Oral History Collections

Oral history interview with engineer Mr Allen Brown about the construction of Casula Power Station, 1 December 1999, by Casual Powerhouse Arts Centre. Jennifer Brown, daughter of Allen Brown also speaks on the tapes.

Oral history interview transcript (unedited) of Betty and Kevin Biffen talking about life in the suburb of Hinchinbrook, date unknown.

Oral History Interview with Dorothy Mary Schofield (born 1910) at Hammondville Home for Senior Citizens (now known as HammondCare), Sydney on 29 September 1995. Interview recorded by Veronica Macno.

Warning: First Nations people are advised that this collection may contain the names and images of deceased Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

^{Photo: Military camp at Ingleburn, November 1939. Sam Hood Photographic Collection, State Library of New South Wales.}

Listen to the history of the former Ingleburn Army Defence Site located in Edmondson Park from the perspective of former soldiers. Explore the social impact of urbanisation in Edmondson Park, which continues to rapidly grow into a new residential and business centre.

Edmondson Park South oral history project was published in 2013. It was written, researched and compiled by Frank Heimans and Carol McKirdy for Urban Growth NSW.

Oral history interview with Edward (Mac) Ashcroft (1913-2000) on the 19th of February 1998, by Susan McClean. Mac Ashcroft was born in Liverpool in 1913, went to Hurlstone Agricultural High School and enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1943 as a lieutenant in the 21st Squadron. Edward took over the Ashcroft Abattoirs in Liverpool from his father Leslie James Ashcroft (1882-1955), who took over from his father Edward James Ashcroft (1853-1920). Mac married Sylvia O'Donnell. They had no children.

McClean interviewed Mac from his home in Lane Cove, Sydney. Interview recorded over four audio cassette tapes.

Elsie Johnson's Memories of heritage listed Collingwood House, Casula. Interview recorded on the 30th of April 2005 at Liverpool Regional Museum.

^{Liverpool City Library Heritage Collections.  Photo (c) Silversalt Photography.}

Residents recall life in an idyllic rural community ahead of the impending construction of Western Sydney Airport. The Badgerys Creek Oral History Project, also known as A Little Bit Country, was produced by Liverpool City Library and Museum Services staff with residents and former residents of Badgerys Creek. Documentation, photography, interviews and publications were produced and collected between 1994-1996.

^{Bruna Trimarchi and members of her family, February 1959. Gift of Bruna Trimarchi. Liverpool City Library Heritage Collection (HL000989).}

Explore the history of Italians and Italian immigrants in southwest Sydney. These interviews were collected for the exhibition, Forza e Coraggio, meaning strength and courage, by curator Sally Gray, Angela Finocchiaro and Vicki Movizio. They visited homes and farms, interviewing Italian families, workers, business people and politicians. The exhibition was displayed at Fairfield Heritage Centre in 1996 and Liverpool Regional Museum from 1996-1997.

^{Aero Club, Hargrave Park, 1938. Liverpool City Library Heritage Collection (HL002972/1).}

Hargrave Park is now subsumed in the suburb of Warwick Farm. These oral histories explore the history of Hargrave Park from the period of European settlement through to the twentieth century. Speakers recount tales of the short-lived Hargrave Air Park, the US Army base, the Golden Hind Royal Naval depot, the emergency housing settlement set up in the aftermath of World War II and the early 2000s.

These oral histories formed a significant part of the research material for Beverley Donald’s book, Hargrave Park? Never Heard of It, published in 2007. Donald was the Local Studies Librarian at Liverpool City Library.

Edited Hargrave Park reunion oral history audio recordings produced by Bill Gulson from Chatswood Production Co. in about 2006. Interviews were recorded onto two audio cassette tapes. Side 4 (Side B of Tape 2) is blank. Three Hargrave Park Reunion typed transcripts.

^{Horseracing at Warwick Farm, circa 1960s. Liverpool City Library Heritage Collection (HL002854).}

Warwick Farm has been an important site for sport and leisure since the 1880s. It has functioned as a horse racing track, motor sports hub and military base. This collection of 12 oral histories give insight into the suburb of Warwick Farm and its importance in shaping the history and community of Liverpool. The oral histories reveal broader patterns of boom-and-bust economic cycles and changing Australian cultural interests.

Oral history interview with Jim Hall for the Liverpool Exhibition 1925-1950, November 2003 by Carrie.

Kathleen Smith interviewed by Joan McCaw, for an assignment part of the Certificate in General Education on the 22nd August 1995. Project report contains images of Kathleen’s life and her home in Lurnea, Liverpool.

