The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.

Cultural gifts continue to enrich collections

“A Douglas DC-2 aircraft, art gallery archival records and colour slides featuring the Eucalyptus species form the most recent list of diverse gifts donated by private collectors under the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program,” the Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp said today.

The Cultural Gifts Program (CGP) encourages donations of culturally significant items from private collections to support the growth of public collections. Since its establishment in 1978, over $350 million worth of gifts has been donated to Australia’s public art galleries, museums, libraries and archives.

“Due to the generosity of private collectors the public will continue to have access to a wealth of cultural treasures which may otherwise have remained behind closed doors,” Senator Kemp said.

“There is an amazing variety of material being gifted ranging from visual and decorative arts and library and archival material to Indigenous arts and scientific material. Over the years, public collections have received items ranging from insect collections and jewellery to aircraft, motor vehicles, maps and comics.”

At a recent meeting of the Committee on Taxation Incentives for the Arts 165 donations, valued at $25.6 million, were considered. The items included:

• A Douglas DC-2 aircraft to be displayed at the Australian National Aviation Museum, Moorabbin in Victoria. It has an important place in world and Australian aviation history as it revolutionised the air transport industry with its combination of speed, safety and improved passenger facilities and featured strongly in the 1934 London to Melbourne Centenary Air Race. The Royal Australian Air Force acquired this DC-2 (and others) during the early years of World War II highlighting the necessity of an all-purpose transport aircraft. This aircraft was sold in 1946.
• The entire archive of one of Sydney's most important galleries, the Macquarie Galleries, from 1925 to 1990 wi ll be a valuable research resource at the Art Gallery of NSW. The records relate to over 400 artists, including Grace Cossington Smith, Jeffrey Smart, Donald Friend, Ian Fairweather and Sidney Nolan.
• Ten paintings by Queensland artist Betty Quelhurst will enhance the collection of the Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, which is part of the Griffith University Art Collection, where the artist trained and taught for 30 years. The paintings—some of which were used as teaching aids—feature portraits, inner city landmarks, sub-tropical gardens and landscapes of historical significance.
• 1389 colour slides, part of 4000 slides donated over many years, featuring the Eucalyptus species. The donation makes the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra the custodian of the most comprehensive collection of accurately identified and fully illustrated (whole plant, habitat, flowers, fruit, bark) Eucalypt photographs in the world.

Donors can claim a tax deduction for the market value of their gifts and elect to spread the deduction over up to five income years. These gifts are also exempt from capital gains tax.

The Committee on Taxation Incentives for the Arts meet three times a year. Its role is to recommend the approval of valuers for the CGP, certify that valuations reflect market value and endorse gifts conforming with the program’s requirements. The Committee also advises the Australian Taxation Office on aspects of gifts relevant to the Commissioner’s powers.

For more information on the CGP program visit www.dcita.gov.au/cgp

17 May 2005

Media contact: Michael Christo, Minister’s Office, 02 6277 7350 or 0407 040 276