The website launch and a photo exhibition was held at the
Redfern Community Centre on Friday 23 February. The oral history record is a
project of Redfern Residents for Reconciliation, made possible by a grant from
the Australia Council for the Arts, and several years in the making.
The launch was attended by various arts community, church
and political representatives, with Project Manager Deborah Ruiz Wall, Special
Guest the Hon. Carmel Tebbutt, Member for Marrickville and Minister for
Education and Training NSW, and Guest of Honour Cr Marcelle Hoff of the City of
Sydney Council.
The MC was Rebecca Ruiz. A Welcome to Country was delivered by Aunty Joyce
Ingram, followed by Sharon Hickey’s Welcome Dance.
The idea of Redfern Oral History (according to the site’s
Home Page) is to display “the vibrant community spirit in Redfern and showcase
achievements that do not necessarily make headlines.” It’s about making public
much wisdom that has been handed on in private – the stories of lives lived in
Redfern, in the actual words of local people.
The website features personal stories and photographs
important for Australia’s
social history and the future reconciliation process. As Carmel Tebbutt
remarked, “Aboriginal people identify with Redfern, whether they still live
here or have once lived here, or just know about it.” Sharon Hickey put it
succinctly: “It’s very important to know who your elders are.”
The compiling of stories and photographs for Redfern Oral
History is to be an ongoing process, and to date, contributors to share their
personal memories include Bill Simons, Joyce Ingram, Ted Kennedy, Mick Mundine,
Roberta Sykes and Trevor Davies,
just to name a few.
The website address is www.redfernoralhistory.org . In
the words of Project Manager Deborah Ruiz Wall, “This is only the beginning.
It’s not going to end.”
Source: South Sydney Herald March 2007