History Matters

A twice escaped convict who became an urban legend. The man who designed some of Parramatta’s most iconic buildings. An abandoned widow who became a successful businesswoman and the matriarch of a famous family. And the first white farmer of Australia who helped the colony survive. These are just a few of the stories I have uncovered and included in my project with Old Government House in Parramatta. My project is a coffee table book that aims to tell some of the well-known and less well-known stories of remarkable figures in the early colony of New South Wales. The work is based on a previous publication by the Friends of Old Government House, which I have adapted and edited to update existing stories and include a few new pieces. The result is a collection of ten stories that provide ten snapshots of what life was like in early Sydney and the sort of people who lived there.

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I wanted to focus especially on women’s stories in my work. Spaces such as Old Government House are often closely tied to male figures such as the Governors and, in many ways, the early colony exists in the public imagination as quite a male-dominated space. Yet, women were an integral part of the early colony from its inception and their stories deserve to be told with the same ease and understanding as key male figures. With this in mind, I tried to center women within my project, especially within their own stories, and discuss them not in relation to who they were married to or the mother or daughter off but as who they were as individuals.  In this, I was trying to argue that the role of women in history, and in the colony, is not to be remarkable through their relationships to men but in their own actions and intentions. The story of women in the colony deserves pride of place alongside the men and although their impact was different, it was no less significant.

Upon reflection, my work also argues for the individuality of historical figures. This was not something I set out to focus on but as I continued to research and uncover family stories and hidden details it dawned on me that I was writing about remarkable people, not just the remarkable things they did. I began to realize that in their own time the figures I wrote about were not, ‘John Watts ‘aide de camp’ and the first architect of Australia, but Watts, maybe even just John. A young man who had followed his father into the army before being given the chance to pursue something he loved. Because of this, all the figures in my project are referred to primarily by their first names, from perhaps the most well-known governor to a twice sentenced convict. I am not naïve enough to think that social standing and power did not enable influence, but I tried to discuss the figures in my work as the individuals they were before they became ‘remarkable’ in history.

The task of making a coffee table book out of these stories was quite daunting. I had never done something like this before, but I enjoyed the challenge of thinking not only about the information I included but what people would be interested in. Many times, I debated on whether to include a small detail here or there or to add a family rumor that couldn’t be rigorously fact-checked to make the story more engaging as well as informative. The inspiration to make a coffee table book came from my own family and my parents’ habit of flicking through them at breakfast. I decided I wanted to create something that people could read casually or bring up to friends revealing a section they found particularly interesting. One of my favorite things about Old Government House is the fact that I get to talk about history with people who also love history and I wanted to facilitate that a little bit in my project.

Hopefully, should all go well, the book will be available in the Old Government House gift shop. In doing so it will raise money for the House, something that is always needed in a charity organization. I hope it will be interesting to everyone. The work fundamentally tells the story of individuals and I hope that people will see a little bit of their own history in the pages, maybe something that reminds them of their own family here or their own journey to this settler colony. I do hope it will be especially interesting to female visitors or guides and remind them that there is a space for women’s history everywhere, even within ‘male dominated’ historical spaces.

 I have had an amazing time working and volunteering at Old Government House, and I hope this book gives back some of the joy I have received from making it. Old Government House is open to visitors again and I encourage everyone who can to visit their website for more information and to book tickets!

I have spent the last few months working with the Local Studies department of Penrith City Library, researching the Hunter family of Emu Plains. The project started as a documentation of some home films that the library is preparing to upload to their website, but pretty quickly I realised I also wanted to do a write up about the family for their website. My work hasn’t yet been uploaded to the website, so for now I’ve attached it as a PDF at the end of this post.

In my research I drew mostly from the resources available in the library’s Norman Hunter collection. The library also had a number of secondary sources which I was able to use. I found the book Penrith: The Makings of a City by Lorraine Stacker to be particularly helpful. Additionally, I used Trove to find newspaper articles concerning the family. I ultimately split the information I found into five key themes:

1. The orchard on Norman’s property “Yodalla” at Emu Plains,
2. Norman’s role as the managing director of the Aerated Bread Company,
3. Norman’s contributions to the development of sport in Emu Plains and Penrith,
4. The contribution of Norman’s wife, Ellie Hunter, to the local Country Women’s Association, and
5. The family’s role in the community of Avoca Beach

In my view, these five themes best encapsulate the Hunter family’s contribution to their communities. These areas are also where their legacy can still be seen today, and thus I believe focusing on them is the best way to contribute to historical writing on Penrith and Emu Plains.

