Local History Projects

Moorditj Footprints is a community led project to collect and share the memories of Noongar people who lived in East Perth from the 1950s -1970s.

The project was started by Noongar Elder Lindsay Calyun, who grew up in East Perth in the 1960s. Uncle Lindsay wanted to record the yarns of Noongar storytellers and families who once called East Perth home. His dream was to leave a lasting record of the community that was once home to many Aboriginal people and families.

Lindsay's dream was supported by a group of Elders, family and friends who shared his love for East Perth. 

In 2020, a team of story collectors which included Ivy Penny, Irma Woods, Jemma King, Susanna Iuliano and Brenton Rossow began meeting and yarning with families who wanted to share their stories.   Over the next 18 months, we conducted three community meetings and ten interviews with former and current East Perth residents. 

The project was supported by the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries through the Creative Communities COVID-19 Recovery Program and the City of Vincent.  

Western Australia’s relative geographic isolation and response to the global COVID-19 pandemic gave us a unique local experience that was captured in the COVID-Conversations project.    

From September 2020 to May 2021, the Vincent Local History Centre collaborated with musician and music promoter and producer Nunzio Mondia to collect local stories of the impact of COVID-19 on artists, business owners and residents across the City of Vincent.   

The project was supported by the City of Vincent's COVID Arts Relief funding. The interviews were edited and transcribed by the Local History Centre and Nunzio Mondia. 

Nunzio’s original composition and music video inspired by the stories is available on YouTube 

These stories are available on the Vincent Library and Local History Centre catalogue.  

Galup is a multi-art form project about the history of Lake Monger in Perth.  

The project includes a site-specific performance and a virtual reality work created by Noongar theatre-maker Ian Wilkes and artist/filmmaker Poppy van Oorde-Grainger with an oral history from Elder Doolann-Leisha Eatts about a massacre at the lake in 1830. Galup explores the transformative impact of truth-telling, examines the destructive nature of colonisation and brings people together for connection and healing.

The Vincent Local History Centre collaborated with the artists and producers in not for profit production company Same Drum to help research and promote the project. 

We produced a historical timeline exploring the impact of settler colonialism at Galup/Lake Monger available on the Galup webpage: Galup Historical Timeline 

The Galup VR experience is available for viewing in the Local History Centre.  

More information is available on the Galup website: Galup/Same Drum

The Music in Vincent project began in 2019 with the aim to record and showcase the stories of key people associated with live music venues in the City of Vincent. 

Thirteen interviews were conducted in 2019 with musicians, venue owners, program directors and bookers connected with five iconic live music venues in the Vincent area, past and present.

The focus venues were:  

• The Charles Hotel (interviews with Chris Angelkov, Rick Steele and Peta Lee) 
• The Ellington Jazz Club (Interviews with Bernard Kong, Cleo Schurrer and Ali Bodycoat) 
• The Hyde Park Hotel (Interviews with Paul Higgins, Tara John and Luke Rinaldi) 
• The North Perth Ethnic Music Centre (Interviews with Francis Fong, Mark Cain and Marion Granich) 
• The Rosemount Hotel (Interviews with Andrew Ryan, Vanessa Thornton and Luke Rinaldi). 

The interviews were conducted by Dr Adam Trainer and filmed and edited by Chris Murray. The interviews were transcribed by Catherine Lang and volunteers of the Local History Centre.  

The project was a collaboration between the Local History Centre and the State Library of Western Australia. 

The Arts in Vincent oral history video project began in 2017 to record and showcase the stories and memories of creative local residents.

The first series of six one hour video interviews collected in 2017 highlighted the breadth of creative talent among Vincent residents. 

In 2018, six more interviews were collected with talented local dancers, artists, sculptors, musicians, composers and writers. 

The Interviews were conducted by Helena Cohen-Robertson and were a collaboration between the Local History Centre and Know Your Nation.  

Watch Arts in Vincent Series 1 

Interviewees:  Jimmy 'The Lips' Murphy; Michael Loney; Lorenna Grant; Jenny Davis OAM; Briony Stewart; Barry Strickland

Watch Arts in Vincent Series 2 

Interviewees: Shane Colquhuon; Graham Seal; Graham Hay; Terri Charlesworth, Sonya Shepherd and Briana Shepherd; James Ledger; Brendon Darby.