Collection 3530 - Don Brech, archivist

11.07m; 59 type one boxes, 1 oversized box.

The records comprising this collection were created or accumulated by Don Brech during his life in England, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan.

Before 1966 the records were kept at home and not subject to any formal arrangement. On taking up his career as an archivist at the Commonwealth Archives Office, Canberra, in January that year, Don began to take a more systematic approach to his personal record keeping.

Papers and correspondence relating to personal and family matters were kept in his home: those relating to his employment and professional interests were retained at his place of work in filing cabinets located in his office.

The records went with him on his move back to England in July 1969 and again on his return to Australia in February 1979. Before taking up a position with the Hong Kong Government in June 1987, Don arranged for the records extant at that date to be stored with the Riverina Archives in Wagga Wagga where he had previously worked. The rationale for this was that he would have ready access to his records while staying at the house in Adelong during each long leave from Hong Kong. The records were subsequently withdrawn and relocated to Adelong after the family took up permanent residence there in 1990.

While in Hong Kong, records continued to be created, including a new sub-series of general correspondence. The records were taken back to Australia in May 1992. On taking up a new position with the Northern Territory Archives Service in October 1992 all records were removed to Darwin.

During the course of the many moves between houses and countries some records were destroyed to reduce the volume of material to be packed and relocated. Records relating to school and membership of the Boy Scouts – reports and certificates – had been left in England when Don first emigrated to Australia. When he sought to retrieve them from his parents’ home on his return in 1969 he found that they had been destroyed in his absence. No explanation was ever given as to why.

Before leaving Darwin to return to Hong Kong in August 1994, Don listed all extant records and formally deposited them on loan with the Northern Territory Archives Service under reference number NTRS 1800.

During a rare visit to Darwin in November 2019 Don reviewed the records in NTRS 1800, arranged the materials into record series and prepared item inventories. He also selected some items to be withdrawn and retained in Taiwan. Others were identified for destruction.

In June 2022 he notified the Northern Territory Archives Service of his intention to withdraw the deposit and to relocate it to New South Wales where it would be more accessible both to himself and his family. Arrangements were made for the permanent deposit of these records with the Charles Sturt University Regional Archives but, by mutual agreement, this was postponed until after the Archives had completed its relocation from the South Campus in 2023 and settled into a new repository on the North Campus. Meanwhile, the records in Darwin were transferred to Wagga in December 2022 and placed in commercial storage in January 2023.

Additional personal and professionally related records were created following Don’s return to Hong Kong in September 1994 to establish his archives consultancy company, Records Management International Limited. The records were taken to Thailand when Don moved to Udon Thani in 1999 and returned with him to Hong Kong in January 2006.

In 2014, following his marriage the previous year, he set up home with his wife in Taiwan, initially in Taichung and later in New Taipei City, while continuing his consultancy work in Hong Kong. The majority of the records created since 1994 were then shipped to Taiwan. Subsequently these were arranged and listed in accordance with the series schema devised in 2019. With the exception of mainly photographic records, these were couriered by air to the Regional Archives in Wagga in May 2023 and, together with those from Darwin, donated to Charles Sturt University in June 2023.

The photographic records, until then located in Taiwan, were deposited by Don in person with the Regional Archives in July 2025.

This Archival History was written by Don Brech on 16 June 2023. Amended 18 January 2025 and 9 June 2025.

The personal records of Don Brech, relating to: 1) Education, 2) Marriage and divorce, 3) Emigration, 4) Financial and legal, 5) Houses, 6) Diaries, 7) Personal and family correspondence, etc., 8) General correspondence, 9) Subject files, 10) Employment, 11) Health, 12) Family history, 13) Consultancy services, 14) Associations, societies and professional bodies, 15) Conference and seminar papers and proceedings, 16) Research projects, 17) Campaign for Archives Legislation in Hong Kong, 18) Press Cuttings, 19) Collected publications and documents, 20) Photographic, film and video records, 21) Greeting cards, 22) Invitations, 23) Artefacts.

Many parts of this collection are CLOSED to public access until 20 years after the death of the donor. See Series pages for details or contact the Reference Archivist for more information.

Items in this collection may be protected by copyright. Contact the Reference Archivist for more information.