Category: History Beyond the Classroom HSTY3902 – 2018

How do you tell the history of something that does not necessarily have a physical presence? How do you tell the history of an organisation that is inherently focused on changing the future of the media landscapes?
These are some of the questions I have been asking myself as I prepare to start work with the Sydney-based organisation, Queer Screen. They’re a relatively small organisation, staffed by only two full-time people, who rely heavily on the assistance of volunteers to see their film festivals take place each year. They aim not only to showcase the diversity of sexuality and gender on screen but also to help new and aspiring film-makers produce projects with a focus on diversity. In doing so, this organisation seeks to bring change to the Australian film landscape through a stronger focus on diversity.
Queer Screen has been at the forefront of creating a queer film culture in Australia and the world: they were behind the creation of the Mardi Gras Film Festival which has become one of the largest queer film festivals in the world; they organised queerDOC, which lasted ten years and was the first and only festival of queer documentaries in the world; and, since 2013, have hosted the annual Queer Screen Film Fest which not only screens films but awards a ten-thousand dollar production funding prize to a new and emerging film-maker each year.
The work I am doing with the organisation involves archiving and presenting the organisation’s early film festivals from 1993 (when the organisation was founded) to 2011. In doing so, the history of the various film festivals the organisation has organised will be presented as well as the history of how the organisation has grown over the years from when it started to the influentual presence it is now in queer cinema.

I was very excited when I checked the available 3000 units for history, and saw a unit that really spoke to me called “History Beyond the Classroom”. One of my goals after studying at university as a secondary high school teacher, has always been to teach students about history in a setting outside of the classroom, through aspects like community history in an interactive space. This unit has allowed me to explore what it is like working outside a classroom setting, and to dive into a photographic and oral history of Uncle Greg.
I sent an email off to the Blacktown Arts Centre, in hope of getting a volunteer position with the organisation. Miguel had just the right position for me. I was directed to a lovely lady named Debbie, the Arts Centre’s Solid Ground Education Project Officer. Debbie had been working with a local Aboriginal Elder to sort through his personal collection of historical ephemera. Not only had I got a volunteer position, but I had been lucky enough to share in the history of a respected Elder in my local community.
From the first meeting, Debbie and I discussed my role and responsibilities. Debbie and I organised to meet at Uncle Greg’s house every week for two hours. I have been using this time to go through Uncle Greg’s old photographs and documents and make digital archives (matching photos to articles or events). I sit down with Uncle Greg and talk about key aspects about the photographs and then write them on the back of the hard copy. For example: Where was this photograph taken? Who is in the photograph? When was this photograph taken? Uncle Greg is able to tell me almost everything about the events in a photograph, just from a quick sighting and I am astounded at his wealth of knowledge. After sorting all of the photographs, I am going to record Uncle Greg’s oral testimony about some of the most important photographs. I am also going to create a presentation with Uncle Greg to use at his Welcome To Countries. The presentation will display his work in the community, his performance in local bands, artwork, important events he has attended and important persons that he has met. Uncle Greg is dedicated to working for and in the community and this has been reflected throughout the photographs I have come across.
It is really interesting going through Uncle Greg’s photographs. I feel special, because I have been invited to participate in learning about Indigenous culture and invited to share in knowledge that is highly personal and has been passed down through many generations. I take this seriously, as it is such an immense privilege. I have heard so many amazing stories from Uncle Greg already so far.
Often I forget to ask him to record his story because each photograph triggers a different memory and I don’t want to interrupt his storytelling to ask whether I can record. Instead when I get home from our visit, I write down everything I can remember in the form of a diary log in hopes to ask him about it again at an appropriate time.
I have been very conscious about ensuring that I am working alongside Uncle Greg, through every step of the process. I think it’s important to inquire about what photos he thinks are important, what he would like to include, how he would like to tell his history and how he would like the photos to be presented.
In the coming weeks I look forward to continuing listening and sharing in Uncle Greg’s stories through archiving and creating his presentation.

