When I set out to create a promotional history video for the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) Ryde, I was faced with the unique challenge of condensing the centre’s 40-year history into a digital format that would engage and inspire a diverse audience. The project, now completed, has been a highly rewarding journey, of course it had its challenges, but these only highlighted the importance of adaptability and perseverance in public history projects.
The Vision The inspiration for this project arose from a gap identified during my initial meetings with Ryde. While the centre’s general history had been documented in the book ‘Celebrating 50 Years of RDA NSW’, there was not an accessible digital medium that captured the essence of its four decades of service. My project aimed to address this gap by creating a video that resonated with modern audiences whilst also acting as a promotional tool to encourage greater participation and support for the centre, as it is not-for-profit and run wholly by volunteers. Therefore, I adopted a digital approach to ensure accessibility and outreach, making the history of Ryde accessible to anyone, anywhere. By creating a video intended to be broadcasted across YouTube, social media platforms and the RDA’s website, my project leveraged technology to bring RDA Ryde’s history to life for current and future generations.
The Process Bringing the project together required an intertwining of research, adaptability, and community engagement. This included:
Extensive Research: – Photographic Archives: Sorting through decades of photographs presented both an opportunity and a challenge. Some of the images were undated and not organised chronologically, but they became invaluable in illustrating milestones such as events, riders, and the contributions of long-term volunteers. – Oral Histories: Interviews with long-standing volunteers added depth and authenticity to the narrative. Selecting key moments from hours of footage was a meticulous process but ultimately introduced elements of emotional resonance to the final project. – Firsthand Observations: volunteering weekly provided me with invaluable insights into the RDA’s present-day operations and mission, enriching the historical narrative with contemporary context. – Secondary Resources: Books like ‘The Spirit of RDA’ and ‘Celebrating 50 Years of RDA NSW’ ensured the accuracy of key dates and events.
2. Community Collaboration: – Engaging with the RDA community was central to the project’s success. The enthusiasm of long-standing volunteers demonstrated the importance of preserving the centre’s legacy.
Themes and Messages The video is structured around key themes that highlight the RDA’s enduring values and impact:
Community Resilience: Showcasing how volunteers and the local community have sustained the RDA through challenges, including the relocation of the centre.
Inclusivity and Empowerment: Emphasising the transformative power of equine therapy for individuals with disabilities.
Legacy and Progress: Bridging the past and present to underscore the continuity of the RDA’s mission.
Volunteerism: Celebrating the volunteers who form the backbone of the organisation.
Key Riders: Highlighting inspirational figures like Paralympian Jan Pike to demonstrate the profound impact of the RDA’s work.
Impact The completed video serves multiple purposes: – Preservation: It documents and celebrates the RDA Ryde’s history, ensuring that its legacy is not forgotten. – Promotion: As a digital resource, the video is a tool for attracting new volunteers, donors, and participants. – Inspiration: By sharing the stories of resilience, empowerment, and community spirit, the video inspires deeper appreciation of the RDA’s work and greater involvement from a wide audience.
The project has also laid the groundwork for future initiatives, providing a comprehensive history of the Ryde centre for future volunteers, and a model for other RDA branches to document their histories in engaging and accessible ways.
Personal Reflection Working with the RDA Ryde has been a profoundly enriching and rewarding experience. Witnessing the beaming smiles of riders as they arrive every week is a testament to the organisation’s impact. I am deeply grateful to the RDA for allowing me to contribute to their mission and I look forward to continuing my volunteer work with them in the future.
Looking Ahead This project is not just a celebration of the past but a step toward ensuring the RDA’s future. The involvement of long-term volunteers proved fundamental in adding depth to the project and formed the heartbeat of the video. By making the centre’s history accessible and engaging, it paves the way for greater community involvement and sustained support. I hope this video inspires others to explore and share the stories of other community organisations for the generations to come.
* (video will be attached when officially approved by RDA NSW.) *
This semester, I was privileged enough to work with fbi radio on an incredible oral history of their music library. Established in 1995, and having broadcast full time since 2003, fbi is a community radio station in Eora, Sydney. Driven by a policy to play 50% Australian music, with half of that from Sydney, fbi is a radically inclusive organisation that celebrates the diversity of our local music scene. My project ‘Turn Up Your Radio’, presented on fbi’s website as a multi-media piece, intersperses oral histories with text, photo, and video to reflect upon various chapters in fbi’s history. Oriented towards fbi’s existing listenership, my project is an affirmation of the importance of community radio as the fabric of local culture, arguing for the need of institutions such as fbi to pioneer subaltern voices and experiences.
Conceiving the project in the first place was a creative challenge in meeting fbi’s need for a compelling piece that showcased the diversity of the organisation whilst also producing something within their existing content model. In working with fbi’s team, we decided to hone in on fbi’s library of over 20,000 CDs. In this library, next to the top dance release of 2014, is a demo by an office worker in a pub-rock band that only ever recorded one single. Next to that is a collection of ambient beats made by a student in their bedroom, besides the blues singer that has been gracing Sydney stages for decades.
