NRS-19412 | Images of Rock engravings and Rock Shelters [National Parks and Wildlife Service]

This series contains slides, negatives and photographs created or collected by Ian Sim as part of his recording of Aboriginal rock engravings and rock shelter images. Between June 1979 and January 1980 the collection was acquired from Ian Sim by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).The series includes photographs taken by photographers other than Sim. A small number of images in the series were created by George Ernest Bunyan (1897-1967), Donald S Coghill, Leslie John Constable (1917-1987), Ken Glover and John Picard. The series also includes images that were created by an unknown photographer or photographers. It is possible that one of these was Eugene Demian Edward Kaye (1910-1974), although it is not known when or how Kaye's images became part of the collection.The content of the series was not limited to images of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites. It included a few portraits of the Sim family. As well there were images of general landscapes and townscapes that Sim states were not taken by him. The geographic coverage of the images was primarily the Central Coast of New South Wales, but some material covered the Blue Mountains and as far south as Helensburgh. It did not go north of the Hawkesbury River. Sim recorded sites from about 1955 to 1975. Some of the sites he recorded in the Central Coast were subsequently destroyed by road works and housing developments.The collection's present method of organisation was created by the NPWS. Negatives and prints were housed together by the NPWS in two folders, and divided into 'sheets', with location information recorded on the 'sheet' cover page and on the backs of the photographs. 'Sheets' could include more than one location and a location may occur on more than one 'sheet'. 'Sheets' were not restricted to a single film and some 'sheets' include frames from four or five films. In some cases negatives and their associated prints were housed in different 'sheets'. The slides were housed in a separate slide box with identification recorded on the slide mount.NSW State Archives has retained this order, although the negatives and prints have been put into separate consignments. NSW State Archives has top numbered the items within consignments for ease of identification.NSW State Archives created titles for the items based on a variety of sources. The first source was the information on the back of the photographs, which appears to be primarily in Sim's handwriting. Secondly, from 2011 to 2105, Ian Sim assisted NSW State Archives by providing location information and short descriptions for both previously identified and unidentified images. Thirdly, some sites were described and sketched in publications, such as Mankind, and these publications were used in identification and titling. If a site was published, this information was noted in the item list. The collection was accompanied by information created by NPWS staff (NRS 19416) which matched sites with their Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) numbers. Where possible these numbers were verified by NSW State Archives before they were added to titles. Other numbers found in Aboriginal Sites Register files (NRS 17798) were also added to the titles.Please note that NPWS did not acquire the copyright to the collection when it acquired the physical items. Therefore the images in this collection are not Crown copyright. Where an individual photographer can be identified and copyright exists, then it is held by that photographer.Before the collection was transferred to NSW State Archives, NPWS created a duplicate set of images for their Library. They also added copies of slides and contacts prints of the negatives to individual AHIMS site register files. These files were arranged by AHIMS number and the images labelled by Folder number and Sheet number. Therefore Folder numbers and Sheet numbers have been included in the NSW State Archives' item lists as Previous Numbers. In some case the duplicate slide has been included in this set rather than being retained by the NPWS, as indicated on the mount.The series includes 188 colour slides which are 2.4 x 3.6 cm in a mount of 5 x 5 cm (35mm). Most slide mounts were annotated in Ian Sim's handwriting (for example slide [1]), as well as that of his wife (for example slide [14]), or in an unknown hand (for example slide [70]), with location information such as Sim Site numbers, Mankind Group numbers, or localities. The location on some slides which are dated 1958 were incorrect. Not all the slides were created by Sim, and some include the notation 'CCC' (possibly Cumberland County Council). It is not known how these became part of the series. In 2016 Ian Sim told NSW State Archives that colour slides were not taken at the same time as black and white images. While a few slides were dated on the mount, others were stamped with a production date.The series includes 1348 black and white negatives, not all of which have an associated photograph. The majority were 2.4 x 3.6 cm (35mm), although others ranged in size from 6 x 6 cm to 6.25 x 10.75 cm. Not all the negatives were created by Sim.The series includes 637 black and white photographs, not all of which have an original negative. The photographs include contact sheets and various sized prints. Not all the photographs were created by Sim.