Throughout this semester, we have been discovering the many ways in which local histories are informed and constructed, something that is often impacted by varied contextual, socio-cultural and even resource-driven factors. When thinking about the intricacies involved in such processes, libraries are often perceived as the places history is written within. But, as I have since discovered, this public institution plays an integral and multi-faceted role, preserving, collecting and even writing history itself.
This, I found especially pertinent when researching and liaising with the Local Studies Centre at Waverley Library. When delving into the department’s function and work, one would be mistaken to think it is simply a place where they store old books, or where past issues of the ‘Southern Courier’ are kept. In reality, the Local Studies Centre is where resident Local Historian, Ingrid, writes and preserves the history of Waverley and its surrounding suburbs (such as Bondi, Clovelly and Bronte), whilst also making such information and resources available to those community members interested in researching their own histories. The collection and archiving of sources, however, is but one aspect of history-making that involves the library. The Local Studies Centre is also a major and dynamic contributor to local historical research and conservation, helming such projects as the investigation into and preservation of the Clovelly Cemetery and the establishment of the celebratory centenary exhibition of the Bondi Beach Lifeguards.
From this we see an ever dynamic and multitudinous actor in public history emerge. Libraries such as Waverley play both a “secondary” role in preserving, archiving, categorising and making publicly accessible historical resources, and a “primary” role by writing history themselves. This role is both highly unique and intriguing and I am excited to learn how the Local Studies Centre juggles its preservationist role with its more active history writing initiatives.
Upon meeting with Ingrid and subsequently discussing potential areas in which I may be able to assist the library, it was revealed that the Local Studies Centre requires assistance on two fronts; the transcribing and digitisation of its vast collection of oral histories, and the creation of an archive which digitises artefacts, reports and manifests collected from local heritage listed homes currently held by the Heritage Planning department of the Waverley Council Chambers. Again, here we see many different roles and responsibilities in play. Hopefully, through further discussion and collaboration with the Local Studies Centre, a greater understanding of the library’s intricate relationship with historiography shall be discovered.
http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/services/library/local_studies/what_is_local_studies

My club, the Sutherland District Cricket Club, the Sharks, started in 1965. In working with the club on this public history project, the first question that faced us was understanding what ‘history’ was in the context of the organisation, what the concept meant to the club, and how it could be used.
For most local and community-based sporting organisations there is an immensity of written history in scorecards and annual reports from game to game, season to season – but they are not the whole story. What is forgotten unless recorded in scorecards, team pictures, trophies or annual reports? And what is told around the club house, or in the sheds before and after a game, or at the pub over a few beers?
The deeper history of a sporting club lies within the memories and experiences of its players – the stories that are sometimes told, but often forgotten. What comes to form the culture of a club is a history passed down through stories from the older players to the new, of the game that got away, the century that won a match, the on-field banter and antics, the highs, and the lows, the losses and the victories. In a sense, the culture of a club is built on and continues through an oral tradition of history.
Our work is shaping around the documenting of these histories of the club, the stories of players and members of the community that have been around the club for significant parts of its over a half a century of history. In the coming weeks we will hopefully be conducting video interviews with several members of the club, asking them about their best memories playing, coaching or just generally being around the club, on and off the field. These videos will be used by the club across social media platforms for both the public and local community, as well as to carry on the stories amongst the current generation of players, continuing the oral history tradition.

Throughout high school I have always been interested in my local history. Whenever I would walk past any old photographs I would stop and study the photo reflecting on the change that has occurred over the years. As a child my local library was at Warringah mall. During one visit there I notice in the foyer there was a photo of Manly Corso from 100 years prior. Alongside this was a photo of the swamp lands at Brookvale where Warringah Mall is now situated. Seeing this local history opened by eyes to the range of different histories that come from the northern beaches. I knew my family had a strong history on the beaches, but it was interesting to think that this history went well beyond my family. Because of this desire to understand more about my local history I was led towards the library. When researching different local histories, I came across the library’s local history page.
Sydney’s Northern Beaches Library is a great place to come and access local history. On the Northern Beaches there are six Libraries. Manly, Warringah Mall, Dee Why, Mona Vale, Forestville and Glenrose. For the purpose of my research project I will primarily be working with Dee Why Library and the local Historian there, however I will also be working with Mona Vale and Manly libraries’. The local history department has spent years collecting and developing local histories. The Local History Collections within the three libraries, cover many aspects of life on the Northern Beaches, including indigenous and social history, the built and natural environment and many contemporary and current issues. Each of the Local Collections are managed by the welcoming staff who collect, conserve, maintain and promote the collections as well as undertake different research projects.
Since the amalgamation of the three councils into one, the library has in somewhat merged. Prior to the merge, all their libraries had their own collections of history. Each collection would be relevant to the local area. Post amalgamation their aim is find a way to make all collections accessible to all people on the Northern Beaches.
Prior to approaching the library and going to my first meeting, I was unaware of how extensive their collections were, however after my meeting I was blown away at the range of different histories they had collected. The Libraries can collect items such as photographs from events and significant openings to personal histories that have been donated by families. During my meetings with the local historians I was able to understand their purpose and aims within the local history department. The work they are doing with the collections are remarkable and it’s great to see a place where local history is maintained and well respected.