However, due to the sheer size of the library, I needed a throughline. Even if I carefully went through each CD in the library, being able to grasp its historical significance was impossible within the remits of this project. I needed a creative solution that would make it possible for me to comprehend the library while also connecting with fbi’s vision. Oral histories were the perfect solution. Just as oral histories have historically been used to amplify the voices often neglected in written history, oral history in this project sought to shine a spotlight upon the incredible people who have supported Sydney’s music scene. Recorded in fbi’s studio using the audio-processing software ‘Reaper’, oral histories were perfect for the project as it coordinated with fbi’s identity as a radio station and gave me a way to work collaboratively with fbi volunteers and staff past and present.
My final project features oral histories from from Stuart Coupe, presenter of Wild Card from 2003-present, Stephen Goodhew, music director from 2013-1017, Dan Zilber, music director from 2003-2017, Simon Caldwell, DJ and longtime presenter of Monday Sunset, Cassandra Wilkinson, president of fbi from 1997-2021, Lee Tran Lam, writer and presenter of Local Fidelity from 2007-2023, Caroline Gates, programming director from 2010-2017 and John Ernest Dinamarca, volunteer and project manager of fbi’s social outreach program from 2015-17. Meeting with these incredible, was not only incredibly enlightening from an intellectual perspective, by personally rewarding in hearing the stories of this incredible organisation and the impact they have had on it.
As the first extended historical work done for fbi, this is a significant step in celebrating this incredible organisation, its originality lying in both its novelty, but also synthesis of modalities relevant to the station. As I spoke to many interviewees, they commented on the need for fbi to have a history written about them and how personally beneficial it was for them to reflect upon their time at the station, which has irrevocably transformed their life’s trajectory. I hope that this project, publicly available on the fbi website, will impact fbi by elevating the awareness of the organisation’s historical significance and the need for its story to be officially recorded. My project has told stories about fbi that have otherwise never been publicly recorded and I hope it inspires future historical work about the station. As Stuart Coupe beautifully put it in our interview, “[the] library is a remarkable piece of Music history. We talk about tombs in Egypt and artefacts being buried, and hopefully that library stays together.”
While my article has not yet been published, I have included two oral histories below to check out!
Day One: fbi 94.5 Present: Kill Your Idols (2003)
August 29, 2003. Since 1995, FBi (Free Broadcast Inc) Radio 94.5FM had been broadcast on special occasions from an empty shop next to the Clock Hotel in Surry Hills, on milk crates in a caravan in Bondi Beach or above a suckling pig restaurant on George Street. However, after over six years of lobbying and fundraising, the fbi Idols, constituting Sarah Blasko, Dave McCormack, Spod, Tony Buchen, Upshot, and Front-End Loader performed to a packed foyer at the fbi headquarters. Their live cover of ‘Turn Up Your Radio; by the Master’s Apprentices was the first song to be broadcast on air and was immortalised on the ‘FBI 94.5FM Presents: Kill Your Idols” a compilation of 21 songs (many of which were only demos), that encapsulated the Sydney scene at the time. Check out some footage from the day, alongside Music Director (2003-2017), Dan Zilber’s account of the day and the compilation CD that came out of it, Kill Your Idols.
Discovering New Talent: Harley, Harley (2011)
At the core of fbi’s mission to play 50% Australian music, is their commitment to amplifying grassroots talent that may be otherwise neglected by commercial; radio or major labels. For example, Music Open Day saw flocks of artists coming into the station hand-delivering demos on burnt CDs, keen for their first radio play. Some of these CDs had cover art, some in an entirely plain packaging straight from Officeworks. Others simply wrapped up their demo in the ripped-out pages of a medical textbook and in the case of Rainbow Chan, brought in her demo in a hand sewn and embroidered fabric sleeve. From a father with a newborn handing in a demo to the station – who later turned out to be a member of rock band and fbi success-story Wolf Mother – or music director Stephen Goodhew being live serenaded in his office, Music Open Day encouraged everyone and anyone to come in and take a shot. With the commitment of presenters, volunteers, and staff to scour the city for new releases, fbi has been responsible for the first radio plays of some of the biggest Australian exports from The Kid Laroi and Julia Jacklin, to 1300 and Nina Las Vegas, and countless invaluable independent artists. One notable story is of a 15-year-old Flume who handed in his first demo under the name ‘Harley’ to the station in 2007.
This semester I was privileged enough to work with the Sydney Convicts RUFC for my HYST3902 project, composing an archive and a short written history for the institution. Initially a daunting task, I somehow managed to pull through and deliver an archive with over 170 entries, ranging from simple scans of two-decade old posters to digitisations of 60+ page booklets.
