In December last year (2013) I was interviewed as part of the Australia wide ‘Australian Generations Oral History Project‘.  I found the process of being interviewed, rather than being the interviewer a challenging experience.  I enjoyed it, but having to quickly decide what to talk about – or leave out – kept me very aware that this interview would be archived for ‘eternity’ and anyone who wished could access it.  It was a warts interview, but not warts and all, some stories I didn’t tell.  We all have secrets and embarrassing moments in our lives.  I have related some of those incidents, but without completely embarrassing myself.  I talked about some of the drama I experienced in my various professional roles, being assaulted (physically) by a teacher at high school and as a teenager in the 60s.

David Sweet at Australian Generations Conference Monash University, October 31, 2014

Over two days in October, Professor Alistair Thomson, Monash University hosted a series of presentations by the project research team members including papers on project findings and about the team’s oral history methodology.  Professor Michael Frisch, the internationally renowned oral and public historian, delivered the Keynote Address at the public launch of the conference on Thursday 30 October 2014 at the State Library of Victoria.  Attending these sessions was enjoyable, an excellent learning experience and meeting colleagues (old and new) in the family and oral history research genre.

Check out the Australian Generations Report site.