‘I do not like blogging. It is most certainly not my thing.’ This is probably the thought that has come into my head the most as I try and plough through website after website, document after document, trying to get my head around the rule of law and its importance to the liberal democratic world order.
This week I began my in depth research, going through the dozen or so websites that were provided to me by my supervisor from the Rule of Law Institute. Each website provides various examples of the rule of law not being followed around the world. I feel I am getting sucked into a world in which I am going to become very frustrated with the way things are done, or in this case, not done.
I think it is important for this blog that I explain the basic principles of the rule of law. There are four basic principles that compromise the rule of law according to the World Justice Project (this website provided me with the best and probably the simplest description, so it is a good starting point). These four points are as follows:
1. Accountability
The government as well as private actors are accountable under the law.
2. Just Laws
The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights.
3. Open Government
The processes by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced are accessible, fair, and efficient.
4. Accessible & Impartial Dispute Resolution
Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are accessible, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.
These four principles together constitute working definition of the rule of law, developed in accordance with internationally accepted standards and norms. From these principles, I was able to quickly grasp the basic idea of the rule of law and begin to look at its implementation around the world. Now that I have gotten a basic grasp on the idea of the rule of law, it is now time to begin an analysis of the state of the rule of law world wide, focussing on Poland, the Philippines, China and the USA.
https://worldjusticeproject.org/about-us/overview/what-rule-law

When the deputy director told me that the organisation will definitely publish my piece on their new website, or transform it into a speech as a commentary for all the hard work and achievements of the organisation, I already felt a sense of accomplishment and definitely a lot of excitement. As a second generation Assyrian, I always knew I wanted to give back to my Assyrian community for the preservation of our Assyrian heritage and culture. So as I attended the first tutorial of History Beyond the Classroom, working with the Assyrian Australian National Federation was an instinct. The Assyrian Australian National Federation is a sector of the Assyrian Universal Alliance who have gone a long way in defending the Assyrian name and making representations of the Assyrian community in the State and Federal Parliaments of Australia. The organisation would like me to create a link on the new website they are making to discuss the Assyrian genocide of 1914, the unveiling of the Assyrian genocide monument, the NSW parliament’s recognition and the steps they continue to take for federal and international recognition. I know this project will be rewarding as I know I am going to acquire a great deal of knowledge whilst completing this project and I know this will be published for many people, including the youth, who can also be advocates of continuous unification of the Assyrian peoples and the continuous teachings of the Assyrian language, culture and history.

‘We’re a pack of Shamrocks, Shamrocks are we…’, this is the start of the team song that Shamrock Rugby players have sung for the past 50 years. The Woonona Shamrocks play at Ocean Park, an old garbage dump turned into the heart of rugby for the northern suburbs of Wollongong. Next year marks the clubs 50th anniversary in which I aim to capture the essence of what it means to be a Shamrock. On the journey so far to find the clubs history I have learnt the complexities of being a historian. The club itself has limited archives regarding the club’s history, the most valuable sources are a 25th-anniversary book and another by the Illawarra district Rugby Union (the competition the Shamrocks play in) which together form a general history of the club. From this, there are still massive holes in the clubs history with key information missing such as records of years the club didn’t perform well and major milestones such as the club’s first win.
When starting my research I went to the Wollongong library to find any resources on the club, they told me they had nothing and my best bet would be going to the local paper, the Illawarra Mercury. When I went to Illawarra Mercury’s office they told me they had nothing and that I should try the Wollongong library. I had now come to a dead end and after messaging the Illawarra District Rugby Union and other key people my investigating had come to a halt.
Every Thursday morning a group of old boys prep Ocean Park for the coming home game, doing tasks such as watering the grass and mowing the field. I was invited to come to join them and quickly learnt the real reason they met up was not just to the maintain the facilities but rather to catch up over a cuppa and talk about the one thing that connects them together, the love of rugby. Whilst sipping my tea and eating my third lamington I realized that the information I was looking for was right in front of me. When studying history at university you are often removed from the event being studied and almost recalling it as if it were a story. From seeing the old boys talk about their experiences with the club I realized that history and the people in history are real. While I had been trying to find sources in the library I had seemed to have forgotten the start of the team song that I had sung so many times, ‘We’re a pack of Shamrocks, Shamrocks are we…’, I had forgotten about the pack. The Shamrocks Rugby club has a rich history, even though statistics are important it is the individuals that make the club what it is and this is the history I want to be remembered.

In truth, it’s really quite a small building. More of a shed, really. They call it ‘The Big Hut’.
You’ll find it at Fishermans Beach, tucked away on the north side of Long Reef headland, just off the main road as you drive through picturesque Collaroy. Scattered in the sand dunes around it, overgrown with grass and rusted by time, you’ll find the winch bases standing guard. And on a good day, with clear skies and the waves gently crashing on the rock platform, you can forget everything. And you can start to remember. You can start to create.

