Many visitors to the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives ask “where are the archives?” While we maintain a robust collection of archival documents in storage, many of these archives are not available for in-person viewing due to preservation concerns. What we have on exhibit is only a small percentage of the Museum’s collection, which includes 7000+ artifacts, 1600 archival documents and over 8000 photographs and negatives. We also house The Coast News and The Peninsula Times newspapers, along with an assortment of other regional publications. The museum is committed to making everything accessible to the public so we have worked to digitize our collections. This makes them easier to search through and means that you do not need to visit the museum, or be trained in archive handling, to go through the archives. You can visit our collection from the comfort of your own home!
Photo #4226 from the Sunshine Coast Museum & Archives. Harry Roberts working at his desk in Sunray cabin, Nelson Island.
There are several ways to search the collection and the best method depends on what you are looking for. Interested in learning about the winner of the Dog Fish Derby in 1979? Looking for images for your business? Do you want to hear locals tell stories about the olden days? Each of these can be found in a different part of our collection. Let’s research Harry Roberts as an example.
Photographs & Archives
Photo #1050 Harry Roberts Click here to search photographs and archives
When you type Harry Roberts into the keyword search bar, the results will come back including anything mentioning Harry or Roberts. All of the items associated with Harry Roberts will be included, but so will every other person named Harry or Roberts and you will get 478 results rather than the 40 that are specific to Harry Roberts. To avoid this, you can instead type “Harry Roberts” or Harry AND Roberts. To search for photographs taken by Harry Roberts, used the Advanced Search option and type “Harry Roberts” in the Creator field. To limit your findings to photographs of the different things that Harry Roberts built during his lifetime, you can search “Harry Roberts” AND buil*. The asterisk (*) will include built or buildings and is a great trick to use if you are uncertain about spelling. In this case it is useful because we will be able to see all of the buildings, boats and even the waterwheel that Harry Roberts made in one search.
When you type Harry Roberts into the keyword search bar, the results will come back including anything mentioning Harry or Roberts. All of the items associated with Harry Roberts will be included, but so will every other person named Harry or Roberts and you will get 478 results rather than the 40 that are specific to Harry Roberts. To avoid this, you can instead type “Harry Roberts” or Harry AND Roberts. To search for photographs taken by Harry Roberts, used the Advanced Search option and type “Harry Roberts” in the Creator field. To limit your findings to photographs of the different things that Harry Roberts built during his lifetime, you can search “Harry Roberts” AND buil*. The asterisk (*) will include built or buildings and is a great trick to use if you are uncertain about spelling. In this case it is useful because we will be able to see all of the buildings, boats and even the waterwheel that Harry Roberts made in one search.
Once you have clicked search, you will see photographs appear first, followed by any archival materials that are in the search results. For Harry Roberts, these archival materials are categorized as “Papers, Personal” and include his extensive writings on a variety of topics. You can read through handwritten or typed accounts of local stories as well as some of Harry’s more philosophical ponderings. Other archival materials that can be found in our collection are maps, pamphlets, books. Anything on paper!
If you want a digital copy of a photograph that you have found, without that pesky watermark covering it, we’ve got you covered. Click on the image, then click Request Image in the lower right corner to open an online ordering form. Once you have submitted your request, an email notifies staff at the museum and we will get back to you ASAP. For research and private study, low resolution .JPG images (96 dpi) are available free of charge. High resolution .TIFF images (300 dpi) are available for purchase for $20 (research/private study only). If the image is to be used for commercial purposes, a Usage Agreement may be required. *PLEASE NOTE: Prints are not available for purchase at this time. Printing can be done at home, by a local copy shop or through an online service.
Newspapers
Click here to access digitized newspapers
The museum has digitized several publications that were locally produced, including two newspapers The Coast News (1945-1995) and The Peninsula Times (1963-1979). These are invaluable research tools that highlight the day-to-day life of the Sunshine Coast as well as chronicle many significant events for the area. Similar to searching for photographs, the newspaper search also uses keyword searching and works best when quotation marks are used. You can choose to search chronologically or within a certain time frame if you are looking for a specific event or article. The Coast News has the most articles so it is a good place to start but do not underestimate The Peninsula Times! Searching for “Harry Roberts” will pull up 126 results from The Coast News and 23 articles from The Peninsula Times.
The museum has digitized several publications that were locally produced, including two newspapers The Coast News (1945-1995) and The Peninsula Times (1963-1979). These are invaluable research tools that highlight the day-to-day life of the Sunshine Coast as well as chronicle many significant events for the area. Similar to searching for photographs, the newspaper search also uses keyword searching and works best when quotation marks are used. You can choose to search chronologically or within a certain time frame if you are looking for a specific event or article. The Coast News has the most articles so it is a good place to start but do not underestimate The Peninsula Times! Searching for “Harry Roberts” will pull up 126 results from The Coast News and 23 articles from The Peninsula Times.
To save digital copies from the newspaper collection, there are two options; single pages can be downloaded in JPEG format while entire issues can be downloaded as PDF files.
Oral Histories
Click here to access selected clips from our Oral History Collection
Recorded interviews with a variety of Sunshine Coasters are preserved in the archives, with the oldest recording dating back by to 1959. There are over 90 that have been collected from local legends. We are currently working on making more of them available and our incredible volunteers are in the process of transcribing them. Although the Oral Histories are not all available yet, the ones that are online can be found on the museum’s Soundcloud. This includes an interview with Harry Roberts, recorded in the 1960s. To learn about the recordings that we have, submit a research request and we will look through our masterlist.
Recorded interviews with a variety of Sunshine Coasters are preserved in the archives, with the oldest recording dating back by to 1959. There are over 90 that have been collected from local legends. We are currently working on making more of them available and our incredible volunteers are in the process of transcribing them. Although the Oral Histories are not all available yet, the ones that are online can be found on the museum’s Soundcloud. This includes an interview with Harry Roberts, recorded in the 1960s. To learn about the recordings that we have, submit a research request and we will look through our masterlist.
Library
Photo #2132 The Gibsons Public Library circa 1955 Our library includes books on relevant heritage and coastal topics, some of which are no longer in print or are difficult to source. The library is open to the public during museum hours, although it is not a lending library, meaning that our books are available to read in the library but cannot be borrowed. If you would like a list of recommended books for a topic you are interested in, we are happy to discuss which books may interest you. Harry Roberts is, of course, mentioned in Remembering Roberts Creek by the Roberts Creek Historical Committee as well as a selection of other books.
You may have to come into the museum after all – some things just have to be experienced in person!
You may have to come into the museum after all – some things just have to be experienced in person!
Research Requests
If there is anything that you cannot find, feel free to ask us. We are happy to help with research requests, nothing is too out there. It takes approximately two weeks to complete a request and the first 30 minutes of research is free. Additional research is $25 per hour. Requests can be submitted by emailing [email protected], phone 604-886-8232 or in person. Now that you have read all the way through this guide, you are practically an expert researcher already!
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