This gateway comprises 20 oral history interviews that can be downloaded as audio files, full transcripts, or timed summaries. Each interview includes photographs of the interviewee and/or images related to their story. The interviews provide pathways into the life experiences of a diverse range of people from South Australia and the Northern Territory who were born between 1900 and 1977. Most interviews are an hour in length; some are excerpts from longer recordings. The original recordings are held in the collections of the State Library of South Australia, the Northern Territory Archives Service and the National Library of Australia.
Click on the names of the individuals below to read more and hear their interviews.
Douglas Darian Smith (1900-1984)
Pam Savage talks about her father Douglas Darian Smith who was a photographer in Adelaide.
Margot talks about life in Tennant Creek from the 1930s.
James talks about growing up in Darwin and his father who was mayor from 1917-1930.
Anne talks about training as a nurse at Loxton Hospital in 1932 and working as a nurse in various hospitals in Melbourne and Adelaide.
Peg, one of the first female veterinarians in Australia, talks about her childhood, training at Sydney University and working as a vet in Alice Springs and Adelaide.
Bruce talks about his boyhood, family background, his father’s life as a country GP, the impact of the depression, and his enlistment in the air force at 18 in World War 2.
Bryan talks about being a professional fisherman at Cowell from the 1940s to the 1970s and tells some fishing and shark stories.
Harry talks about living in the Unemployment Relief Scheme settlement at Meadows in the 1930s.
Paddy talks about working as a cook and piano player on the Old Ghan train.
Rosemary talks about becoming a volunteer in 1989 at the Adelaide Zoo and her work with the animals and visitors to the zoo.
Doreen talks about her life as a Ngarrindjeri woman.
Johnny talks about his family connection to the market gardens on Frogmore Road and Bolivar.
Anna talks about her work with the Friends of the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.
Mem talks about her upbringing, her family and her life as a children’s author. Interview for the National Library of Australia ‘Eminent Australians’ Oral History program.
Rob talks about being sentenced to Adelaide Gaol in 1971 as a conscientious non-complier under the National Service Act.
Interview with Geoff Cooper was recorded on November 4th 2004 for the Migration Museum.
Anna-Karin Fredin-Bladh (1952-)
Anna talks about her early adult life at sea with the Swedish Merchant Navy and emigrating to South Australia in the 1970s.
Silver talks about men, her motor bikes, getting married and her decision to live as a lesbian.
Tung talks about his identity as a Vietnamese-Australian, including his journey here as a child, becoming involved with the community and his role as a Port Adelaide Enfield Councillor.
Angelo talks about his path and arrival in Adelaide, 2001, as Sudanese refugee and life since. Incl. citizenship, higher education, Uniting Church work and returning to the Sudan to see his mother.