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The next phase of the Precarious Oral Histories Project is now underway, building on the success of the Victorian project to identify at-risk oral history collections across Australia.
The Victorian project identified almost 200 oral history collections comprising more than 9,000 interviews at risk of loss. The strong response from collection holders highlighted both the richness of these collections and the urgent need to document them so that efforts to safeguard them can be planned and implemented. It also demonstrated the value of extending this work beyond Victoria.
The project team is now preparing surveys for collection holders in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with plans to progressively expand the initiative to other states and territories. Further information about survey dates will be announced soon.
The next phase is led by Dr Alexandra Mountain, an archivist and public historian who has served as Treasurer and Membership Officer of Oral History NSW since 2024. Alexandra will lead the project as it works with communities and collection holders to better understand and preserve Australia’s valuable oral history collections.
Read more in the Precarious Oral Histories Project’s latest news story.