The Point
The originality and argument of this project lies in its subject matter, the Sydney Convicts, acting both as a documentation of their now 20-year history and furthering the argument that they made with their founding in 2004. The originality of the project is by contributing to the history of rugby by applying serious historical attention to the Sydney Convicts as a gay rugby club adds another dimension to their agenda to combat both stereotypes of gay men, and the deep-rooted homophobia in rugby as a sport. As the Star Observer reported in 2004, “They see themselves as a rugby team first and foremost, which just happens to be gay.” By documenting the history of the Convicts like one would the history of any other amateur rugby club, the novelty of the Sydney Convicts in contemporary rugby is extended into the history of rugby. The argument of the project is then that it ‘historicizes’ the convicts, both within the history of rugby and establishes a singular historical narrative of the club itself. According to Joan Scott, “The point of new historical investigation is to disrupt the notion of fixity, to discover the nature of the debate or repression that leads to the appearance of timeless permanence.” This framework of ‘historicization’ disrupts the ‘permanence’ of the rugby landscape, wherein clubs have existed for well over a century even on the amateur level, by paying serious historical attention to a relatively young club in the Convicts. This is evident in account of the Convict’s early years, where many of the players had been excluded from their previous teams for their sexualities and the formation of a club that accepted these players was met with hostility from several other clubs in the Sydney suburban championship. By showing that the Sydney amateur rugby landscape, despite having some clubs that date back over 100 years such as the Manly Savers, has changed with the inclusion and eventual acceptance of the Convicts, amateur rugby is integrated into the greater social and historical processes of the society it exists in. Therefore, by paying serious historical attention to the Sydney Convicts, the project has both an original premise in documenting the relatively new club, and that documentation makes an argument by ‘historicizing’ the club and rugby as subject to both social and historical conditions.
What is a Rugger Bugger?
One particularly well documented part of the club’s history was the annual-ish ‘Rugger Bugger’ with cards, posters and news reports about the event preserved.
The Rugger Bugger, starting in 2004, is a show periodically held by the Convicts as a fundraiser to finance the club and travel to international events the convicts attend, most notably the bi-annual Bingham Cup.
The first several shows were held at the Midnight Shift, a historical LGBT club in Sydney, which has since closed down and been reopened as ‘Universal’ by a new set of owners. As such these cards are not only a piece of Convict history, but also of Sydney’s pre-lockout laws nightlife.
The ‘Wakulda: Weaving Our Stories as One’, video installation on the Old Courthouse Building in Port Macquarie
This semester I worked with Studio ESEM https://www.studioesem.com/ to organise the digital sources from one of their past projects in an archive and present it in a new non-linear digital format.
The project is based on Studio ESEM’s 2021 video projection installation Wakulda (Weaving our Stories As One), https://www.studioesem.com/projects/wakulda which marked the 200th anniversary of the British settlement of Port Macquarie, by reflecting on Indigenous/Birpai perspectives on this history.
The digital interpretation element of my project presents the sources that Studio ESEM collected during the production of Wakulda in a new non-linear digital format. My creative approach and presentation of the sources will enable the audience to engage with these stories in a new way. In the new format I was able to further explore and develop narrative threads from the original project such as Indigenous/Birpai perspectives on and connection to their Country, the history and impact of conservation movements in the Port Macquarie-Hastings area
My project, like the original Wakulda project focuses on the perspectives of the First Nations community of Port Macquarie, particularly the local Birpai people. The original project was significant in focusing on First Nations perspectives on a colonial anniversary, and making their voices heard in the (literal) center of the town in Port Macquarie, projected for the whole community on the Old Courthouse Building. The centering of these perspectives and personal experiences which have historically been excluded from public histories implicitly makes the argument that these are perspectives that must be listened to to gain a proper understanding of Australia’s past and to address the present day inequalities that are the effects of colonization in Australia. The project also highlights the significance of historic conservation movements in Port Macquarie and the women who lead them, a history which the original Wakulda project shone a light on, but which had historically not been well known to the Port Macquarie community, and my project also argues that this is an important history to recognize.
A page from the websiteA page from the website
I worked with the sources that Studio ESEM collected during the production of Wakulda, which were all in digital form on a drive. This included images of historical documents and artworks; audio recordings of personal oral histories; interviews with local historians; location video and photography of Port Macquarie and the natural environment around it; photos of individuals who were interviewed; photos and videos of local community activities such as a weaving workshop and choir performance; and historical photographs. I focused particularly on the oral histories and interviews, as these were not fully captured in the original video projection, and they reveal important perspectives and insights about Port Macquarie’s history. In the digital presentation, I supplemented these with images and video to contextualise them.
In the process of cataloguing the sources, I gained a thorough understanding of this archive and found particular themes in common throughout the sources. The three key themes of my project are embodied by the sections of my digital presentation. The first was Birpai Country: Weaving Community, which focused on the local Indigenous community, members of the Birpai nations and other nations and their connection to Country. It explored the meaning of the place to them, on one hand the physical space and natural environment, and on the other, the community and people. The second theme was Conservation in Port Macquarie: A Vital Legacy, where I focused on the contributions of local woman Grace Easterbrook to protecting the natural environment and the legacy of the Port Macquarie Conservation Society. Finally, Injustices, the past, and making a better future, focused on the injustices of colonization, the historical and current day impacts on Indigenous Australians, and the efforts members of the Port Macquarie Indigenous community to create a better world for future generations.
