Educating archivists in Australia and beyond: The contribution of the University of New South Wales archives course, 1973-2000

Education is critical to the development of a profession. Programmes of professional education serveto welcome newcomers and to expand the horizons of existing practitioners. So it was with the firstuniversity course for archivists in Australia, which began at the University of New South Wales (UNSW)in 1973. For the next 27 years, the course and its teachers were to become significant influences inthe expansion of the Australian archival profession. The curriculum embraced Australian and internationaltheory and practice, and the strength of the relationship between educators and the localprofessional community was one of its hallmarks. Many future leaders and innovators received theirgraduate training at UNSW and the experience created networks that endured over the long term. Thereach of the UNSW course went well beyond its home in Sydney, for it included among its graduatesthe staff of national archives from countries across three continents ' Oceania, Asia and Africa. The keyUNSW archival educators, Peter Orlovich and Ann Pederson, made significant personal contributionsto the profession internationally. The legacy of the UNSW course endures in its graduates and theirwork in Australia and beyond.