History Matters

Video: A History of the Collaroy Plateau Public School

My film discussing the history of the Collaroy Plateau Public School is an attempt at creating a grassroots history for a grassroots organisation. The research I conducted portrayed the journey of a small, integrated community, and how this impacted the nature of the school and in turn how the school impacts the area. This led me to create a unique story of the school and community. Interesting facts and details had already been collected by the school staff for various anniversary celebrations. As a result I selected a variety of individual’s recounts of the school that I felt best represented the larger narrative of the school’s history. The in depth accounts of memories provides the audience with a relational and personal history that encapsulates the relational nature of the school community.

The project’s central argument is that a suburb’s development influences the type of schools that are formed, to some degree. This was achieved by a portrayal of the causation between Collaroy Plateau’s small, simple community and the formation of a small simple values rich community in the school environment. The project also stresses the importance of the teacher’s role in the development and wellbeing of the student’s throughout the time of the school. The bond between students, teachers and the wider community is reflected throughout the film.

For the introduction of the film, the main sources used were accessed in the school archives. The details about the naming, development and nature of the early Plateau where found in a page containing this information in the school’s collection. This information was assembled for the School’s 60^th anniversary celebration and this provided an excellent source for the origins of the Plateau community.

The following section of the film on life for children growing up on the Plateau during the Baby Boomer era was formulated using the primary source written accounts of Sue Gamble and Jenny Vanderport. These sources were used because they support each other’s narrative of childhood fun in the bush and carefree lifestyle playing with friends.  The types of games that were noted in the video were derived from both these accounts.

The middle portion of the documentary contains details on the development of pupil numbers, school infrastructure expansion and technological changes. The figures and details contained within this section were derived from a collection of booklets found in the archives: Collaroy Plateau public school 60 years ago, Collaroy Plateau public school 40 years ago, Collaroy Plateau public school 30 years ago, Collaroy Plateau public school 20 years ago and Collaroy Plateau public school 10 years ago. These booklets were created by staff at Collaroy Plateau public school who made interview sheets for ex-students, parents and teachers to complete with details they recall about the school. These were created and collected for the school’s 60 year anniversary celebration. The sheets were filled out by various individuals and this provided me with the details for this part of the film. Throughout these sections I have included various photographs that were taken and preserved in the archives.

The following section details the story of successful alumni Rod Macqueen. The information in this section was derived from an article found in the archives and a newspaper article, which provided some engaging material. I have also used a short video found on YouTube that was originally created by Sky Sport NZ to display Macqueen’s success as the Wallabies coach.

The section that follows encapsulates the essence of the school’s history through personal interviews with former students and teachers. These oral histories provide a personal and rich illumination of the school’s past and endeavour to represent this as the larger narrative of the schools collective history. This section includes interviews with Terry Hill (conducted by Ms. Hall, Ms. Falvo and Ms. Albanese). This account was recorded in the archives.  Jill Forester also reflects on her memories of Mr. Dimmock during the late 1960’s and this was recorded in the archives .Finally Mrs. Lorelli, the longtime school music teacher participated in an oral history and this was recorded by myself.

This project carries the theme of community values. It delves into what creates these community values, how they develop and what role organisations such as schools have in conveying these values to the students. This is depicted through introductory discussion of the development of Collaroy Plateau and how residents came to live in the area. This reinforces how the small scale village cultivated an area of simple freedom and childlike fun in the surrounding bushland. This created a carefree cohesive environment that was further cultivated in the school setting. Furthermore the connection between individuals and the personal stories of the members of the plateau demonstrates how this is a personal and rich history that celebrates the members of the community.  This was achieved through the interviews with various individuals toward the second half of the film.

This film was created for adults to view, particularly ex-students, parents, and current and former staff members. It is to preserve the memory that former students had while at the school. These formative years of development are instrumental in a child’s outlook on life and the establishment of their foundational values. These memories need to be preserved and displayed with the personal warmth and connection that they experienced during their primary years.

The school had already completed the wonderful work of collecting and digitising their archives. Information such as key dates, facts and developments had been recorded for the celebration of the school’s 60 year anniversary. As a result I saw fit to present a more personal history, capturing and representing the stories of various individuals I viewed as adequately representing the general theme of the other historical archives. I aimed to maintain the scope of the wider history of the school and Plateau whilst presenting these personal accounts, to give the history a connected, personal vibrancy that reflects the nature of the organisation I was documenting. This will ideally complement the other historical work that has been completed by the school.  

This type of history from the ground up gives the project an authentic grassroots presence. However I believe the project could have been further enhanced by displaying the Aboriginal history of the land. I originally was aiming to include this in my project, however I was informed that the particular group that owned the land was now being disputed and so I was advised to wait until the correct Aboriginal nation was acknowledged before delving into this aspect of the history.  

