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