This is where I believe the significance of my project lies. The scholarship on the Hunter family is limited, and what information is accessible is mostly limited to primary sources. Thus my project is significant in its synthesis of existing primary sources.

My project satisfied an immediate need for Penrith Library. As they have digitised many of the home films made by the Hunter family and are preparing to make them available on their website (a process I contributed to by providing annotations for the films) it is necessary to provide some historical background and situate the films in their context. In doing so, I have also increased the accessibility of information about the Hunter family to the wider public. Most of the information I drew from is available in the Norman Hunter collection at the library, but it is not easily accessed by everyone, for various reasons including if they are located outside the area.

Overall I found the process of working with the library to be a good experience. They provided me with a lot of information about the Hunter family, including secondary sources along with their archive sources. I also felt that I was able to create the project I wanted. I was limited somewhat by the standards of their website, but I didn’t find to be too constraining. I also had plenty of images to draw from for the final project, and I feel that the ones I chose complement the text well.

Moving forward, my project is largely self-contained so I don’t foresee myself needing to be involved in the future. However, I would be open to maintaining the project if necessary.

What is novel or innovative about what I have done?

For me, doing translation work is not something novel. As an English learner, translation is part of my life, and my ‘translation career’ starts at that time. I think the novel and innovative part for me in this project is that I can work with an organisation and do something that can directly contribute to society. I can submit the translation as my major project in this unit instead of a regular academic essay. It is different and innovative for me because I can participate in society but not sit in the library and write something that I do not know whether it contributes to the organisation instead of contributing to my credit point and helping me graduate.

Who will benefit from this work/project?

Preservation of this shop, actually the entire building, is essential for studying Chinese Australian history, and it provided the history of Dixon Street. So I think the public and the scholars will be benefit from this project. The historian who studies Chinese Australian history has a place for them to research Chinese Australian history. For the Chinese Australians, they have a chance to learn and look at the cultural relic about their ancestor’s past. For the others, this is a place to learn the Chinese life and learn about Chinese culture.

What is significant or important about my work?

My work is essential because the evidence I provided can help the Society to negotiate with the developer. I have to do it because I can read Chinese characters and understand traditional Chinese content, which allows me to have more sources for collecting evidence. Moreover, the Chinese cultural background helps me understand some cultural material and I can do a better translation and explain the newspaper to the audience.

How to present my work?

I will be presenting my work in document style, a newspaper article or advertisement at the top with the translation of the content below the newspaper.

Furthermore, I have made a form for the import list of Kwong War Chong and attached a good explanation and some recipes for the non-Chinese culture background to understand how the Chinese will use or eat the goods that appear in the import list. This presenting form will be the most straightforward way to show the information I want to tell. Trove is my media and an excellent helper to search for the newspaper content I need to access the newspapers from the past. My work will show the audience life of history, Chinese economic history, and the social history of the Chinese Australian society, which can prove the uniqueness of Kwong War Chong.

At long last, my project with Naughty Noodle Fun Haus has finally come to fruition in the form of a podcast. The recording of queer oral histories in the Central Coast fills an obvious gap in queer history outside of Sydney in regional and remote areas.

The podcast, aptly titled Coastie Stories follows the journey of five members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and how they have lived and loved on the Central Coast. And that’s just the beginning! Naughty Noodle and I discussed many different ideas for the project, from YouTube video interviews to a written, essay-style record of queer history on the Central Coast. The personality and subjectivity of an oral interview appealed to us because of the emotive and accessible elements. Growing up queer on the Coast is not always a happy experience, and so we wanted our guests to have the opportunity to tell it from their perspective; hardships and all.

The project was born from the desire for promotion for the upcoming Coastal Twist festival of January 2022, and will be available soon on all streaming platforms. A bitesize version will also be aired on ABC radio – how exciting! The five stories I’ve had the pleasure of documenting speak glowingly about Naughty Noodle, and will hopefully encourage listeners, whether queer or ally, to come and participate in the magic. The podcast will continue beyond the festival, featuring more guests and of continued use for the organisation in promotion, exposure and historical documentation.

The questions asked of my guests are loosely based on a set list, created by myself and Glitta Supernova:

1. Where did you grow up?  If not on the coast, how long have you been here?
2. Why are you here?
3. What is it like being LGBTQIA+ on the Coast? Are you out? If so, what was it like coming out? If not, why haven’t you come out?
4. What changes or progress have you seen in the community?
5. Have you got a bad experience story?
6. Have you got a positive experience story?
7. What needs to change for LGBTIQ youth so they feel they can create, love, and celebrate at home?
8. Is there a standout iconic story from the LGBTIQA history on the Coast?
9. What has been your journey to self-acceptance? 