The history is presented through the medium of film, as advised by the principal of the school. This was the desire of the school and I willingly accepted the challenge despite my lack of familiarity with this medium of production. Nevertheless I attempted this, and with the help of a friend who had a camera and iMovie editing software we completed the film. Though it isn’t perfect, the film and presentation adds to the simple, grassroots story of the area and as a result I believe actually complements the authentic, sometimes perfectly imperfect nature of school environments. This medium provided an easy and accessible way for the school and members of the public to access the work on YouTube. Various ‘tags’ have been attached to attracted traffic on YouTube to the project.

To mark the International Day of the Older Person Cate Turner had the idea of marching through her suburb carrying this banner. For almost 25 years Cate has been a member of the Older Women’s Network, and now holds positions on the organisation’s Sydney, NSW and National bodies, as well as the Lane Cove Council’s Age Friendly Committee. Cate is one of the remarkable women I have interviewed for my History Beyond the Classroom project. Cate is indomitable; she celebrated her 90^th birthday last year with a trip to Paris with her nephew.

A few weeks later, I met Cate again at the Boomalli Indigenous Art Gallery in Leichhardt with an OWN group visiting the new Anarchy and Alchemy show. She’s also a member of OWN’s long running Aboriginal Support Circle. For twenty-five years, these women have been quietly working on reconciliation, driven by their motto: listen – learn – understand. Their unofficial leader is a poised and unassuming woman, Pat Zinn who is almost ninety. She experienced life under apartheid in South Africa, but defied the system by helping to set up preschools in black townships in Capetown. When she left South Africa in despair in 1991, Pat wanted to learn about Australia’s Indigenous culture in her new country, and the Older Women’s Network has been her vehicle. Pat Zinn’s story is one I have captured for the new website, in a section called ‘Stories’, a celebration of some of OWN’s long serving members.

The members of the group range from late fifties upwards, there are many in their eighties and some in their nineties who’ve been members for more than two decades. As I have discovered through recording their histories and documenting the achievements of the organisation, many women in this generation did it tough, and still face struggles with financial security, elder abuse and sheer invisibility. Nonetheless, they project a feisty spirit, great camaraderie and have learned much from each other.

As a generally unsung but active organisation, I want to demonstrate through the timeline of achievements and individual profiles that OWN has been at the forefront of many struggles affecting women, especially older women who largely missed out on the benefits of higher education, career choices and economic independence through equal pay and superannuation.

The women I have interviewed embody these themes. Barbara Malcolm, aged 85 can recall the day in 1939 World War Two was declared, on the radio by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. But her young life was most affected by the divorce of her parents; her father leaving Barbara aged ten and three younger siblings in a small country town. She left school at thirteen to help her mother who worked overnights in a factory. Barbara has been at the forefront of launching and running wellness activities for women in the Illawarra for OWN, from Scottish dancing to Argentinian drumming and meditation. Cate Turner enjoyed a secondary education but teaching was one of the few careers open to her.  She switched to Human Resources roles, but despite many decades in senior positions has no superannuation or home ownership.

Having lost some long serving members in the past two years, there’s a sense of urgency in getting the stories of older members recorded. This is a work in progress, and the new comprehensive OWN site is unlikely to be completed by the deadline for this project, but it should be up and running by the end of 2019.  OWN would like to build the ‘Stories’ section to include many more profiles. These members’ stories could also feature in shorter formats on other OWN platforms such as their facebook page, twitter, and their regular newsletter.

This has been a personally enriching and rewarding project. It has attuned me to the importance of staying engaged and active during later life, and of giving back through volunteering. It has been a privilege to record the stories of these modest, good humoured and undervalued women, and their organisation that has done so much to put issues affecting older women on the agenda.

The project that I undertook with Hurstville City Uniting Church’s English Conversation Groups (ECGs) is the creation of their 10th Anniversary Booklet. We asked both current and former students and helpers to share their favourite memories at the ECGs. We also sorted and included photos from the past ten years to be added into the booklet. The purpose of such a project is to reflect on how much the organisation has grown over the past ten years and to celebrate a big milestone for the organisation. The testimonies shared by those involved have also revealed the positive impact that the ECGs have had on the students’ and helpers’ lives and reinforces the value of volunteering and cross-cultural exchange. Whether the student or helper has been a long-standing member of the group or was simply involved with the ECGs for a few months, these testimonies reveal common experiences of self-growth and a sense of community within the organisation.

