Oral history is a wonderful way of bringing life to museum displays – making the history more accessible and meaningful. Oodnadatta is a small town in South Australia, 1 034 km north of Adelaide. It has a fascinating history that Read More …
Regardless of whether you are interviewing a family member for your genealogy research, or a community member for an oral history project, it’s important to use the best digital recorder that you can. You want your interview to last! Imagine Read More …
Imagine living in Australia’s dry desert interior, and witnessing the landscape come alive after rain. I recently interviewed people who had lived in Woomera, 446 km north of Adelaide in an arid region surrounded by salt lakes that are usually Read More …
These tips will help you undertake high quality oral history interviews that can be used in a range of settings and by others in future. 1. Prepare for your interview by researching the interview topic and doing a preliminary interview Read More …
When we take the time to stop and enjoy our surroundings, we can be richly rewarded with beautiful sights that leave lasting memories. In 2008 I was fortunate to interview Lyn Bartlett, a keen bird watcher. She described for me Read More …
There’s something special about having the opportunity to design and plant a new garden. But how does one choose what to plant? What style of garden? And how does the garden evolve with time? Lyn Bartlett and her husband moved Read More …
For most of us who are not pilots, it is difficult to imagine what it must be like to fly a new aircraft for the first time, on your own. Robert Treloar was a junior flying officer at RAAF Williamtown, Read More …
In an earlier post I introduced Sam Smith, the blacksmith who wrote poetry. Sam was born in 1870, and worked as a blacksmith in Meadows, in the Adelaide Hills, for at least 50 years until about 1953. He died in Read More …
Blacksmiths used to be very important members of local towns, making tools, shoeing horses and repairing farm equipment. Anthony Brookman was 94 when I interviewed him in 2008. He could remember travelling as a boy from his family’s property, Burbrook, Read More …