This project will give a platform for the voices of the local Indigenous community of Port Macquarie, highlighting their perspectives. These perspectives need to be amplified and listened to for both historians and the general public to gain a proper understanding of Australia’s past: as many of the interview participants mention, truth-telling is key aspect of achieving progress. Hopefully this project will make this history more accessible to the general public through an engaging digital format, not only for the residents of Port Macquarie, but anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of Indigenous Australian history and experiences.
In the production of the original Wakulda project, Studio ESEM were focused on producing the final product and had not organized the sources they had collected. The sources still had much value to explore, as much of the sources collected had not been included in the video projection, given the 10 minute runtime. The video is still being projected in Port Macquarie, but will end projection next year, so Studio ESEM is looking to long term and continuing projects in Port Macquarie: they have continued to collaborate with Aunty Rhonda Radley, who was significantly involved in Wakulda, on various other projects.
Firstly, my spreadsheet organizes the sources into a usable archive that can be used to make the use of them in any future projects easier and ultimately help make these sources accessible to the public
Secondly my “scrollytelling” presentation of the sources, explores a new way of presenting the sources, further develops narratives from the original Wakulda project and provides a basis for Studio ESEM to explore this new format, which they are keen on building on.
The documentation of sources in the spreadsheet did not require much creativity as it followed a model that Studio ESEM had used previously. For the “scrollytelling” page Studio ESEM wanted me to explore ways of presenting the sources digitally, but there was plenty of scope for what kind of digital presentation, techniques and the themes that I drew out of the sources. I used the format of a “scrollytelling” website, which allowed me to explore the full depth of the audio and visual digital sources I was working with. The connection of the audience with the individuals who were featured was made much more concrete by including audio clips of their responses, along with transcriptions The scrollytelling pages will eventually be published on a website, and made accessible to the general public. All the audio sources are also provided in text form, which helps accessibility. Through this project, Studio ESEM wanted me to explore digital presentation of stories and histories of the Indigenous Australian community of Port Macquarie, and what this format could offer. This is part of a larger project they are working on to platform these narratives and perspectives in a digital format. They want to further develop the work I did with me (which I am keen to do) and incorporate it as part of this larger project
For my HSTY3811 project this semester, I worked with the City of Canada Bay Museum, making a series of posters and a pamphlet for their “They Answered Their Country’s Call” collection. This consists of over 1600 biographies of local WWI veterans, and the museum wanted a way to share the collection with the public in an accessible and interesting format. The 1.4mx0.8m posters are of four people, one for each poster. It features a picture of the person, linking the local history to a visual that people can relate to. The poster also has information on how to learn more about the collection. I received full creative control over these posters, something I’m incredibly grateful for. However, I did my very best at each stage to ask and implement feedback from the volunteer staff, as this is as much their project as it is mine.
This is something that supports the local community. The museum, their main reasoning behind the collection was to have an ongoing archive of local WWI veterans. This means that not only do the posters relate to local people’s own relatives, but if someone wanted to add their own relative to the collection, they could do so. Each poster has a QR code that links to a website about the collection. Whilst the website needs to be refined and a few more conversations need to be had between relevant organisations, it will hopefully result in a website with some further access to the collection and a way to contact the museum to contribute a person’s own relatives. The posters will be placed in 4 locations, rotating between to switch up the person featured. They were created in a standard format as well, meaning if more posters were to be made, they would be added to the existing group of posters. Whilst this has not happened yet, since the posters and pamphlets have not been made, this is the hope for the project.
The general theme of the posters is a vintage but colourful style. There is a paper-like texture to the posters, adding a more ‘authentic’ feel. Each person has a different background, representing where they served, e.g. Army = green background. This is a nice tie into the people’s positions and the ways they served in WWI. The other colours were chosen because they stand out from their respective backgrounds. Yellow and red were used in three of the posters, representing the poppies and the gold medals some received for their service. Blue was used in the fourth poster to represent the Australian flag and the seas travelled by these people. Each poster includes where the person served and also how they are linked to their local community. The names of each person are on a ribbon banner, similar to banners used in local honour boards. The fonts chosen can be seen as a modern twist on older poster fonts.
The pamphlet has a summary of the lives of each of the four people, giving more in-depth information about their personal lives and service to their country. It also lets people know that they can add to the collection if they wish. The pamphlet also includes the QR code and 4 locations featured on the posters. Additionally, it has a set of contact information specific to the City of Canada Bay Museum and Heritage Society, some of the people who are now in charge of the project. These pamphlets will be kept near the posters if people want more information but also can be brought to other locations where the posters aren’t being featured. This gives the project a larger reach since the City of Canada Bay is a large area.
