HANDA COLLECTION

This large and historically-significant collection, accumulated by Peter Burgis over a 50-year period, was acquired by The University of Western Australia through the generosity of Japanese philanthropist Dr Haruhisa Handa. The archive concentrates on the work of Australian musicians and composers in all musical fields during the past 100 years and encompasses classical and popular music as well as musical theatre. In addition the collection includes Australian radio shows and advertisements, spoken word, recordings of historic events, and oral history.

Extent of Collection

The collection contains over 150,000 individual items with more than 90,000 sound carriers and around 70,000 print documents. The sound recordings (1890s to the present) include cylinders, 78s, LPs, tapes and CDs, whilst the print material includes photographs, concert programmes and sheet music.

Status of Collection

Partially catalogued and processed.

Finding Aids

The PASH project processed a selection of sound recordings in the collection. Entries for the individual items are available in the catalogue, as are entries for the Handa Collection as a whole and the series titled, Sound recordinings collected by Peter Burgis, 1950-2002.

Further Information

Preserving Australia's Sound Heritage (PASH)

Search the Handa Collection