The gallery is situated near the port of Sydney and is not air conditioned. The climate is very variable. The paintings have suffered considerably from mould, from storage during the war, and from old methods of restoration. The new conservation department comprises: a laboratory, a restoration studio for prints and drawings, a projection room, a darkroom and a fire-proof storeroom. The restoration workshop is in the basement. Equipment consists of an examination table, an old vacuum hot-table, a large relining table -an old marble slab from a morgue -and some fine photographic and microscopical equipment. Personnel are a conservator, an assistant conservator and three artisans. They get outside help from an honorary Scientific Advisory Council. Under the Colombo Plan the Department has been selected for the training of Asian students.