BACKGROUND TO THE DEACCESSIONING PROJECT

For this project the National Trust is following a three-stage deaccessioning process. The first two stages are complete and the third and final stage is on target for completion no later than October 2007.

Stage One COMPLETED

• Prepare an inventory of all the objects in storage.
• Establish the status of each item in relation to legal title.
• Evaluate each item and assess its significance according to its provenance.
• According to significance identify objects for retention, transfer, sale or destruction.

Stage Two COMPLETED

• Obtain approval of Trust Council to deaccession and dispose of identified artifacts.
• Obtain final approval of the Governor of Western Australia to deaccession.

Stage Three IN PROGRESS

• Offer provenanced artifacts to relevant museums and collecting institutions.
• Offer unprovenanced artifacts to other public, non-profit museums and collecting institutions in Western Australia via closed auction.
• Auction those remaining objects to the general public through a reputable auction house.
• Apply all of the funds received through the sale of deaccessioned objects for use only to assist in the acquisition, cataloguing, conservation or ongoing care of the permanent collection.

Over the past few months the Trust has offered provenanced objects to 57 museums and collecting institutions. While the majority have been based in WA there have been offers to museums in Victoria, Tasmania and even Ireland. This stage of the project is winding up and the Trust is preparing for the closed auction – a model based on a similar highly successful project in Saskatchewan, Canada.

This process ensures that the National Trust is not seen to favour one museum over another, each museum is forced to carefully consider the extent to which the objects for auction comply with its own collection policy, and it limits the number of objects any one museum may acquire. Most importantly in transferring the objects to other museums, the Trust is able to assist smaller museums, the interests of donors are seen to be served and an effort had been made to keep objects in the public ownership.

Inevitably there will be a substantial number of objects that will not find their way into museum collections. This will primarily be due to lack of provenance, the physical condition of individual items and the fact that various object types are already well represented and will just create unwanted duplication. The final step in the process will be a public auction. The proceeds will be used for the ongoing care of the National Trust’s permanent collections.

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