We wanted the questions to be broadly applicable and still allow for self expression, customisation, and more often than not, a charming anecdote or two. We have found that these questions, whilst broad by nature, allow the guests to open up and often divulge incredibly personal and moving stories about their journey as a queer person. The conversation often turns to the youth of today, and connects well with the Naughty Noodle purpose of education, celebration and representation.

I hope that, if anything, the podcast reaches someone who feels they have been represented in mainstream media, and encourages them to be brave enough to accept, and love, who they are. Creating the podcast has been very challenging, mostly due to my lack of editing expertise, but also a rewarding and enjoyable experience. From my study, I had the privilege to help create something that will hopefully have a lasting impact on the Central Coast community.

Coastie Stories presents a message of hope to local listeners and beyond; being a queer person is a tumultuous journey, but you will find your way. If you’re interested in hearing more, you can listen here.

Project Links:

Bitesize Podcast Episodes

Full Length Podcast Episodes

The first time I saw Old Government House it was like stepping back in time. I had missed my stop at Parramatta and was walking in a park for longer than I thought possible in Sydney. It was after climbing yet another hill that I was suddenly struck by a Georgian style house rising out of the landscape. And yet, over the last three years, approaching the house has felt a little bit more like coming home, as I have come to be familiar with its layout and its many wonderful volunteers.

Old Government House has been managed by the National Trust since 1967. As the former country residence of Australia’s first ten governors and the oldest public building in Australia, the house is a significant relic of Australia’s Colonial past. Through the National Trust visitors are able to walk through the restored house and grounds whilst learning about life in the early colony and the role of the first governors. This is all information I learnt during my first information session as a volunteer. Yet, as I have continued to volunteer at the House, I have learnt so much more about the role of the National Trust and the difficulties and significance of maintaining history in Australia.

I have learnt more about the early governors of New South Wales and their influence on the Colony.

I have continued to confront the difficult truths of the early colonial period in the Sydney region.

I have learnt more about the National Trust and the role they play as a non-governmental organization preserving and maintaining Australia’s history.

I have met Mr Fopp the butler, who is usually only seen during formal dinners, and  the old schoolmistress who still teaches lessons with slate and chalk.

I have felt phantom pushes on my back when leaning out to lock the top windows at the end of the day.

I have opened hidden panels and looked at thousand-year-old shells built into the walls.

I have learnt how to wind and re-set a two-hundred-year-old clock.

And I have learnt what someone’s face looks like when they can see and sense the history of a place that continues to be looked after and cared for.

Perhaps most importantly I have come to know and admire the many volunteers at Old Government House who all bring their own knowledge and stories to the House. I have also come to know the many paid staff who work tirelessly to maintain the house whilst also organizing the volunteers and exhibitions. As a result, I consider myself very lucky to be able to contribute to this amazing organization. My project with Old Government House will involve creating a booklet of stories about significant figures in the early Colony, with a particular focus on female voices and experiences. I hope to be able to bring all that I have learnt whilst volunteering to this project and include the voices of the many volunteers and staff who have taught me so much about Australia’ Colonial past.

Although Old Government House is closed presently, it will be reopening soon! For more information about the property and information on how to visit please visit the Website.

The organisation that I am working with for my major project as a part of History Beyond the Classroom is Sydney Harbour YHA & The Big Dig Archaeology Centre. This organisation centres around the archaeological site, The Big Dig. The Big Dig, spanning two half-city blocks, is a large archaeological site in The Rocks of Sydney. The artefacts discovered at the site have ranged in date from the 1790s to the 1930s, and it has been suggested that if further excavation was to be undertaken, even older artefacts would be found. The site underwent excavations in 1994, and was then partially left in situ and used as a display feature of Australian history and archaeology. This site has the unique opportunity of bringing together such a valuable piece of history with Australia’s tourism industry, and with many school-aged children, eager to learn more about Sydney’s past.

Sydney Harbour YHA has been built with the unique opportunities of this site in mind. The hostel, which provides accommodation to people travelling, has been built around the site, creating opportunities for visitors to interact with the site. Visitors are able to view the dig site from a series of constructed walkways and glass panels, as well as through the artefacts and explanatory signs that are also on display at The Rocks Discovery Museum. The purpose-built site has been internationally recognised with a UNESCO Asia Pacific Award for Heritage Conservation. The nature of the YHA is that international guests are frequent visitors, and so this combination of tourist accommodation and Australian history is able to be well combined. Visitors both from overseas and the local area are able to view and enjoy the site and its history.

