Oral history

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Woollahra Library and Information Service began collecting Oral History of the Woollahra local area during the mid 1980s. It began through a program of interviewing and recording older residents of Woollahra about the people, places and events that dominated their lives and times, and shaped our community. Via these spoken word reminiscences, oral history has proved a means of uncovering and preserving aspects of our past that tend to elude the documentary record.

The sound recordings created through the oral history program have been added to the Library’s Local History Collection. Listening facilities are available at the Local History Centre, and the recordings may be made available to researchers, by prior arrangement.

The Library remains committed to the collection of oral history, with interviewing and transcription work carried out as Council projects are identified. For further information about this program and collection, please contact staff at the Local History Centre.

Women in Woollahra

The Women in Woollahra project, funded by Council, aims to recognise and celebrate the contribution of women, both past and present, in the local community.

The project has focused on two women councillors, a restaurateur, a politician, an urban conservationist and botanist, educator and writer highlighting their service to the people of Woollahra. The project includes oral history recordings, written biographies and will culminate in a commemorative memorial.