I’m working with Northern Beaches Council as part of a special program entitled Our Stories: Yesterday | Today | Tomorrow. Together with Bethany Falzon, Council’s Arts & Cultural Development Officer as well as the rest of the Social Planning & Community Development Team, we’re asking how much residents know about the unique place they call home. Our Stories aims to explore the fascinating heritage of the Northern Beaches and offer creative perspectives of engagement between communities, their location and their history.
I hope for my project to pose questions. About how, if at all, communities, local residents and others are engaging with the unique heritage stories at Fishermans Beach and Long Reef more broadly. About how heritage conservation has the dynamic potential to be built around historical storytelling, not just strict preservation ideals.
At the end of the day, stories are the driving force here. They are how we tell history; or, at least, how we’ll tell this history.
And this little Big Hut has so many stories to tell.

I have to admit, I had absolutely no clue what I wanted to do for my project when we were first introduced to it.
There we all were on a Tuesday afternoon, sitting in a seminar room and listening to Mike talk about all the amazing things that past students had done – writing cookbooks, designing websites, making documentaries – and all that was going through my head was just pure nothing. Okay, maybe not just nothing. I was also injected with a healthy dose of fear and anxiety that made my eyes feel like they were going to bulge out of my head. I tried my best to hide it though. When Mike asked if we were all okay, I just smiled and nodded, trying to ignore the black hole that had suddenly appeared inside my brain, draining me of ideas and depositing them in a parallel universe.
When I got home that night, I called my boyfriend and curled up on my bed with my dinner. “I’m stuck,” I said, sadly shoveling forkfuls of pasta into my mouth. “Well,” he said, “There’s plenty of places you can start. What about a church? Or a cinema? Or a hospital –“
I froze mid-chew. A lightbulb has suddenly switched on inside my head. Hospital. Of course! It made complete sense. My mother had been a head nurse when we lived in Hong Kong, and I remember running through the corridors of her hospital as a kid. In the space of a few minutes, I had leapt up from my bed, grabbed my laptop and began an email to the first hospital I thought of: The Heritage Centre at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Conveniently located right next to university, the Centre is made up of three branches: the hospital museum, which exhibits medical instruments and other historical objects, the archives, which hold an insurmountable number of patient records and materials spanning from 1868 onwards, and the library, which contains a collection of medical texts from the 19th century, as well as histories of the hospital itself.
The next few days went by without a reply, but I still held back from emailing my other two preferences. There was something about this one that spoke to me, and I didn’t want to step away from it. I was so glad that I didn’t. A week later, I received an email from Scott Andrews, Manager of the Museum and Educational Facilities at the RPA, letting me know that he was available for a meeting to discuss the course and the project. Walking through the corridors of the RPA was a little nerve-wracking; the stark white walls and the shiny linoleum aren’t really conducive to calming down a small, anxiety-prone student. But stepping into the museum was like stepping into another world, separate from the body of the hospital itself. Black and white photos of nurses and doctors lined the walls, as well as wooden cabinets filled with old medical instruments. Scott greeted me, cheese toastie in hand, and began to guide me around the museum.
It turns out that I may have emailed the RPA at an optimal time. Scott has only been manager for the past two years, but in those two years he has made it his mission to reform the museum. “I want to give everything a narrative,” he kept on saying on our tour of the rooms, “Everything needs a story. Right now, there is no story.” And Scott was right. Though every instrument and piece of equipment had a fascinating history, the sheer amount of them, coupled with their organisation, overwhelmed visitors instead of speaking to them. He has made a variety of changes to the layout of the museum in the last two years, installing plaques and new cabinets, but he still has a lot of visions he wants to see out. “You’re our first ever student volunteer,” he told me, “Lucky for you, there’s a lot of things that you can do.”
In our meeting, we discussed everything from re-formatting the layout of the museum, to giving tours and printing out more plaques. Scott was delighted that I already had experience digisiting the archives at the Art Gallery of NSW, as the museum has a lot of documents and objects still unaccounted for on their database. Perhaps the most interesting project that Scott had in mind was the making of a huge timeline on the corridors of the hospital about the history of the institution. With my background in art and design, I knew for certain that this was a project that I could help him achieve.
As of now, there are still various forms and applications I need to fill out – you know, to prove I’m not a criminal. I am still frequently conversing with Scott over email, discussing the administrative aspects of my volunteering, as well as the online training I will need to complete before I start. Right now, I am sitting at my desk with books and pamphlets about the history of the RPA, some of which I have already started reading. I have no clue where this volunteering will take me, but one thing is for certain: I am filled with excitement for new beginnings.