The Archives Office of Tasmania opened in 1965. Its purpose was to store government records but it also accepted donations from private individuals and organisations. It had a reading room for people wishing to access those records. In 2011, the Archives Office of Tasmania became the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.
The origins of the Archives Office of Tasmania were in 1949 when the Chief Secretary's Department transferred state records to the State Library of Tasmania, run by the State Library Department.
In 1965, this section of the Library became the Archives Office of Tasmania but remained within the State Library Department.
It became a separate agency following the Archives Act 1983 although, administratively, it was still within the State Library Department.
In 1989, the State Library Department joined the Department of Education and the Arts with the Archives Office as one of its divisions.
In 2007, the Archives Office merged with the Heritage Collections of the State Library of Tasmania. This eventually led to it becoming the Tasmanian Archive and Heritage Office.
1949 - 1965 Tasmanian State Archives
1965 - 2011 Archives Office of Tasmania
2011 - Archives Tasmania
Sources used to compile this entry: Wettenhall, RL, A Guide to Tasmanian Government Administration, Platypus Publications, Hobart, 1968, 206 pp.
Prepared by: Caroline Evans
Created: 3 April 2012, Last modified: 7 April 2014