^{The Council of the Municipality of Liverpool, 1926-1928. Photograph by Crown Studios Sydney. Image courtesy of the Liverpool and District Historical Society Inc.}

Conducted and recorded by Local Studies Librarian Beverely Donald, this oral history collections contains interviews with people who worked for Liverpool City Council, or were descendants of those who did. The interviews formed part of Donald’s research for her book, 'Leading Liverpool: Alderman and Councillors through the years', published in 2010 by Liverpool City Council.

^{Liverpool City Library Heritage Collections.  Photo (c) Silversalt Photography.}

Miscellaneous collection of audio cassette tapes collected by Liverpool City Library's local studies staff from the period of about 1970 to 2005. Sound recordings relate to the Liverpool area, Liverpool City Council, arts and culture in Liverpool, the history of Liverpool, oral histories of people who have lived in Liverpool and music performed in Liverpool or by locals. Sound recording creators include 2UE Radio News, 2WS FM 101.7, ABC Radio, Artist Kick/ John Laffin, BBC Radio Merseyside, Christopher Keating, City Extra Radio, Liverpool and District Historical Society Inc., Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Family History Society, Radio 2 GLF (89.3FM), Radio 2BL, Radio 2GB, Song Zu (Zu Productions), St. Therese Music Group Sadleir-Miller (AMCOS), Trip Tape Production Pty Ltd, William Kennedy, unknown creators and others not listed here.

Warning: First Nations people are advised that this collection may contain the names and images of deceased Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Recollections of life in Liverpool from 1900 to 1960. Hear the unique Australian and immigrant voices of locals as they explore themes of settling in Liverpool, the Great War, school days, work and entertainment. Includes the memories of Aboriginal peoples and Italian migrants.

^{The Amalfi family in their market garden picking runner beans, circa 1950s. Gift of the Amalfi family. Liverpool City Library Heritage Collections (HL000707-02/8).}

Explore family histories and personal narratives of immigration. Liverpool locals describe where they were born, where their family was from, their knowledge of their family history, the occupations of their parents and why they came to live in Australia. Interviewees describe how life in Australia compares to life in the ‘old country.’

^{Data processing staff working at Standard Telephones and Cables (S.T.C.), Moorebank in 1968. Gift of Kathleen Smith. Liverpool City Library Hertiage Collection (HL002224).}

Compiled by the Moorebank Women Writers Group, residents from Moorebank, Chipping Norton, Hammondville and Holsworthy record unique family histories across several decades, describing the impact of military settlements, social housing schemes and a simpler suburban life. Captured on crackling cassette tape recorders the women recall the joys and tribulations of suburban and domestic life, describing Liverpool’s rivers, floods, Depression years, poultry farming settlements, bygone leisure facilities, social housing schemes, idyllic countryside scenes and their favourite recipes.

Murial McGraw interviewed by Enid Harris, Family History and local history competition , Liverpool City Library, 17 February 1997.

Oral history interview with Nola Fay Dean by Beverley Donald, 21 September 1993. Nola describes her experience moving and living in Green Valley and Busby. Nola moved to Green Valley in March 1964. Beverley Donald was the local studies librarian at Liverpool City Library at the time.

^{Illustration: St. Luke's and the Parsonage, Liverpool, N.S.W, from, Views of Sydney and Surrounding District by Edward Mason. State Library of New South Wales Collection.}

Interviews and radio recordings produced by Christopher Keating. Keating interviewed significant historians and community figures on Liverpool’s past and present as research material for his book, 'On the Frontier: A Social History of Liverpool', published in 1996. 'On the Frontier' argues that for much of its history, Liverpool acted as a frontier, a divider between the bush and the city. For this reason, Liverpool’s history provides a revealing local study of many of the major developments in Australian history more broadly.

Rex Cleugh Black oral history interview by Robyn Jessiman for the Liverpool & District Family History  and Liverpool Library Competition, 1997. Interview recorded on 25 January 1996. Rex Black moved to Liverpool in 1948. He was a teacher at Liverpool Junior Technical High School. Black discusses his family life in Liverpool in the 1950s.

Rose Sullivan was born on 24 March 1907 in Mortdale. She was the wife of Tommy Pethybridge, the mechanic who died with Australian aviation pioneer Kingsford Smith in the infamous plane crash into the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Burma, in November 1935. Rose describes her early life, her first marriage to Pethybridge in 1928, Pethybridge's experience in the Air Force and their work with Charles Kingsford Smith (or Smithy). She describes going on airplane rides and being greeted by huge crowds of 30,000 to 40,000 people. She describes herself as Liverpool's first air hostess. Rose later married Con Sullivan in 1937 and moved to Liverpool in 1962.

Oral history interview with Sister Vincent Nelson, 26 March 1990 by Kathleen Smith. Sister Vincent Nelson came to Liverpool in 1955 and worked at the Motor Mission, a Catholic organisation for teaching children.