Finally, as a volunteer at the Museum, I also helped contribute to their monthly newsletter, Nurungi. This is released both online and in hard copies and is distributed to members signed up with their email addresses. I helped to edit and find sources for one September article written by the previous secretary, who had been working in the City of Canada Bay Heritage Society for over 50 years. The article was on the history of fireplace tools, such as tongs and pokers. This is because the museum does have a set of tools that joined the collection. Each month, articles are based on either new items or displays that the museum has made, or relevant events and anniversaries – for example, for October, the museum had an article on Halloween’s history and presence in the local community.
Throughout this process, I had weekly in-person meetings with the museum staff and assisted in other ways. This was to build a connection with the local community since most staff members come from the area. Whilst these people are all volunteers, they were incredibly dedicated to their work and ensuring that this project progressed regularly. These meetings were also to get details on what needed to be on the posters and pamphlet and to get feedback on the progress, aesthetics and elements of the posters and pamphlet. The feedback, advice and relevant details were incredibly beneficial to create a final design that was suitable for the wider community, especially older members of the community. Since I happen to be a younger person, my design and technology skills were more appropriate compared to the museum staff. However, their expertise on what stood out to them in my designs was greatly appreciated, as it sometimes ended up quite different to what I thought was visually better.
Overall, I’m very proud of what I’ve managed to create for this semester-long project. The final designs have been through many changes and we have collectively come to the best design and format. In future, a project like this would benefit from seeing how effective this collection turns out to be, possibly through questionnaires or surveys about the collection. I will be in communication with the museum beyond this semester, not only to assist with making these posters and pamphlets a reality but also because I enjoyed volunteering with them.
This project was not only academic; it was deeply personal. As a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) veteran, collaborating with Jan-Maree Ball OAM and everyone at Aussie Hero Quilts (and Laundry Bags) on this initiative was an honour and a privilege. I recognised this organisation’s significant impact on the Australian Defence Force (ADF) community. The heart of this organisation lies in its people—the volunteers who dedicate countless hours to crafting these quilts and laundry bags, the recipients who cherish them, and the broader Defence community that understands their importance. The impact these quilts and laundry bags have on the ADF community cannot be overstated. For someone receiving an AHQ quilt or laundry bag, it represents more than just fabric; it is a piece of home and a reminder that someone cares. The website states, “Our quilts are not works of art, but works of the heart.” This sentiment was echoed multiple times during the volunteer weekend in Canberra, which I was fortunate to attend.
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) crew members onboard HMAS Adelaide with their quilts and Laundry Bags. Image courtesy of Jan-Maree Ball, OAM https://aussieheroquilts.org.au
I created an online site to facilitate charity auctions and fundraising efforts in Canberra, but unfortunately, connection issues prevented its use. However, in true military fashion, we adapted and overcame the issues, reverting to the original method and successfully raising funds for this fantastic charity. This adaptability and resilience are a testament to the spirit of AHQ and the community it represents.
There was a creative transformation regarding the final project at the volunteer event, alongside the technical challenges. Initially designed as an interactive history and fundraising website, the project shifted due to privacy concerns, evolving into a more ethical and adaptable design. We are now integrating dynamic visualisations using Google Looker Studio into the existing website, featuring stunning maps and visuals highlighting where the quilts and laundry bags have travelled and the number of lives they have touched. Bringing this story to life requires technical learning and a deep emotional investment. Utilising tools like Python and Excel, the data is cleaned, sorted, and merged into a master dataset. This process was not just about crunching numbers; it was an act of preservation, piecing together the scale and reach of the charity’s work to demonstrate its profound impact.
Australian Army personnel with their quilts and Laundry Bags. Image courtesy of Jan-Maree Ball, OAM https://aussieheroquilts.org.au
The AHQ project is not just about preserving history and inspiring the future. It showcases the intersection of public history, emotional storytelling, and technology to create something lasting and meaningful. It stands as a testament to the power of connection—between communities, generations, and even across continents. This project ensures that the story of AHQ will continue to warm hearts, just like the quilts themselves. Through innovation, dedication, and adaptability, ready to inspire anyone who believes that small acts of kindness can ripple into something extraordinary.
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel with their quilts and Laundry Bags. Image courtesy of Jan-Maree Ball, OAM https://aussieheroquilts.org.au
In collaboration with members from The Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers, I have formed a webpage which outlines the available history of women members since they were granted membership in 1989. Featuring oral history interviews with Sue Milliken AO and Kerry Westwood, as well as reflections by the First Female National President Wendy Paterson, the webpage illuminates the personal experiences and professional contributions of women members across various professional sectors of the Australian Motion Picture Industry to the operation of society. In doing so, reflections on the importance of women pioneers and their history in the community are formed, highlighting the changes which have allowed a more progressive and equitable community for women – one which vastly contradicts the original patriarchal image of the society upon formation in 1933.
