Pioneering collections conservation in the Asia-Pacific 1978–1998 A job well done

Abstract

Colin Pearson was an internationalist. From his debuts as a metals scientist into a long and fruitful career in the field of conservation of cultural materials, he used his expertise internationally and made a significant contribution to the establishment of materials conservation in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. His role in the creation of the UNESCO Regional Conservation Centre in Canberra, to assist with the development of conservation in Southeast Asia and in the Pacific, and the assessment visits that he carried in partnership with UNESCO and ICCROM, were essential. Respecting and fostering local agency, long before this became part of the official heritage discourse, Colin and his institutional partners believed in building and nurturing relationships. This resulted in an international professional network, built through publications and numerous workshops delivered across Asia and the Pacific, with many of the students and colleagues becoming key actors in the regional conservation developments programs. It led to the establishment of regional centres that are today able to collaborate in further conservation training and projects. This article recounts Colin’s contribution to the first two decades of the Asian Pacific program and reflects on his vision for sustainable conservation centres throughout the region.

Keywords:

• Colin Pearson
• Southeast Asia
• Pacific
• UNESCO
• ICCROM
• Regional conservation
• University of Canberra

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Ian Batterham, Vinod Daniel, Donna Hinton, Graham Hinton, Benita Johnson, Heather Mansell and Nicole Tse.

Author Biography

Ian Cook, during the nineties, was involved in developing national policies and strategies for collections management and conservation. He represented South Australia on the Heritage Collections Council and was for some time, the Convenor of the Conservation and Collections Management Working Party which developed the National Conservation and Preservation Policy and Strategy – Australia’s Heritage Collections. Ian was the Chair of AusHeritage Ltd (1995–1998) and Deputy Chair of the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Program (2006–2012). He was a recipient of the AICCM Medal in December 2017.

Notes

1 The Australian National Commission for UNESCO organized and funded the seminar. The Crafts Board of the Australia Council funded overseas delegates and the Canberra College of Advanced Education provided the venue and facilities for the event.

2 Other members of the planning committee included I. Cook, Conservator, National Library of Australia, R.J.H. Deane, Assistant Director, Australian National Gallery, Professor B. Reynolds, James Cook University of North Queensland, P. Ryan, Department of Home Affairs and Professor H. Talbot, Macquarie University.

3 It is not certain whether the US$5,000 was soley to cover costs for the Southeast Asian tour or whether it was to be used for the following Pacific tour as well.

4 There was a specific request from the National Library of Australia to visit the National Library of Laos and other libraries in Vientiane. A report with recommendations was provided for the National Library of Australia.

5 At the time, Lecturer in Ethnographic Conservation at the Canberra College of Advanced Education. The College became the University of Canberra in 1990.

6 At the time there were no trained conservators in the National Museums of Brunei and Malaysia.

7 As at 30 October 2017 we have not located a report on this meeting.

8 Nowadays the Wet Organic Archaeological Materials (WOAM) group.

9 Colin became a Council member of the International Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works in 1986 and was a Vice President from 1998 to 2003.

10 The long title of the Centre led to its being referred to in the early years as ‘The Rome Centre’ or ‘The International Centre for Conservation’. In 1978, the abbreviation ICCROM was devised and has been used ever since. See http://www.iccrom.org/about/history/, cited 17 August 2017.

11 Benita Johnson succeeded Ruth Norton as the lecturer in ethnographic and objects conservation at the Canberra College of Advanced Education in 1989. She became Senior Lecturer in 1993 and Course Convenor in 1996. Benita Johnson participated in a job swap with Beata Tworek at the National Gallery of Australia from 1999 to 2000 and then moved onto the payroll of the National Gallery as Acting Head of Conservation until 2001 when the University of Canberra closed its Conservation Program. She retired not long after.

12 AICCM National News, Colin Pearson — Personal Remembrances 17 June 2016, https://aiccm.org.au/national-news/colin-pearson—personal-remembrances cited 10 September 2017.

13 Pengiran Haji Hashim bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Jadid.

14 Professor Herb Stovel, World Heritage Convention Coordinator, Manager, Urban Conservation Programme, ICCROM, Rome.

15 Dr Yujiro Ogawa, Disaster Management Planner, Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, United Nations Centre for Regional Development, Nagoya, Japan.