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The Forgotten Australians

Can you put a price on a childhood? The federal government did: after the apology it set aside $26.5 million in the 2011 budget. That’s $53 per person for the half million affected. That money has gone to a national oral history project, an exhibition coming to Sydney this year and a hotline for “streamlined” access to government services. The NSW government set up Wattle House, a drop-in counselling facility in Harris Park. The input of Forgotten Australians was sought into the colour of the walls. Counsellors, historians, bureaucrats, lawyers and tradesmen got paid; the victims didn’t.  The Forgotten Australians are getting older, with the looming spectre of institutional aged care causing many deep and renewed anxieties about their future. The time to do the right thing by these people is running out. For full story, click here.

Latest on Boston College oral history project issue

A last-minute stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has blocked efforts by British authorities to obtain documents from an oral history project, the Belfast project,  at Boston College. While the college was prepared to turn over the documents, as ordered by a lower court, a stay was obtained on behalf of those involved in the oral history project.  For more, click here.

Thomas Jefferson’s Slaves

Peter Fossett, 11, was among Thomas Jefferson’s slaves sold to pay his debts.  He recalled he was “born and reared as free, not knowing that I was a slave, then suddenly, at the death of Jefferson, put on an auction block and sold to strangers.”  Fossett’s story is one of many included in several new projects to shed light on the slaves who lived and worked at Monticello. A website launching Jan. 27 will showcase oral histories of the slaves in an online project called “Getting Word: African American Families of Monticello.” For full story click here.

Recent US War Veterans’ Oral Histories

The American West Center at the University of Utah has interviewed more than 500 veterans of World War II, plus smaller numbers from conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq, as part of the oral-history endeavor. But Matthew Basso, director of the American West Center and an Army vet, decided not to wait decades before recording oral histories from Utah vets returning from the latest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  “It’s important,” Basso said. “We don’t believe Americans have a full sense of the complexities in the experience of war.” For full story, click here.

Teaching oral history in schools – U.K.

2012  sees two big events in Britain: the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games. As a teacher you may already be thinking of how to bring these to life in your lesson planning, and one way of doing so would be through oral history.  Oral history is a wonderful way of encouraging pupils to engage with the wider community and offers the chance of learning new skills. Interviewing, editing audio, project management, web design, creating a display, writing a play, archiving – these are all skills that can be learnt through oral history. For full story which includes useful links, click here.

Iran’s “Oral History Centre”

According to the public relations department of Astan Quds Razavi’s libraries, museums and docs center, Abulfazl Hassan abadi the center’s manager of press and documents affairs said:” Enjoying 13 years of experience Astan Quds Razavi’s archive of “Oral history center” is the richest center of oral history in Iran.”  He added:” The center, one of the biggest oral history archives in Iran, enjoys varied interviews while the highest numbers of MA history students use it. Moreover it is the only center which uploads its interviews to its website and it is Iran’s most active oral history center.” For full story, click here.

2011 Flood Survival Stories

Battered but not Beaten compiled by Toowoomba writer Breanda Cross was launched in Toowoomba this week.  There are some amazing stories that have emerged from the floods of earlier this year; stories of survival, tales of persistence and determination in the face of insurmountable odds and some wonderful accounts of people’s kindness to their neighbours – especially the generosity of volunteers.There is an audio link on the site.  Click here for more.

 

Relocated Inuit Stories

The project compiles stories of the families who left their homes behind in the spring of 1967. The Hudson’s Bay Company trading post in Perry River closed, and about 60 people made the treacherous journey to Gjoa Haven after that.  For full story, click here.

Gaelic Athletic Association Oral History Project

Mike Cronin, academic director of the Dublin-based Boston College Centre for Irish Programmes, is directing BC Ireland’s four-year oral history project of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), which promotes Irish amateur sports and cultural activities internationally as well as throughout Ireland. As Cronin explains, to study the GAA — which celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2009 — is to gain a valuable insight into the lives of Irish people.  For full story, click here.