Hi. Have listers heard or read anything that confirms (or denies) moves by the Commonwealth Government to downsize and/or effectively close the office of the Australian Archives at Cannon Hill in Brisbane? My sources have evidently seen newspaper advertisements stating that the land on which the Australian Archives' office is located (996 Wynnum Road) has been placed on the market and the expectation is that the reading room will be phased out and the bulk of files are to be returned to head office, either in Canberra or Sydney/Melbourne. If this is the case, we are witnessing a tragic assault on the pursuit of history - especially genealogical research - in Queensland from which it will never fully recover. What a backhanded gift to the nation in its Centenary of Federation year...the lights are being turned off in Queensland! Will someone in authority please refute the suggestion that this Commonwealth Government would be so miserly as to pull the plug on such a phenomenal important collection of historic records located locally in Brisbane? If they're allowed to shut down Brisbane, then God help you historians with an office of the Australian Archives in Kelsey Crescent, Nightcliff, Northern Territory; or at 4 Rosny Hill Road, Rosny Park, Tasmania; or 384 Berwick Street, East Victoria Park, Western Australia; or at 11-13 Derlanger Avenue, Collinswood, South Australia. Perhaps we should all just move to Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra and stop pretending we are living in a Commonwealth of States and Territories...just the irritatingly distant outposts. Poor fellow my country. ~~~ Cheers, Peter Collins Brisbane, Australia E-mail: [email protected]