3. Historical background and management of the collection
In 1965 Henry Allport (1890-1965), a Hobart lawyer, bequeathed to the people of Tasmania his valuable collection of books, pictorial material, ceramics, silverware, glassware, and furniture. He directed that it be called the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts as a memorial to the Allport family, who had played an important part in the cultural life of Tasmania for more than a hundred and thirty years. The Tasmanian branch of the Allport family was established by Joseph and Mary Morton Allport, who in 1831 settled in what was then Van Diemen’s Land. Joseph Allport’s grandson, Cecil Allport (1858-1926), who made a study of Tasmanian history, began collecting books and pictures by local artists which formed the nucleus of the family library. The collection was later augmented in many areas by his son Henry Allport, who added antique furniture, fine and decorative arts, to form the substantial and valuable collection bequeathed to the state in 1965.
Henry Allport’s Will
The will instructed that the family home, Cedar Court, be offered to the Tasmanian Government together with Henry Allport’s collection of Australiana, including all books, manuscripts, pamphlets, records, maps, prints, and other items relating to the history of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, and the collections of antique furniture, paintings and drawings, ceramics, silverware, glassware, and objects of historical interest. The bequest was given on condition that the collection should be preserved, with any subsequent additions, as a permanent public reference library of Australiana and museum of fine arts as near as may be on the lines of the Mitchell Library in Sydney but with a small fine arts museum attached
The terms and conditions of the original bequest stipulated inter alia that the management of the Allport Library be vested in the Tasmanian Library Board or other duly appointed body, with representation including a nominee of his Estate. The testator directed that a trust fund be established and invested from which the trustees would pay to the Management Committee regular income to carry out the purposes of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts with specific reference to the purchase of books, fine art objects and the other types of materials indicated above.
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Agreement Act 1966 (Tas)
Practical difficulties concerning the continued housing of and public access to the collection at Cedar Court led to an Act being promulgated in 1966 which enabled the collection to be transferred in 1972 to new purpose-designed premises in the State Library Headquarters building, Murray Street, Hobart. Cedar Court was subsequently sold and the proceeds were added to the balance of the estate. The Act also authorised the Trustees “… to endow the Board with a capital fund of $250,000 for the equipment, maintenance of and additions to the collections in the manner contemplated by the Will of the Testator”. The Tasmanian Library Board was authorised to lend items in the collection to other institutions in Tasmania. The Act made it clear that the collection would maintain its separate identity and purpose in the new building and that other provisions of the will would be adhered to.
Items forming part of the collection were intended to be lent or disposed of only at the discretion of the Tasmanian Library Board. The possibility was foreseen that some items might become superfluous to the collection or could be replaced by similar items of greater intrinsic or cultural value. Any income from the sale of surplus items was to be added to the capital of the trust fund.
Libraries Act 1984 (Tas) and Libraries Amendment Act 1994 (Tas)
The Libraries Act 1984 (Tas) and the Libraries Amendment Act 1994 (Tas) established provisions for an Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Management Committee with a membership comprising two persons nominated by the Trustees of Henry Allport’s will, one person nominated by the Trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, one person with “knowledge or expertise in rare books or fine arts”, to be appointed by the Minister, and “a person for the time being holding in the Department an office or position, nominated by the Secretary”.
Appointments are for periods of up to three years with eligibility for reappointment. The chairman of the Management Committee is elected by its members from among their number. Conduct of meetings is prescribed in Schedule 4 of the Act.
Powers of the Management Committee focus upon the acquisition “by gift, bequest, or devise any property for the benefit of the Management Committee [which] shall not be deemed to be for the benefit of the Crown”.
The functions of the Management Committee are as follows:
- to administer the funds and property of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts and of the Allport Bequest;
- to give effect to the provisions and general purpose of the will of Henry Allport;
- to submit to the State Librarian as soon as practicable after 30th June in each financial year, a report of its affairs and activities in relation to that financial year.
The powers formerly vested in the Tasmanian Library Board are now vested in the Secretary of the Department of Education. The State Library of Tasmania is managed by the Executive Director (Libraries Tasmania). Under this direction, the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts is managed as an integral component of the Heritage Collections unit (which also includes the Tasmaniana Library and the WL Crowther Library).
It was intended that the Management Committee should have the power to accumulate the income as a fund from which purchases could be made when suitable opportunities arose. The trust fund was not to be used for the employment of staff or for the ordinary care and upkeep of the collection.
In 1996, the Management Committee resolved that its funds could also be used for conservation and maintenance of the collection. The Committee determined that no more than 25 per cent of its total annual income could be so used. This decision was considered to be in accordance with Section (d) of the schedule of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Agreement Act 1966 (Tas).
Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Agreement Act 1966 (Tas) Amended
An amendment in 2000 to the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts Agreement Act 1966 (Tas) allowed the temporary loan of items from the collection to institutions outside Tasmania.