You might have noticed a name change and a new look on our website… and it’s because we’re looking to expand our work nationally!

The Identifying Precarious Victorian Oral History Collections Project was highly successful, identifying close to 200 collections and over 9,000 interviews at-risk in the state. You can see the collections here on our catalogue and read about the process here in the Victorian Project Report. The huge response to our survey provided evidence of the risks threatening oral history collections across Victoria, and demonstrated the need for similar information gathering initiatives more broadly.

We are excited to announce the next phase of the Precarious Oral Histories Project has started working to launch surveys for collection holders in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with future plans to roll out surveys for the rest of the country. We hope to have an announcement soon about the start date!

Part of the next steps for the Project included bringing a new lead on board. Dr. Anisa Puri stepped down from her leadership role after the conclusion of the Identifying Precarious Victorian Oral History Collections Project. We’d like to thank Dr. Puri for her hard work and success building the Project from the ground up.

Dr. Alexandra Mountain is now leading the next phase of the Precarious Oral Histories Project. Alexandra is an archivist and public historian and has served as the Treasurer and Membership Officer of Oral History NSW since 2024. She is very excited to be part of the Project, and looks forward to working with oral histories across the country.