David has more than forty years experience as a dedicated
custodian of Western Australia’s important published and archival heritage. His
knowledge of the collections of both the J S Battye Library of West Australian
History and the State Records Office is unparalleled.
David began work at the State Library in 1975 as a cadet
directly from high school and worked in various sections of the Library for more
than a year. During 1976-1978, he completed his degree at the Western Australian
Institute of Technology (WAIT, now Curtin University), while working at the
State Library during his holidays.
David joined the Battye Library on 3 January 1979, and
worked chiefly with maps, monographs, serials, archives and private archives, becoming
senior librarian and manager of the Battye and State Reference Libraries’ map
collections. He took on the responsibility of Senior Librarian for the
Published Materials team in 1997 and in 2002 became Senior Archivist.
After the restructure of the State Library in 2006, David was
made Team Leader Archives. During his
time in this role, he was seconded to the State Government’s Redress agency as
Chief Researcher. David left the State Library in 2012 to join the State
Records Office as Senior Archivist until late 2016. He then took up a role in
the newly constructed Perth Public Library.
Apart from David’s extraordinary knowledge of the Battye
Library’s collection, he is an authority on all things to do with trains and
railways and WA maps. He was lead researcher and coordinator of a team of
volunteers responsible for the compilation of the WA map bibliography, Perth and districts which was published by the
Friends of Battye Library in 2002.
David is outstanding in his ability to patiently help
researchers, drawing on his knowledge of Western Australian heritage
collections and research techniques. He is generous with his time and expertise
and has been an enormous support to his colleagues at the Battye Library and
the State Archives. Nothing was ever too much trouble for him and the speed
with which anything was done was amazing. He joined the Friends of Battye
Library very early in its history, has served on the committee, and has always
been a loyal friend to all who know him.
The Friends of the Battye Library (Inc.) would like to add
to David’s many achievements and show our appreciation by listing him as a “Gem
of Time” – a list that will last to acknowledge the contribution of outstanding
men and women to the recording, collection, and preservation of Western Australia’s
history.
