Member Spotlight, written by Pat Ryan, President Oral History Queensland
And so the story begins…
Oral History Queensland is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation committed to promoting the ethical practice of oral history in Queensland. Since our inception in 1979, OHQ has a proud history of recording and preserving the history, memories and identities of individuals and their communities from Cardwell to Longreach, Bundaberg, Brisbane and beyond.
Oral historians have a passion for recording life stories, especially from people and groups who are under-represented in the historical record and for the difference oral history can make to our understanding of the world.
As well as recording individual oral histories, OHQ offers workshops to train individuals and groups in the methodology of oral history, covering topics such as consent, copyright, interviewing techniques and using recording equipment.
We share the learning through regular Peer Support meetings to mentor our members through their various projects.
Pictured: Oral History Workshop participants
Many of our members have been recognised for their work. A few examples provide an overview of the geographical spread and diversity of topics for which our members have received awards and recognition.
Dr Anne Monsour produced A Continuous Thread – the Lebanese presence in South Brisbane, Woolloongabba and West End, a community oral history, a book, an exhibition and a website. Anne won the Brisbane City Council’s Lord Mayor’s Helen Taylor Research Award for Local History, (2018-19).
Dr Eve Wicks won the International Oral History Association’s Inaugural Book Award, 2021, for In Sunshine and Shadow, a bi-lingual art book in which expressive authorial prose brings together the Brisbane Lithuanian refugees’ oral histories, contemporary and historical images, and poems and songs reflecting a centuries long oral cultural tradition. Eve Wicks’ storyboard exhibition, through voice, image and object: Refuge Under a Southern Cross. The Lithuanian Migrant Experience in Queensland, was presented at the Queensland Museum, South Bank, 2005.
As a researcher in The Difficult Return project, Lena Volkova produced audio and video interviews with recently returned Australian military combat veterans and their families (2014). Elena used oral history and other arts-based approaches to build mental health literacy and resilience. A playwright, Linda Hassal, wrote the play The Return, based on oral histories Lena recorded, and it was performed at BEMAC with a mixed cast of professional actors and young veterans. The project was funded by the Australian Research Council, in partnership with Griffith University, University of Queensland, and Chapman University (USA).
OHQ Far North Queensland member Pam Willis Burden won the Douglas Shire Council’s Civic Recognition Award for Australia Day 2025 for her decades of work in documenting local history in her books, and her volunteer work with the Douglas Shire Historical Society.
Pictured: Volunteer Suzanne Mulligan interviewing participant Bill Hatfield
There are many uses for oral history apart from the important work of recording and preserving aspects of the everyday lives of Queenslanders. Oral history is used in radio plays, podcasts, documentaries, books, library displays, local museum displays and the list goes on.
We welcome new members and encourage volunteer participation in all aspects of the organisation with opportunities to hold a committee position or contribute to the management of our website, facebook page, or an editorship of our regular newsletter, the E-Bulletin. We hold monthly Zoom meetings that allow members to join in from wherever they happen to be in Queensland. All you need is a computer with a microphone and a webcam.
See you online!
Find out more about Oral History Queensland on their website or get in touch at info@ohq.org.au
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