Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna visits the Archive

Many dignitaries and other people visiting Australia from the Estonia visit the Estonian Archives in Australia, at Sydney Estonian House. On Tuesday evening, 10 March, the latest visitor was Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, where he found material of personal interest about his former choir teacher, Uno Uiga. Items highlighted during the visit included the oral history collection recognised on the Memory of the World register maintained by UNESCO, photographs, artworks, documents and interesting artefacts.

Maie Barrow (right) with Jaan Reinhold (Estonian Ambassador) and Margus Tsahkna;

Recently, the Estonian Ambassador to Australia, Jaan Reinhold commended the archive in his address to AESL underlining why the foreign minister was brought to the archive before his address to the wider meeting, stating,

“The Estonian Archives in Sydney are unique not only within the history of Estonian communities in Australia but likely within the broader Estica heritage space. I have taken all official Estonian delegations to visit the Archives, and I thank the archival team for their kind support. Without exception, visitors have greatly valued the experience and identified it as a highlight of their visit. The Archives form an essential part of the identity of the Sydney Estonian House as a community centre. It is remarkable how volunteers maintain such a high archival standard despite limited space. In the long term, larger facilities are clearly needed, which should be considered in future restructuring of Estonian House. I hope AESL continues supporting the Archives as the custodian of Estonian memory and identity in Australia.”

Taimi Nurm (volunteer); Terry Kass (honorary archivist) Virge Nielson (archive council chair);
Margus Tsahkna; Maie Barrow (volunteer) and Jaan Reinhold (Estonian Ambassador).