For my major project, I have decided to work with the Granville Historical Society. The Granville Historical Society was formed in 1988 by June and Barry Bullivant. The Bullivant’s had a “passion” for the local history of the area, and successive members of the society itself have dedicated over the past 40 years to preserving the local history of Granville. The society has also dedicated a large part of its archival collection to family history and past prominent families of the area.
Everyone has a story, and I find that the study of local history is an important yet sometimes overlooked area of the greater area of historical studies. Looking at local history means understanding the lives and times of ordinary people, as well as the development of the city’s suburbs, local infostructures, urban landscape etc. In a city as big as Sydney, there is a wide range of areas to look at, but each of the histories of these suburbs is as fascinating enough within their own right and should warrant some interest to those who are interested.
I knew that from the very beginning of this project I wanted to look at the development of a suburb within Sydney. I also knew that this project would require me to be physically present with the organisation, so I quickly decided that I wanted to work with an organisation that was close to where I live. It was an obvious choice then, to work with an organisation based around the Western Sydney region.
Soon after, I contacted the Granville Historical Society, and a meeting was soon arranged to discuss my impending project. When I arrived at the organisation’s headquarters in Carlton Street, I explained to the society’s members what my major project was, and after some discussion, the members of the society and myself agreed that a video presentation explaining the history of the organisation would be a good project for myself and society to engage with. Afterwards, I was shown various archival pieces held by the society. This large archival collection, which ranged from old photographs of local rugby league groups to surviving street signages that had been saved from the tip were very interesting to see in person. Many of the pieces within this collection also date as far back as the early 20th and late 19th century! Seeing these pieces gave me a good idea on what sort of materials and collections I would be working with for my video presentation.
There are a few challenges which might occur throughout my research process and the gradual making of this video presentation. For example, since the project will be drawing from an extensive archival collection, a large portion of my research with the organisation will be deciding what sort of material I want to use in the video, and which of this material is relevant to the history of the organisation. At this stage though, these are only trivial compilations, and I am very excited to see where this project takes me over the next month!