The main components of the booklet include a nine year photo timeline, a foreword written by the organisation’s founder and coordinator, student testimonies, helper testimonies, and a few pages of photo collages. The purpose of the nine year photo timeline is to demonstrate how the group has changed over the years but to also recognise the long-standing members of the group. Unfortunately, group photos were not taken each year so from 2011 to 2013, substitute photos have been used that do not include all members of the ECGs that year. I also asked Ivy, the founder and coordinator of the group, to write a foreword reflecting on the ten years of the ECGs since its inception in 2010. Following the foreword is the main component of the booklet, which are the student and helper testimonies. The testimonies do not encompass everyone who has been involved in the group but former and current students and helpers who were willing to share their experiences and responded to our request for written submissions. We also went through old photos to find pictures of these helpers and students to include in the booklet alongside their testimony. The final pages include photo collages with group photos and photos of members of the ECGs who weren’t depicted in the previous pages.

The reason why I decided to become involved in this project was because I was a volunteer of the ECGs myself. I was able to witness the value of the organisation first hand and felt a personal connection with the organisation through my own involvement. I felt that many of the students and helpers had stories to share and different reasons for coming to the ECGs. While this group only formed a small part of their routine on a Tuesday morning, it had made a significant impact on their lives more holistically. While the aim of the group is to improve students’ English speaking skills through conversation groups, the underlying experiences of self-growth and cross-cultural understanding is something that is not recognised enough and is an important aspect to highlight when celebrating the ECG’s ten year anniversary. I am excited for the ten year anniversary of the ECGs next year and my hope is that all students and helpers will be able to read this booklet, realise the difference that they are making and continue to work hard and be involved in such a worthwhile organisation.

Tyler Krantz is documenting his work with the Sydney Jewish Museum for History Beyond the Classroom 2019. Read the other posts in his series here.

This week, I was able to get the museum twice to speak to different staff members. After talking to Naomi who runs operations for the office, I was able to sit down with Aviva who runs the overall operations of the building. She was more environmentally conscious than I would have anticipated. She has timers going for lights in the building, and the majority shut off after hours but still leave dimmed lights for the cleaning staff. All of the materials that she buys in the cafe are recyclable, and she is currently working on bringing in bamboo plates. She also had their counterpart in utensils, but she said she removed them after receiving many complaints about the taste that they would leave behind. We spoke about paper towels in the bathroom and how electric dryers, while they do eliminate paper use, still leave a burden in energy costs. Additionally, paper/recycling was a big topic of conversation. While the museum does recycle all of its paper, there is an issue within the country as recycling is getting tossed as rubbish, since the Chinese will not accept Australia’s recycled materials anymore, so it’s nearly a nuisance at this point.

After our conversation, she introduced me to man named Roy who runs the accounting office. He was able to provide me with invoices of the products that they are buying, which will allow me to compare these products with others that might be more environmentally friendly. I will be able to compare prices and look at the ethics behind these companies as well. Furthermore, I should be able to calculate the amount of paper that they use on a monthly basis, an area that everyone in the office has told me is a huge issue.

Finally, I am going to speak with the IT department later this week to figure out if I could potentially make the backbone of an app that would display a map of the different locations of the museum in order to reduce paper use. As of now, my main project will be a 3-5 year sustainability action plan for the SJM. More to come!

Tyler Krantz is documenting his work with the Sydney Jewish Museum for History Beyond the Classroom 2019. Read the other posts in his series here.

This week, Breann and Roslyn wanted me to have the full experience of the SJM to see how their operations run on a daily basis. They paired me up with a class that was touring the museum, so I got hear from some of their great curators. Afterwards, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to Kitty, one of their Holocaust survivors who speaks their on a regular basis. Environmentally, I got to observe the trends of the both the museum, along with the visitors, to see where I can help to make some changes. One idea that I had was to create a mobile app that would have a map of the building and its key sites/locations, instead of passing out pamphlets to everyone who walks into the building.

After experiencing what a typical visitor would, I talked with Breann, along with members of the Marketing and Operations teams. Most importantly, I was able to gather data on how much paper they use, the price, and the company that supplies it as well. Moreover, I got all of the information on the products that they use within the office, and next week I am meeting with another member of the Operations team to gather information on the resources they use elsewhere in the facility, along with the events that are held there as well.

I spoke with some of the individuals about my thoughts for longer-term projects, and we came up with the idea to try and implement an Elkay bottle-filling station to ensure the elimination of paper cups. This is an expensive product, but we have already started looking into how we could pull this off. Moreover, I am looking at nearby museums to hopefully give our Green Team someone to reach out to and to observe their trends. The Australian Museum just created their own Sustainability Action Plan, something I am hopefully going to be able to create myself as well.

Tyler Krantz is documenting his work with the Sydney Jewish Museum for History Beyond the Classroom 2019. Read the other posts in his series here.

