What is it like to grow up in the rolling green hills of the Kent countryside in England, only to spend several years as an adult working in the Australian desert? It is hard to imagine two settings more different Read More …
Keen gardeners always seem to find a way to grow a garden, regardless of the environment. Attempting to grow a lush vegetable garden in the hot, dry environment at Woomera may seem ambitious, until you realise that there are many Read More …
Have you ever thought of using oral history recordings in your family or local history research? Recording your own interviews with relatives is a valuable addition to your research. However, previously recorded interviews can also provide family and local history Read More …
My previous post introduced the Unemployment Relief Scheme settlement in Meadows that was established during the Great Depression. Oral history interviewees talked about what it was like to live there in cottages that had been described as ‘roomy tin bungalows’ Read More …
One of the most valuable aspects of oral history is being able to ask someone exactly what it was like to experience a certain event or era. I was fortunate to record interviews with two people who had grown up Read More …
Barbecues were some of the most frequent social events in Woomera. Often they were held in backyards. Terry Clark, who lived in Woomera in the 1960s and 70s, recalled in an oral history interview one particular barbecue that had an Read More …
Continuing the theme of my previous post with memories of summer, I’ve selected this time some excerpts from oral history interviews focussing on milk in summer – keeping it cool (or not) and drinking it. Pat Connor was a dairy Read More …
As those of us in Australia head into the hottest part of the year, it seems an ideal time to hear stories about the extreme heat in places such as Woomera, located in desert country in the north of South Read More …
General stores were a central feature of most country towns. They provided a wide range of goods and services, and were run by local families. The general store in Meadows, in the Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia, was built Read More …
Watching films under the stars is a special experience. Some people may remember watching films in one of the many drive-in cinemas that used to exist in city and country towns across Australia. The first drive-in cinema in Australia opened Read More …