Memories of searching for bush tucker, a tiny one-teacher school and sleeping six to a bed to keep warm have been preserved in a unique way as Goonoowigall joins the Soundtrails smartphone app. For full story click here.
Category: Uncategorized
Navajo Oral History
One never knows what kind of material will be next, when cataloging for library branches serving Smithsonian’s 19 museums and research centers. I recently received a box of DVDs that needed complex copy and original cataloging. The first several DVDs were oral history interviews with Navajo Code Talkers, which immediately piqued my interest. As I worked my way to the bottom of the box, I found that the interview topics were more diverse. For full story click here.
West Gate Bridge Story told in Theatre
Melburnians are seeing the West Gate Bridge in a new light this week, as the centrepiece of the Art and Industry Festival illuminates its rich history. The main event in The Bridge Projects is a theatrical revival of Vicki Reynolds’ The Bridge, a piece of verbatim theatre that echoes with the disaster of October 15, 1970, when a section of the bridge collapsed during construction, killing 35 workers. For full story click here.
Aboriginal Media Personality, Dre Ngatokorua
At just 21 years of age, Dre Ngatokorua is having his name mentioned among some of the most prominent Aboriginal media personalities. Dre is one of three finalists in both the ‘Best Photography’ and ‘Best Interview or Oral History’ categories. For full story click here.
They Shall Not Grow Old
The latest production from blockbuster director Peter Jackson is They Shall Not Grow Old, an innovative World War I film that converts scratched old documentary footage into vibrantly coloured images. For interview with director, Peter Jackson click here.
Music fights colonialism
The 20th century has witnessed unprecedented mass migration movements from the formerly colonised to the heart of former colonies. This has resulted subsequent to the decolonisation of many formerly colonised nations. Resistance and affirmation of national identity has thus taken on various cultural forms. Music stands out here for reasons I explain below, as well as the fact it combines both written and oral cultural practices. Music offers an inventory of paramount disruption and a cultural intervention that offers spaces for national and historical re-examination. For full story click here.
Oral History Australia National Conference 2019
Oral History Queensland and Oral History Australia, in partnership with State Library of Queensland will be hosting the 2019 National Conference. We are calling for presentations. See details here.
Latest on Boston Tapes
Anthony McIntyre is among a number of ex-paramilitaries who gave confidential testimonies to Boston College about their role during the Troubles. The convicted murderer was also a lead researcher on the oral history project, known as the Boston tapes. For full story click here.
JFK and RFK Oral History Collections
In 1964, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library began conducting oral history interviews of people whose lives or work intersected with John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and/or the major events and issues of their times. The John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection now holds roughly 1,300 interviews, while the Robert F. Kennedy Oral History Collection houses about 275 interviews. Many of the transcripts have been digitized and are available for viewing online. Find website here.
Hawaii Oral History
The Conversation is taking a closer look, and a listen, to some of Hawaii’s oral history. Thanks to the work of the University of Hawaii’s Oral History Center, we can hear directly from those who experienced certain events in our past. Read full story here.