In addition to this, The Big Dig is also heavily involved in educational outreach, providing many school-aged children with the opportunity to visit the site, and engage with archaeology in a hands-on way. The organisation runs a number of in-depth, experiential and curriculum linked programs, aimed at really connecting the students to the material. There are several different programs, delivered through Sydney Learning Adventures, each of which focuses on a particular aspect that the site has to offer, ranging from an exploration of Sydney’s early colonial and convict history to the history of Chinese immigration.

Personally, I find the work that this organisation does to be very interesting, and very valuable to our understanding of Australia’s history, and the place that archaeology holds within in. The Sydney Harbour YHA is an interesting building, which has very cleverly made the archaeological site a feature and attraction, while simultaneously protecting and preserving it. In doing so, the value of the site is able to be articulated to an international audience. As well, I feel that using the site to facilitate the learning of students is very important. Especially for younger students, leaning through engaging and hands-on experiences can be really valuable, and can leave a very lasting impression. I am looking forward to contributing in a small way to this work, and to the preservation and sharing of the history of The Rocks.

The intersection between science, history and activism will be highlighted in my multimedia environmental history project with the Australian Marine Conservation Society (ACMS). It will explore how technology and historical analysis can benefit real world conservation work and assist ACMS to produce a detailed timeline of their historic impact.

Together with my supervisors Cat and Katie, I decided that it would be best for me to link my existing interests with a particular section or team in their organisation. This is something that would most benefit their organisation as well, knowing who to align me with throughout my project for archives and for further information. It would also give that section some concrete content for them to use in their work. All conservation work in this organisation is very site specific. I have decided to work with the reef team, based in Queensland who develop conservationist methods of communication to help to protect the Great Barrier and Ningaloo reefs from climate change devastation.

In a meeting I suggested that given the visual nature of these reefs and the multi-sensory nature of the reef in general, I would like to produce a multimedia photo essay that would be accompanied by a range of multimedia tools including oral histories (recorded on my zoom recorder) and historiographic analysis text. This would be built into a webpage but would also be submitted to them as separate pieces of historical analysis which they have said they could either use as a whole or separate and use at different stages of their campaign.

The project will be a historiographic analysis of coral bleaching in Australia. Through a range of technologies, I will analyse how our opinions have changed regarding the coral reefs over time and when the media has really started paying attention. The project will be both a timeline (in part) and a visual history analysis, unpacking how images have impacted Australians with regards to Coral bleaching.

Coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef have increasingly lengthened and gained severity since evidence first emerged in 2002.

Possible challenges moving ahead could include organising time to meet with science communicators (over the phone) for audio interviews and on a practical level, building the website which will require me to up-skill to a higher level of web development. Its an opportunity to improve my digital literary skills and explore how coral imagery can interact his historiographical analysis.

Cat and Katie have noted that they will put me in touch with the communication team in a couple of weeks so I am able to liaise with them about what will suite their existing interface and what kind of access I am able to gain to their archive of conservation work. She is also asking coral reef scientists if they would be comfortable being interviewed. In the meantime, I am reading the works of Ian McCalman (who I have spoken to about an environmental history/Communications honours) and Killian Quigley. I’m sure the Sydney Environmental Institute would be able to assist me in many other ways as well.

As this organisation is so acutely dependent on science communication, but so many of their staff are short of time to do deep history work on their organisation and its impacts as they work to improve the future for Australia’s coral reefs, I hope that my project will provide a new way of looking at the organisations work. Hopefully this will be an initiative that I can continue to develop with them over time and will create a precedent for the ways in which they can digitally communicate their impact through time. Kat has also mentioned that a history of reef conservation and bleaching will tie in well with the 40th anniversary of the Great Barrier Reef as well as being a big priority in the lead up to World Heritage deadlines and WH Meeting in 2022.

I hope that this work with ACMS will reflect the importance of multidisciplinary collaborations between the sciences, humanities and environmental NGOS of Australia and explore the remarkable effect this collaboration has already had. I am passionate about the work this organisation does and hope that my experience as an environmental documentary researcher will help me to assist this important organisation.

This year is Australian National Maritime Museum’s 30th Anniversary and in celebrating this milestone, this is dedicated to the amazing team at the Sea Museum!

