Australia's Oral History Collections

[Hazel de Berg, pioneer of Australia's Oral History collecting effort]  
Hazel de Berg

Australia's Oral History Collections: A National Directory provides electronic access to oral history endeavour in Australia. Based on the printed publication of the same name (published in 1997) the database allows you to search within tens of thousands of hours of oral recordings. These collections document Australian life, customs, politics and traditions and cover a wide range of subjects.

Database coverage

Much of the material listed in the database was collected in the 1980s and 1990s, and many projects are ongoing. We encourage users to report new oral history collections so that database may continue to grow.

The earliest oral heritage recordings include a 1928 collection of Aboriginal material held by the South Australian Museum Anthropology Department, and 1939 recordings held by the National Library. Most of what we would recognise as oral history and folklore recording has come from the early adoption of the portable tape recorder by historians in the late 1940s.

The Directory lists some 460 collections held around the country, including:

  • the collection of the National Library of Australia, containing some 30,000 hours of original recordings;
  • at least 11 collections holding more than 1,000 hours of material - including ScreenSound Australia (formerly the National Film and Sound Archive),the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Australian Broadcasting Commission, Australian War Memorial, National Museum of Australia, Australian National Maritime Museum, and National Archives of Australia, and State libraries and State archives services;
  • more than 200 entries for collections held by local government bodies (mainly public libraries) or volunteer-based local history societies;
  • smaller but significant holdings in the hands of organisations like schools, religious bodies, professional and occupational associations, companies, government departments, ethnic communities, community theatres, sporting associations and recreational groups;
  • collections of Aboriginal groups and communities - the oral heritage of indigenous peoples has been a research focus for many decades, but in recent years a number of Aboriginal groups have set up their own exciting projects documenting, reclaiming, and in some cases returning their oral heritage to their communities;
  • the holdings of at least 26 Australian universities - largely due to the research of individuals working in anthropology, history, music, and English departments, a number of very important collections have been established in university libraries, archives, and faculties; and
  • approximately 60 privately held collections - most of these are small, but include significant material.

You can search for oral history collections all over Australia by:

  • name of collection or holding institution;
  • subject of the collection (including the geographic regions covered); as well as
  • the date/decade of recording.
The Directory also provides links to overseas oral history sites and collections and other useful resources.
[Des Fennessy (left) interviewed by Peter O'Shaughnessy, 1992]
Des Fennessy (left) in 1992 with interviewer Peter O'Shaughnessy

History of the Directory

In March 1992 a major national conference, "Towards Federation 2001: Linking Australians with their Heritage", was convened in Canberra to consider ways of improving access to Australia's recorded documentary heritage. As one of its outcomes the conference recommended:

  • That Australian holdings of oral history and folklore collections and on-going projects whether involving institutions or individuals, be identified in a directory (Recommendation TC12)

During 1993-1994, a nine-member Oral History Directory Committee was formed consisting of representatives from Commonwealth and state libraries, museums and archives, and members of the Oral History Association of Australia. This Committee took the responsibility of bringing the task of the individual project officer in their state to completion, and the printed Directory was released in September 1997. The coordination of entering material for the project and preparing it for publication was carried out by the National Library and National Film & Sound Archive personnel.  

Further information

We welcome information about additional Australian oral history collections for inclusion - email oralhist@nla.gov.au or send details via our online form. Institutions with oral history materials listed in the Directory may update their collection details online.

For further information or enquiries about the Directory, contact:

Oral History Project Officer
National Library of Australia
CANBERRA ACT 2600
phone: 02 6262 1545
fax: 02 6262 1653
email: oralhist@nla.gov.au

To search for other items in Australian library collections, try the Australian Libraries Gateway (ALG).

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Contact: oralhist@nla.gov.au

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