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, three community meetings and ten interviews with former and current East Perth residents were conducted. 

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.

Visit the Moorditj Footprints page to meet the team and listen to or share stories.

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 project was a collaboration between the Local History Centre, not-for-profit production company Same Drum and the Town of Cambridge Local Studies.

Learn more about the Galup project.

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.

This project was a collaboration between the Local History Centre and Nunzio Mondia. The project was supported by the City of Vincent's COVID Arts Relief funding.

Read the COVID Conversations stories.

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

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

Listen to the Music in Vincent interviews.

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 was conducted in 2017 and highlighted the breadth of creative talent among Vincent residents. In 2018, a second series of six more interviews were conducted with talented local dancers, artists, sculptors, musicians, composers and writers. 

The project was a collaboration between the Local History Centre and Know Your Nation.  

Watch the Arts in Vincent Series 1

Watch the Arts in Vincent Series 2