This week, I worked to create an outline of the more specific goals that I wanted to accomplish for this project. I started with changes that could happen immediately, the first being determining the institution’s carbon footprint. I have asked for help from those I have met at the museum to learn more about how the employees commute to work, the events that they hold, and their shipping trends as well. This will allow me to figure out gaps in where the SJM is falling behind. Secondly, I am looking into using their resources more efficiently, including cups, plates, straws, utensils, and more. I am researching wooden utensils, paper straws, and water bottles for the staff members, to figure out pricing for the products.

Moreover, I am looking into what some other local museums are doing as well, mostly the Australian Museum, which has taken a big stance on environmental change. Additionally, I am helping to arrange an energy audit, and I am continuing to educate myself on the advantages of this report. I have been speaking with SJM contacts Breann and Roselyn about co-heading a Green Team to educate the employees, and to help inform the public as well.

I have already worked to create the first project with the help of the marketing team. We want to put signs up in the bathrooms and by the drinking fountains to remind employees and visitors of the impact that they have when they use a paper cup or a paper towel. The longer-term projects I am continuing to work on will be highlighted in a later post. I sent this outline to Breann and Roslyn, who are both very excited about the direction that I am taking. They also both liked the mock-posters that I created to help point them in the right direction.

I’ve spent a long time wondering how the two completely different elements of my degree, history and psychology, would end up ever relating to one another. Both have seemed to be fantastic in their own little worlds and the closest I had ever been to bringing the two together was studying Sigmund Freud’s work in the 20th century (which isn’t so great the 5th time around). Although I had come to accept that, this project has finally brought together these two topics I love in a way that perfectly highlights both.

I started volunteering at ReachOut in February this year and have continued to be involved in the community there since then. The organisation is a not-for-profit mental health service focused entirely online, and has been going strong for close to 20 years now. They feature articles ranging from how to relax, and HSC advice to serious mental health topics, with plenty support and advice for everyone. Although they’re a relatively young organisation based online, the sense of community I feel every time I visit makes me feel so connected and at home while I’m there. Their forums and teams bring ReachOut to life, with fantastic community events and support across the country. For the months I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve specifically been writing articles, researching, creating databases and I’ve even had my photo published in a visual article. Even with this variety of different projects I’d been involved in, I didn’t feel as though any would let me use what I’d learned in the past years of history at university.

When I visited the ReachOut offices last week, I spoke to the head of the research team, Hilary. We both chatted about what kind of work would be relevant and useful to them while also allowing me to finally follow this psychological-historical dream. After some discussion about what she was looking for, we decided that a potential research grant would be a fantastic way to go about it. Mental health services have been difficult to reach for rural communities, which ReachOut has been focusing greatly on. By using the resources present, oral histories and stories from interviews in other articles and pulling data and studies from how mental health has changed through the years, I think I can make something that would benefit ReachOut greatly. After settling on this idea, I’ve been able to search through books, recordings, photos and articles for stories that I would otherwise never have been able to look at. I’ve even had a look at some stats and graphs, factual information that I think will really ground this work.

Volunteering at ReachOut has been a wonderful experience in the past, and finally being able to give back in a way that lets me use all the skills I’ve learned at university feels fantastic. This is an organisation I feel privileged to be able to support, and I’m very much looking forward to see how this project ends up going and what I’ll learn as I go!

The local community organisation I have chosen to work with is the Blue Mountains Historical Society (BMHS), a small but well-funded and resourced history group undertaking personal-interest histories through its society’s members. I was unaware of the existence of history societies in the Blue Mountains. Having grown up here my entire life and having been a History major living there for the past 4 years may have led me to an awareness of such an organisation. Such was not the case. This semi-rural suburban community has a fascinating history, yet I have no vivid memories of learning local Blue Mountains history during my school years. This project felt like the perfect opportunity to erase this absence and contribute something back to my local community.

In thinking about an organisation to work with, I began with the desire to do something that would enhance both my own and the community which I hail from’s knowledge and understanding about place. It made sense to enquire about local history organisations, and quite easily I came across BMHS. Established in 1946 and based in the Upper-Mountains suburb of Wentworth Falls, the land on which the society functions, and now owns, was inherited from benefactor Beryl McLaughlin, the daughter of John McLaughlin, a wealthy solicitor who bought the property on which Tarella Cottage stands as an escape from the heat of Sydney summer.

Having acquired the now heritage-listed Tarella Cottage in 1988, the society has since built another property on the land which serves as the office location, museum space, archives and work space. From this site, the society publishes a bi-monthly newsletter playfully titled Hobby’s Outreach, as well as member-authored books, all of which are available on their website. Monthly meetings engage community members to become involved with the work of the society, work which is invaluable to the community, and readily available for anyone willing to pop by.