Welcome to our first news bulletin of 2025. We are looking forward to a year full of oral history activities.
Reminder: In October, OHWA launched the John Ferrell Travel Fund. This is a new fund to support the travel costs associated with oral history interviewing. Small grants of between $200-$500 can be accessed throughout the year, up to a total of $1000.
The 2025 application form for the John Ferrell Travel Fund is available here: https://oralhistorywa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/12/2025-Ferrell-Travel-Fund-application-form.pdf
Introductory Oral History Workshops for 2025
OHWA is pleased to announce three Introductory training opportunities for 2025 Saturdays at the State Library WA: 29 March, 7 June and 30 August.
This one-day workshop is ideal for those who are new to oral history and want to know more about what is involved. The workshop is also useful for librarians who are working with oral history archives, and would like an insight into the interviewing side of things.
The morning session focuses on oral history ethics, while the afternoon session is all about the practicalities of interviewing. Participants will have the opportunity to conduct a practice interview.
About the trainers:
Alison Atkinson-Phillips is the president of Oral History WA and vice president of Oral History Australia. Alison is an experienced oral historian and the author of Survivor Memorials: Remembering Trauma and Loss in Contemporary Australia, based on her oral history work with memory activists.
Janet Baldwin is a past president of OHWA with 21 years of experience in oral history: teaching, interviewing, transcribing and managing projects. Her clients include: State Library WA, WA Shires and Councils, Perth Observatory, Spiritualist women. Janet is the author of: Telescopes, Timekeeping and Teabag Jigglers and Out and About with Artemis at Perth Observatory, both based on oral history.
Cate Pattison has worked as a social and oral historian since 2013 for a range of public and private clients, presenting and publishing her work at national and international Oral History conferences and journals. Cate’s previous career was in media and market research, and she now also works as a heritage officer for the Royal Agricultural Society. Forthcoming publication: Gearing up the Groupies: The State Implement Works and Group Settlement in Western Australia in the 1920s and 1930s.
Accredited Training
Nationally accredited oral history training was held at the Kings St Arts Centre, a creative space made available to trainer Elaine Rabbitt from Goolarri Media Enterprises, as GME is the Regional Arts Hub for the West Kimberley.
A diverse group of students (pictured right) attended the 2 day workshop. Organisations such as Silver Chain, SAS Historical Foundation, University of WA Historical Society and the Shire of Ashburton were represented, plus other individuals wanting to learn how to conduct a professional oral history interview.
The Power of Oral History: Risks, Rewards & Possibilities – Keynote and Plenary Videos
Highlights from the 2024 Oral History Australia (OHA) Biennial Conference are now available to watch online. The keynote address by the legendary Alessandro Portelli and closing plenary with commissioners from the Yoorrook Justice Commission are available on a dedicated YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OralHistoryAustralia. Several recordings from the 2022 national conference are also available.
2025 State Heritage Conference: Heritage Ecosystems
The next WA Heritage Conference is being held on 12-13 May 2025 in Fremantle. The theme is the Heritage Ecosystem which highlights the connectivity heritage has within environmental sciences, economics, education and technology. Organisers are keen to hear from oral history practitioners who are working on projects related to this them.
Recordings of many of the speakers from last year’s conference in Albany are now available via the Conference website: Destinations, connections and shared culture: Albany 2024 – 24-25 October 2024.
Call for stories
Do you have an oral history project underway, or recently completed? We would love to be able to share news with members, to celebrate the oral history work that is happening around our state.
If you have a story to share, please email contact@oralhistorywa.org.au.