the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
"In May this year, former Premier Mike Ahern presented me with his personal copy of the Fitzgerald Commission Report, signed by Tony Fitzgerald.
"Mr Ahern donated it to the Archives and I’m currently working on having this report permanently displayed at Parliament to mark next year’s 30th anniversary of it being tabled."
Mr de Brenni said 42,344 people engaged with the State’s archival records during 2017/18 – a 581 per cent increase on the previous year.
"This increase is testament to the quality of QSA exhibitions and the diligence of staff and volunteers," Mr de Brenni said.
"I’d like to commend our staff and volunteers for their dedication, enthusiasm, hard work and great ideas and initiatives.
"The Life in Irons: Brisbane Convict Stories exhibition, delivered in partnership with the Museum of Brisbane, attracted more than 34,000 people.
"The success of that exhibition has led to QSA looking to create partnerships for future exhibitions, including partnerships in regional Queensland."
Mr de Brenni said QSA had focussed on improving the standard of record keeping across the public sector in Queensland.
"Some of the initiatives being considered and developed are world firsts and have the potential to transform recordkeeping, not only in Queensland but across Australia," he said.
"The QSA are home to our records and next year will see more flexible, interactive exhibitions highlighting Queensland’s history."
Fast facts for 2017/18:
- More than 3.5 million records were accessed by Queenslanders
- 3,410,890 records were accessed digitally
- 55,452 records were accessed physically
- There are now 11,957,307 items in the QSA collection
- There were 38,081 open data views