The oral history approach was inspired by a seemingly lack of historical documentation, especially regarding the personal interactions and community bonds which are so appealing for members. When discussing the history of women pioneers with female members, a common response was how there had been little mention of or reflection upon the extended period of operation – 56 years – where women were excluded from membership. Throughout the project, I often found myself returning to this observation. How could something so substantial seem so trivial? In further discussions, I realised the lack of personal and collective reflection on this history was likely informed by the prevailing sense of equality within the community. As Sue observed, there has always been a “genderless” feeling amongst the pioneers. My motives were then transformed from critically examining the history of women. Instead, I moved towards insighting reflections as a way of instigating greater appreciation of the contributions of both themselves and the women members before them, forming an image of the operational changes which informed the progressive and equitable community the society has increasingly become since 1989.
As previously mentioned, I feel the reflection upon the history of women members will be beneficial for the entire community. In my conversations with members, I heard there are currently discussions of redirecting attention towards the need of documenting and archiving historic materials, something which has long been missing because of the fractured locations of branches and operation of the society being entirely volunteer led. I hope the project may have a short term impact of instigating further reflection on the need for the documentation of oral histories, especially for women but also other members, while perhaps showcasing the possible routes which could be taken for forming an online database with available records of oral history interviews and other historical sources in an accessible way for the community.
A preview of the webpage, featuring hover boxes which reveal the oral history recordings.
Throughout the semester, I have pushed myself out of my normal comfort zone with conducting oral history interviews and discussions with people from all areas of the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers. These past few months have been incredibly rewarding personally, and experiencing the importance of community connection and appreciation amongst professionals across the Australian Motion Picture Industry has heightened my appreciation of local organisations whose volunteers dedicate their own time for the benefits of others – and perhaps my own aspirations of becoming a part of the film industry may find myself becoming a member of the community as well one day.
Uncover the history of women pioneers and hear their oral histories here.
My work with Hills District Netball Association (HDNA) over the semester has culminated in the creation of an interactive digital timeline which reflects significant events, achievements and anniversaries throughout the association’s history. To support this timeline, I have created two short video clips to be posted to HDNA’s social media to drive awareness of and engagement with the timeline. Moreover, I have digitised an extensive collection of physical posters which detail HDNA’s history, ensuring that the contents of these posters are preserved and kept in an accessible online archive.
My project reflects how HDNA has acted as a significant local organisation which has fostered a sense of community and provided women and girls with a space to thrive in their sporting endeavours. Through spotlighting the efforts and achievements of pivotal members of the HDNA executive team, players and umpires, my project showcases how community netball organisations have created opportunities for women to demonstrate leadership and carve out a path for themselves in sport. Netball is the number one team sport for female participation in the country, playing a significant role in the lives of scores of Australian women and girls. This digital documentation of HDNA’s history reflects one example of a community netball organisation which has offered a space for women and girls from the local area to demonstrate their leadership capacity, develop strong friendships and flourish in sport.
I chose to present my project through this digital timeline format as I wanted to present the history of HDNA in an engaging, interactive and visually rich manner. I researched several different online timeline programs through which I could present my project, though I ultimately decided to use TikiToki. I was particularly interested in the 3D view option that this program offered, which allowed me to showcase HDNA’s history in a visually stimulating and engaging way, rather than presenting a static, text-based timeline. This platform also enabled me to create an interactive digital timeline, with users able to scroll through the years using the slider at the bottom of the webpage, and click on various elements of the timeline to reveal further details and more visual media. The timeline has also been divided into categories, including HDNA History (general key events), Achievements, Umpires, Anniversaries and Snapshots. Each event in the timeline is colour-coordinated in alignment with the corresponding category, allowing users to visualise different themes.
A snapshot of the interactive digital timeline.
It is my aim for this interactive presentation format to allow the history of the association to be easily digested and engaged with by a wide range of audiences, especially younger audiences who would likely be averse to engaging with large amounts of text-based information. This is particularly important in the context of my organisation, with young players, from 8-year-olds to teenagers, constituting a significant portion of the HDNA community. Through the integration of various multimedia elements, including photos, videos, text and external links, I have been able to create a digital timeline that can be displayed on HDNA’s website, capturing the rich history of the association in an engaging way. As someone who has been playing netball at this association for years, it was fascinating to see how the association has evolved over time and to see how a place that I know so well came to be. I hope that engaging with this timeline will provide a similar experience for other HDNA community members, enabling them to visualise the significant events and instrumental volunteers that have shaped the association into what it is today.
In collaboration with the Glebe Community Op Shop, I have created short promotional videos to be posted on the shop’s social media account to attract more customers. My project blends creative audio-visual tools and methods of storytelling like text overlays, transitions, and voiceovers with ‘traditional’ historical sources like photographs from archives and oral history interviews for a more novel and interesting way of presenting the history of the op shop beyond text-based mediums. This campaign serves a dual purpose; it is an easily accessible, audiovisual archive of the shop’s oral histories and also promotional material for the store to a new audience of Gen Z shoppers.
