Oral History and Folklore
About the Oral History and Folklore collection
Our Oral History and Folklore collection provides unique insights into Australia’s cultural, social, and intellectual life through recorded interviews. Our Oral History collection began with the Hazel de Berg collection of oral histories. The collection captures the voices of more than 1,200 Australians and is listed on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register.
Building on Hazel de Berg’s work, our collection now includes more than 57,000 hours of recordings. The collection documents the personal experiences of individuals, from Nobel Prize-winning scientists to everyday Australians who have lived through significant events.
Oral histories are carefully structured interviews, allowing people to share their stories in their own words. Unlike written documents, these recordings capture the emotion, tone, and nuance of firsthand experiences. The collection also includes folklore recordings—traditional songs, stories, music, and more—documenting Australia’s diverse cultural heritage.
Browse Oral History and Folklore
In the collection
- Personal stories – Interviews with individuals reflecting on their lives, communities, and historical events.
- Folklore recordings – Traditional songs, stories, music, and cultural practices passed down through generations.
- Distinguished Australians – Conversations with scientists, writers, artists, politicians, and sportspeople.
- Social history – Firsthand accounts of key moments in Australian history, including the Great Depression, child removals, and migration experiences.
- Environmental sound – Recordings capturing Australia’s natural and built environments over time.
The collection continues to grow, with more than 1,000 hours of new recordings added each year. Increasingly, interviews and recordings are available online through our catalogue and Trove.
We actively collect interviews that reflect Australia’s diverse communities and experiences, ensuring that future generations can hear directly from those who shaped our history and culture.
Highlights
Snapshot of the National Library's Oral History program, 2024-25
Kate Campbell: At one point Norma had said in conversation, she said, “I′m 8 generations living in Botany Bay since Captain Cook, since they arrived.” She said, “Eight generations, why do I have to prove—and this was the next part of the conversation—why do I have to say who I am or prove who I am or defend who I am at all, any time? You know, we are who we are and our family is who we are and everyone knows us and everyone knows who′s who.”
Dick Smith: Well, the initial thing was I was going to call my business Alltronics, and luckily I had a cousin who was in advertising and he said, “No, with a name like Dick Smith, you′ve got to call it Dick Smith Electronics.”
Daniel Connell: Why was Dick Smith a good name?
Dick Smith: Well, he said, he thought it was a good name because it′s such a common name, so common, Dick Smith. And I said to him, “Look, no, that wouldn′t be any good. I want to do work on Mercedes Benzes car, putting-, install car radios into Mercedez Benzes. They wouldn′t want to come to someone as common a Dick Smith. They wouldn′t, they won′t come.” And he said, “Of course they would.” He said, “Dick Smith is the best name you could ever have.” So I took his advice and one of my success forces when I′m talking to people, I talk about asking advice.
Gordon Thomson: It was only about a month that the Government used the Christmas Island detention centre. They emptied the detention centre and put the people from Wuhan, which was supposedly the epicentre of—not the epicentre, there′s another word for it—the origin of the pandemic said to be Wuhan, these people coming from Wuhan and it was rather symbolic, and I didn′t appreciate it at the time how, how panicked the Government was. But it was quite disturbing in many ways.
But what it did was for people on Christmas Island go, “Shit, why are they bringing people with COVID to Christmas Island so that people on the mainland don′t get COVID? Why don′t they take them to the mainland and do quarantine?”
Dhami Singh: Yes, it is unusual. You wouldn't know the community otherwise. How would you know them? Any other job because if you're doing any hospitality job, you can't do more than 5, 6 years. Like we into pieces from our six years. I'm sick of that stuff now, but with ice cream, it's a happiness. It's not even much money and it's not even a lot of pressure on to you.
Just nice to people they talk to you. You know, because you know everyone in the community you have more information than anyone else. All the politicians want you to, we have photo with them because for the PR and stuff, and I'm sitting with you because of my truck again, I believe. So, yeah, that was just a community connection. It's a social cohesion, and especially in Shepparton, the stuff I sell is Italian stuff. So, you're living in Australia, and you come from India, you're selling everybody Italian stuff in small-town Shepparton. So, it's just multiculturalism itself.
Ann Odong: No idea. Zero idea. I never saw it. I think because there was this segregation too. Was, on Saturdays, boys played. On Sundays, girls played. But because I was always with my brother on the Saturday, I never saw it on the Sunday. I didn't know... I mean, I remember watching the ′96 Atlanta Olympics. I was 12 years old. And that was the first time women's football was there. I had no clue. And I watched the Olympics every 4 years, religiously. Had no idea. I remember watching the 2000 Olympics. Like, everything. Athletics. I remember the swimming. I remember... I bloody remember the Greco-Roman wrestling. And I do not remember women's football at all. It just was not on the radar to me. And yeah, so 2000, when I was 16, that was the first time I knew girls played football.
Georgie Stone: What I′d really like to say is I think this is so important. I think recording our history, protecting our history and preserving it and celebrating it, is vital. To anyone listening to this in however long a time, 50 years, 100 years, I would tell them that these stories, our stories, trans lives are so beautiful, and are so worthy of protection. And I hope we′re better at it in the future. And that′s why this project is so important.
We record and share the memories of people with shared backgrounds or experiences—such as culture, occupation, place of residence or living through events like COVID-19.
Our social history projects highlight personal stories that help preserve Australia’s diverse history.
Bringing Them Home oral history project
These include over 300 interviews collected between 1998 and 2002 of Indigenous people and others, such as missionaries, police and administrators, involved in or affected by the process of child removals.
Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants project
Interviews with people who were in institutional and out of home care as children.
Interviews with key people responsible for the growth and success of Paralympic sport in Australia.
over 500 recordings between 1953 and 1994 of traditional Australian folk music, songs, recitations, bush dance music, yarns and reminiscences. John Meredith was a foundation member of the Bushwhackers and helped form the Bush Music Club and the Australian Folklore Society.
Our collection includes soundscapes recorded in different locations. Some record a significant time in history.
COVID-19 soundscapes collection
The COVID-19 Soundscapes Collection comprises 21 environmental sound recordings captured between May 10 and June 11, 2020, in Melbourne and Canberra. Recorded by Nicola Henningham and David Blanken, these audio pieces document the acoustic environments of urban life during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting its impact on city soundscapes.
Macquarie Island soundscapes in the Rob and Olya Willis folklore collection
The interview with Professor Raina MacIntyre, conducted by Professor Nicholas Jose on May 3, 2016, is part of the Australian National University Emeritus Faculty Oral History Project. In this recording, Professor MacIntyre reflects on her extensive career in public health and epidemiology, discussing her research contributions and experiences in the field.
20 Aug 2021 - What was, is, will be … – SOUNDS LIKE NOISE - Trove
Selected Collections
Explore selected highlights from the collection, offering insight into its depth and diversity.
Serena Ovens, Portrait of Louise Sauvage, 1996 paralympian, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-136368441
National Library of Australia staff looking at an album of paintings of Indian native costume on mica.
