I am an experienced oral history interviewer. Between 2011-2014 I led the NSW Government Printing Office Oral History Project as part of my PhD research, which resulted in the book Hot Metal: Material Culture and Tangible Labour.
In 2016 I initiated the Reshaping Australian Manufacturing oral history project (2017-2019) in partnership with the National Library of Australia, which led to the Palgrave Macmillan book, Industrial Craft in Australia: Oral Histories of Creativity and Survival (Palgrave Studies in Oral History Series), due out late 2021.
My DECRA fellowship also involves undertaking a new set of oral history interviews in partnership with the National Library of Australia (2021-2024). I hope to start interviews in late 2021, pending lockdowns, border closures, etc.
I have written a number of articles and chapters on oral history theory and practice, including examining the role of social class and political populism in oral history practice, the role of photography in oral history, the dynamics of spatial memory, the use of oral history for architectural history research, and a critical analysis of the ‘timed summary’. I am regularly involved in public forums and discussions regarding oral history methods and interpretation, with Oral History NSW and the Australian Centre for Public History.