This project will benefit the Glebe Community Op Shop by addressing their need for more customers and storage space. Heather, the manager of the shop, shared that some residents have lived here for decades without knowing about the store as there is no signage directing customers patronising the popular Glebe Markets to this corner shop off the main road. This compounds a secondary problem; the store is so small that Heather often gives excess stock to other opportunity shops, but the frequent donations she receives mean more footfall is needed to drive sales and free up space. While a physical sign placed strategically on Glebe Point Road would be a more direct solution, Heather’s appeals for this have gone unheard since 2018.
Pictured: Susie, Heather and Dawn (left to right), photos from @glebeopshop on Instagram
Instead, a more feasible solution is creating short videos highlighting the shop’s key selling point —its community, past and present— to enhance its social media presence with coverage of engaging human stories for a more personal touch. The videos feature stories shared by Heather, the current store manager, Marla who has volunteered at the shop for 20 years, and Martin, a regular customer for 3 years. The slogan of this social media campaign is, “A Shop Full of Stories and Spirit”. The tight-knit community that has grown through the shop is the key element that sets the Oppy apart from a regular Vinnies or Salvation Army. The shop presents a rare opportunity for the community to both give and receive at the same time, by donating items or volunteering their time in exchange for affordably priced goods and funding for community initiatives. Heather has made it the Oppy’s mission to fulfill the needs of its community by fundraising and supporting other local organisations, like ADF NSW-Kathleen York House and the Rainbow Lodge Program. Hence, these promotional videos will hopefully help expand the shop’s already loyal customer base, attracting new visitors who may help to boost sales —and in turn free up space in the store for new donations— and spread the word to potential volunteers.
A little thing about me: I never got to master swimming in the past twenty years of my life, but since I am now in Australia, I said to myself that I should not waste this natural beauty and the precious resources we have here down under. That is how I self-learned how to swim and obtained my Open Water Diver license in April this year. Since then, I have been enjoying scuba diving, especially at Shelly Beach, a small beach just next to the infamous Manly Beach. Just less than ten metres underwater, you get to see rays, sharks, and of course, our celebrity at Shelly – Basil the Green Turtle munching on seagrass.
Basil the Green Turtle, the local celebrity at Shelly Beach. Source: Dive Centre Manly.
It truly amazed me how we are so lucky to have such a beautiful aquatic reserve right next to the bustling city. However, this might not be the case – can you imagine having a Luna Park 2.0 in Manly? Yes, the definition of “leisure at Manly/Shelly” could be completely different as there were once proposals to completely revamp the scenery at Manly a century ago in the 1920s. Luckily thanks to the local community effort, not only were the plans terminated, but Cabbage Tree Bay also became a no-take aquatic reserve. That’s what my collaboration with Dive Centre Manly, a local dive centre that has been serving the Manly community at Belgrave Street since 1962, is about. I have created a website that serves as a central hub for the dive centre and Manly’s history, as well as studying the development of Cabbage Tree Bay from “one of the dirtiest spots in Manly” to almost an amusement park, and now an aquatic reserve.
Dive Centre Manly, originally Ron Harding’s Sports Centre, at Belgrave Street (leftmost shop). Source: Manly Library Local Studies.
With global climate issues such as extreme weather and ocean pollution such as the thunderstorms in Sydney and the mysterious black balls that washed up on Sydney beaches recently, both the daily lives of Sydneysiders and marine life are negatively affected. By promoting local conservation efforts like the regular Dive Against Debris event held by Dive Centre Manly, the organisation could gather more participants in beach and underwater cleanup. The project also assists the public in acknowledging their bargaining power and the significance of their contribution in negotiating and collaborating with resourceful governmental bureaucracies in making changes to their society.
I believe that the general public and community organisations, such as Dive Centre Manly, are some of the major, if not the most, contributors to the development of Cabbage Tree Bay from almost an amusement park to an aquatic reserve that has a richer biodiversity than most of the other aquatic reserves. From resistance such as protests, fighting funds and petitions to the municipal council in the 1920s to collaboration with governmental departments and publicly funded non-profit organisations in the late twentieth century until today, this project shows that community efforts in various aspects are effective in local marine conservation.
Newspaper excerpts regarding public involvement in the Shelly Beach Amusement Scheme in the 1920s. Source: Trove.
The project website is divided into four subpages, each with one theme: “Dive Centre Manly,” “Shelly Beach Amusement Plans in the 1920s,” “Cabbage Tree Aquatic Reserve,” and “Photo Album.” The 1920s page and the conservation page showed a contrast between how Shelly Beach could have become if the community had not contributed to striving for the area to become a no-take aquatic reserve, while the Dive Centre Manly page illustrated how the organisation has served the Manly community for over 60 years, as well as its continuing effort in preserving the natural beauty of Cabbage Tree Bay through adopting Manly Cove and Shelly Beach. The album provides visual comparisons for the aforementioned changes.
The four subpages, each with one theme.
This project is innovative in bringing together history, social dynamics, urban development and marine conservation. Local residents and organisations as social agents constitute a large part of a community and therefore should never be underestimated in their contribution and involvement in writing history and development of their society. Also, responses from residents and visitors are focused on as they are the actual users of the aquatic reserve, presenting vastly different voices which are based on more personal experience, compared to government and council officials. Although the major focus is still on history, this project has the potential to develop into an interdisciplinary project with further collaboration with experts/students/stakeholders in various fields.