The Sea Museum

When one thinks of the Sea Museum, the first word that comes to mind would be SHIP! However, the Sea Museum is so much more than you could imagine. It contains various exhibitions, collections and resources on our unique maritime history, including Indigenous, Migration and Ocean Science. Due to the vast range of their collections, the museum is suitable for everyone to come in and explore. The museum also has an education department that runs workshops and tour guides for school/university students. The Vaughan Evans Library is the research library of the museum and holds various collections that is reflective of its interest. This will include the booklet “For New Australians” (1957/1958), which is the basis of my project.

Although the Sea Museum is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Their doors will open to the public from the 1st December, 2021 – so get vaccinated, book your tickets and get ready to be swept away! For now, you can explore the museum through their website which offers you a snapshot of the museum’s collection.

My Project

For History Beyond the Classroom, I am collaborating with Dr Peter Hobbins who is the Head of Knowledge at the Sea Museum. I was interested in this organisation as I have always wanted to visit this museum but have yet to do so due to my misconception of the museum being based on ships. What really drew me to this collaboration was the fact that it explored the topic of ‘migration’. As a person who has migrated to Australia, I’ve always had a deep fascination with Australia’s history of migration. Also, as a history teacher, it would be a wonderful opportunity to work with a museum on a project to develop my novice historian skills. I have always told my students that knowing something is different from doing it. So, in reflection of this mantra, I’ve challenged myself by enrolling into this unit and undertaking a major project with a museum.

My project is based on Peter’s private collection of booklets, “For New Australians” (1957/1958). These were government issued booklets that were provided to post-war migrants to aide them in learning English. For the project, we have decided to create a blog post for Sea Museum’s website as it would be an interesting way to incorporate the original source material in a way that promotes greater historical knowledge. I plan to write about Australia’s society and culture in the 1950s which is well-aligned with the contents of the booklet as it contains scripts that migrants could use to learn everyday English – an important aspect of their assimilation into Australian society. Furthermore, I will discuss the White Australian Policy which was still in effect at the time of the booklet’s issuing, showcasing that at the time, there was racial bias against non-European migrants. To create an engaging blog post, I am also hunting down audio recordings of the radio broadcast in the ABC Archives and the NAA. The inclusion of an audio recording will bring these booklets to ‘life’ and allow the readers to engage with the source in an immersive way. I am super excited about this project but also filled with trepidation as I have never written a blog post in my life, especially one that will be potentially published on a well-known museum’s website!

A question I didn’t expect myself grappling with heading into this project was perhaps one of the more simple ones – what is The Gaelic Club? A casual observer going there every now and again for a drink might just think of it as one of Sydney’s many Irish-themed pubs, with the added caveat of having to walk up a flight of stairs once.

The Gaelic Club is an institution and a space that is far more complex, and may be many different things, depending on whom you ask. While it’s a pub, it has one bar, a small selection of drinks, and no screens or poker machines. It does not operate for profit, and has often run at a loss. It is very consciously a place for the preservation of Irish culture, music and language in a society where that is not the default. It is also a community hub – people from young adults to the retired come for the community, to meet people and to see familiar faces. There are signs around the club advertising financial assistance for Irish in Sydney facing hardship far from family supports.

It is a home for Friday night traditional music sessions – people from across Sydney, from a range of backgrounds come down to play tunes and sing songs, and this is a key draw that has brought me to the site. Irish language lessons take place on Mondays. It is the place I’ve heard the most Irish being spoken outside of Ireland. Groups such as Sydney Queer Irish use the space as a base, and it is the home of the Irish Support Agency – despite being a small upstairs floor of a building in the city.

The building’s ground floor was sold in 2003 in the wake of issues stemming from an attempted redevelopment and contests over management. Prior to this, my understanding is that the ground floor was used as a space to hold regular Irish dances, events in which people would socialise, gather, meet partners and so forth. I’ve chatted now with quite a few people who have been around the space for a while, and a common thread is that it really was a central place for the Irish in Sydney. It was a space newly arrived people might come to find a job, to access support or make friends.

I’ve been going to the Gaelic Club for a while on and off, originally for Politics in the Pub some years ago and more recently for the traditional music sessions, so I knew a few familiar faces when I headed there last Friday night. I got chatting with a few people and got some contact details, and a project began to take shape.

I was chatting with a fella who has done some work with the Gaelic Club and the Irish National Association before, and realised after talking to him that he had created an oral history project of Irish seniors in Sydney, known as A Lifetime of Stories, linked here. It’s inspired my project, which in its formative stages is looking likely to be a compilation of audio recordings, dealing with the ways that people use the space and how that has changed through time and/or across generations.