Berndt Field Notes Archive

The Berndt Field Notes Archive is held by the Berndt Museum. After 30 years under embargo, the Museum is pleased to be working with Indigenous and descendant communities to access materials containing cultural knowledge.

The Berndt Museum is an Indigenous-led museum, embedded within the University’s Indigenous Portfolio. We follow a community-focused model of custodianship and seek to engage with communities around the cultural care of their heritage and materials. We are active in the repatriation of belongings, objects, works of art and cultural knowledge. The University’s Research Integrity Policy follows the AIATSIS Code of Ethics, recognising Indigenous people’s rights to access, maintain and control, and benefit from their Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. 

Compiled by anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt from approximately 1939 to 1985, the Berndt Field Notes Archive details their field trips in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The field notes contain cultural information and, in some cases, sacred knowledge for many communities visited by the anthropologists. 

Catherine Berndt endowed the field notes to The University of Western Australia in her will in 1994, placing them under a 30-year embargo until 13 May 2024. This lack of access has caused significant pain to many Indigenous peoples and communities, and it is important that communities are now able to regain access to their cultural knowledge. We are currently undertaking a community-led process for culturally determined access.

The information on this page is also available as a PDF:

Berndt Field Notes Archive – Information Sheet [PDF File, 204KB]

The Museum will undertake community-first access approach to the field notes. We will work directly with descendant communities and their representatives, enabling communities to have control over their cultural property and to determine what wider access is culturally appropriate.

We acknowledge that most communities have never had access to this important archive of cultural material and that many of the people featured in the field notes have now passed away. As the field notes contain cultural knowledge from many different communities, we recommend reaching out to us for an initial conversation to discuss a process for accessing the materials and determining ongoing use.

While many notebooks speak to specific community trips, others contain information about multiple locations and/or language groups. For instance, when resources were limited the Berndts would use blank pages at the end of a notebook for another location. When possible, pages will be separated for access, but where information from multiple groups is intermixed, cross-community consultation will be required.

During their fieldwork, Ronald Berndt worked primarily with men and Catherine Berndt with women. We recognise that for the initial review the field notes will likely require differential access to ensure cultural safety, which will be determined by communities. 

While we will focus on ensuring community access in the first instance, we understand that communities may wish to use external researchers or advisors to access the field notes on their behalf. We also welcome requests from research projects that are community endorsed, in which researchers have established strong, ongoing connections with community. In most instances, communities should be given the first opportunity to view the contents of the field notes to determine whether it is appropriate for external researchers to view them. 

Please note that access to the field notes should be done in consultation with the relevant community/s, in line with the AIATSIS Code of Ethics and community consultation protocols. Researchers will also need to provide any relevant ethics approvals already received from research institutions.

Contact us to arrange an initial conservation to discuss a consultation process appropriate to these different issues and considerations.

Given their age and delicate condition, the original notebooks cannot be handled directly. However, they have been digitised and indexed by date, author, field trip, location and content type. A page-by-page summary of each is available upon request. Printed copies are also available. 

A small percentage of the field notes have not been digitised or indexed. We will be working in collaboration with relevant communities on their digitisation.

Legibility and transcription 

The field notes are written in cursive script, in the handwriting of both Ronald and Catherine Berndt, and Arthur Capell’s notation system. The notes also contain certain interpretive challenges, for instance languages might be transcribed phonetically, rather than orthographically.  

The field notes will require an ongoing collaborative process for interpretation and transcription. We are able to assist communities with transcription services as needed.

Digitally

Digitised versions of the field notes are available. Digital access will be provided through secure channels and on the condition the material will not be distributed outside of the approved parties. 

In-person

The Museum holds vast cultural material, works of art and archival collections. These may be of great interest to communities and may relate directly to the field notes contents.

We welcome in-person visits to access the field notes and other cultural material. Please note, visits must be booked in advance to ensure we have adequate staff to assist. We recommended getting in touch about your visit at least 6–8 weeks in advance. 

Download the PDF version if you wish to submit an access request via post or email.

Field Notes – Access Request Form [PDF File, 191 KB]

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35 Stirling Highway
Perth, Western Australia
6009