This project also provides a creative solution for different stakeholders in society to have a more holistic view of Cabbage Tree Bay. Resources available regarding the 1920s improvement plans were mostly if not all, written documents such as meeting minutes and local studies articles. This project draws from these records to produce a simulation/recreation of the proposed plans as an interactive map and references Coney Island in the US in assisting users to picture what the park might be like. Non-snorkellers and certified scuba divers also gain access to pictures and videos of local marine life – go check out Dive Centre Manly’s Instagram reel about Basil the Green Turtle!
Interactive Map illustrating the 1920s amusement proposals.
My technique and focus on presenting all these information is mainly on visualisations. I have also included a lot of primary sources as the main evidence (and I do mean A LOT!). A large number of photos and videos are used. Maps, paintings and images of Cabbage Tree Bay since the late nineteenth century are compared with photos taken by me in early November to show the development of Manly. Illustrations of amusement facilities in places like Coney Island, Manly, and the Blue Mountains assisted in visualising the abandoned Shelly Beach Amusement Schemes. Sources such as photos and local studies stored at the Northern Beaches Library History Hub and the local history section on 2/F of Manly Library (shout out to the friendly and knowledgeable staff there!), especially the works by John Morcombe of Manly Daily, contributed a lot in supplementing and providing a concise introduction to the overall development. I have also personally visited Manly and took pictures with my camera for the comparison section on the photo album page to show the difference in the area over a century – I might not be a great photographer, but at least I think I get the locations right!
To supplement visuals with written records, council meeting minutes illustrate the discussion between investors and the council, and government gazettes, websites, reports and blogs are used to track the continuing conservation work done by the state government and the Northern Beaches council. For community efforts and perspectives of the public, newspaper articles, and letters to the editor are also included.
Oh and don’t worry about it being a plain website as I have prepared lots of interactive elements for you all: The interactive map on the 1920s page allows you to click on different sections to learn about the proposed amusements, while the slider photo album lets you compare certain spots of Manly and Cabbage Tree Bay at the same angle across a century (or more!) If you have time, hyperlinks to external websites and materials such as Government websites and content created by Dive Centre Manly for a deeper and more expertise understanding of marine conservation are also worth-visiting. Although the website has not yet been marketed, as Dive Centre Manly is active on Facebook and Instagram and holds weekly guided dives, trips, gatherings, and courses, the website could be promoted both in-person and online for a wider reach.
One of the sliders on the Photo Album page comparing Fairy Bower in 1890 and 2024. Note: This is a screen capture, so the slider function does not work here – visit the website!
The local community at Manly/Cabbage Tree Bay, visitors, and Dive Centre Manly will benefit from this project. By raising attention towards marine conservation, local residents and visitors (like us!), especially water sports lovers, can continue enjoying the natural beauty at Shelly Beach and Fairy Bower during weekend activities such as snorkelling, swimming, and diving and the biodiversity the reserve provides. Dive Centre Manly, although with a long history, did not have an archive for the record. This project serves as a central hub for the organisation and the community’s history, as well as educating the public about marine life and marine conservation at Cabbage Tree Bay.
The website will hopefully be continuously updated for the latest events held by Dive Centre Manly, as well as more photos and videos of the marine life underwater taken during these events (especially when season and daylight hours change there will be different creatures appearing). More information could also be supplemented in other aspects such as biodiversity, conservation and urban development through interdisciplinary collaboration. Interviews or feedback from different stakeholders such as local residents and participants of the community events could also be added to a new subpage of the website, acting like a discussion board/forum for information exchange and strengthening social unity. So feel free to tell us your story or experience!
Summer is coming, so whether you like visiting beaches just for a cup of coffee, going sunbathing, escaping the heat by jumping into the water, or going underwater for the fascinating scenery and experience swimming with the local marine residents, Shelly Beach is definitely your to-go destination! If you would like to join us in preserving this paradise, don’t forget to also check out and sign up for Dive Centre Manly’s regular Dive Against Debris event on their website – sign-up is free, gear rental is half-priced, and enjoy a barbeque together afterwards!
Dive Centre Manly’s Dive Against Debris community event held on 22/09/2024.
Although I am no longer working with the previous organisation as mentioned in my first blog post, I would like to quote myself again as this project still aims at spreading this message:
“It is the waters which shaped our nation, it is the people who lived through a diverse experience and explored the land and the ocean. By preserving and sharing the stories of people from different communities, I believe that the public interest and curiosity towards the relationships between us and the ocean can be sparked…”
This semester, particularly my time in this unit, has been fruitful and fun – perhaps the best unit I have ever taken at uni. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank James and Mike for allowing us to temporarily get out of the classrooms and libraries and into the society we’re living in. The semester has ended, and it’s goodbye for now, but I hope to see you guys again no matter at Manly or in the public history field!
