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| 2018.0075 [GEOFFREY BELL: PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL PAPERS] |
| Date Range of Records: |
1959-2015 |
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The Geoffrey Bell Archive is made up of two series: Third Party Publications and Personal and Professional Papers. Collectively the archive documents the social and political history of the disability rights movement in Australia from the early 1970s until the 2000s.
This series, Personal and Professional Papers, contains materials created and collected by Geoffrey Bell between 1959–2001, and by Mary Burgess in 2015. The series consists of formal records documenting Bell’s involvement on various committees, organisations and self-help groups as well as material relating to his personal life and experience with disability. Materials generated and collected by Mary Burgess in 2015 relate to the preparation and contents of the archive.
Items contained in this series include: meeting minutes, agendas, reports and newsletters from various committees and organisations; correspondence, both personal and professional; newspaper clippings; care records; photographs; posters; workshop, training and conference materials; reports and discussion papers; school materials 1959-1964; car information; and instruction booklets for various aids and equipment used by Bell.
The series consists of 71 items held within nine archival units. Prior to accession by the University of Melbourne Archives the collection was arranged into 15 boxes by Mary Burgess. Slight changes have been made to this arrangement of the archive to allow the creation of the two series and to house sequential folders together. Most of the materials were housed in original order in ring binders and labelled according to contents. While the ring binders have not been retained due to deterioration, copies have been made on acid free paper and included with each item. The original order within each binder has been maintained and items have been titled according to original labels where relevant.
The majority of the items are in fair physical condition. Rusted staples have been removed from files and replaced with plastic clips. Significant newspaper clippings, such as those containing images of Geoff Bell, have been photocopied onto acid free paper and included along with original materials within files.
A significant portion of the material in this series (11 files) was generated during the meetings of the International Year of Disabled Persons Non-Government Organisations Committee, in which Geoff Bell represented the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions). Other members on the committee included: Geoffrey Say, Bill Harwood, Richard Llewellyn, Michael Chadwick, Edith Hall, Graeme Tucker, Rod Warmington, Janne Graham, Michele Castagna, Bill Woolcock, Bob Weston, Don Westaway, Laurie McCredie, John Lovett, Keith Suter, John Pullicino, Elizabeth Couche, Kevin Coombs, Laurie Kellam, Denys Correll, Bob Black, Harold Wilkinson, and Joe Reeve.
Some of the topics addressed within these files and others in the series include: rehabilitation and prevention; education and training; employment, sheltered workshops and open workshops; accommodation, residential facilities and domiciliary support; access, transport and mobility; self-help groups; Aboriginal Australians and disability; law reform; equality; advocacy; activism, and self-determination.
Organisations mentioned/represented in this series include: AAMR (Australian Association for the Mentally Retarded), ACCESS (Victorian Committee on Access for the Disabled), ACOSS (Australian Council of Social Services), ACROD (Australian Council for Rehabilitation of Disabled), ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), ADC (Australian Deafness Council), ANCB (Australian National Council of and for the Blind), AQA (Australian Quadriplegic Association), Barwon Regional Council for Social Development, CAI (Confederation of Australian Industry), CAP-H, Committee on Rights of Persons with Handicaps, COSHG (Committee of Self Help Groups), Council of Disabled Persons- Victoria, Council of Social Service of New South Wales Association of Self Help Organisations and Groups, DAF (Disability Action Forum), DASH (Disabled Advocates and Self Help), DEAL (Dignity, Education and Language), Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Disabled Lesbian Group, EWUG, FECC (Federation of Ethnic Community Councils of Australia), General Advisory Committee of the Disabled, Good Samaritan Industries, HACC (Health Action and Community Collective), Handicapped People’s Collective Action, Healthy Task Group, Human Rights Commission, Inner Eastern Committee of the Disabled, Institute of Family Studies, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Victoria, NACH (National Advisory Council for the Handicapped), National Aboriginal Conference, NCW (National Council of Women in Australia), New South Wales Council for the Mentally Handicapped, Northern Association of Disabled, Outer Eastern Regional Council for Social Development, Paraplegic and Quadriplegic Association of Victoria, Queensland Spastic Welfare League, Royal Tasmanian Society for the Blind and Deaf, SIDCOR (Standing Interdepartmental Committee on Rehabilitation), Spastic Children's Society of Victoria, SRAD (Southern Region Association of the Disabled), Steering Committee for State Council of Handicapped People, The Australian Voice of Intellectually Disadvantaged Citizens, The Victorian Union of Intellectually Disadvantaged Citizens / Force 10, UNAA (United Nations Association of Australia), VCOSS (Victorian Council of Social Services), Victorian State Council of Citizens with Handicaps, WESTCOD (Western Region Committee of Disabled Persons), Wheelchair and Disabled Association, Yooralla Society of Victoria.
The Geoffrey Bell Archive has been made available due to its historical and research importance. As a historical record some of the material held within the archive may contain language that reflects the era in which it was created and may not be considered appropriate by today’s standards. The Collection is a useful resource for researchers interested in the history of the disability rights movement in Australia and may prove a useful aid for future debates and discussions on disability rights issues.
Related series: Geoffrey Bell, Third Party Publications [2018.0072] |
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| 9 units (1.53 m) |
| Collection Category: |
Community and Political, individuals |
| Access Conditions: |
Access: Open |
| Finding Aids: |
Yes listed ONLINE |
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