The prompt questions listed below are provided as a guide to get the interview started and not necessarily intended to be a structured or formal line of questioning. The best oral histories are those that are more organic, relaxed, and conversational, allowing the person being interviewed to take the storyline where they want to.
If appropriate, you might want to share these questions in advance with the people being interviewed to give them an idea of the diverse range of topics that could be touched on in the interview.
QUESTIONS AND PROMPTS
| Introduction | Names of interviewer and person(s) being interviewed. Date of interview. Purpose of interview is to learn more about day-to-day life in Araluen, and how it has changed over your lifetime. How and where the interview will be stored, and who will be able to hear or read it. Do you give consent for the interview to be recorded, stored and made publicly available once the final version has been approved by you? |
| Personal background | How long have you/your family lived in Araluen? Year and place of birth. Why did you/your family come to Araluen? What stories did your parents or grandparents tell you about Araluen? What are the most significant changes you have seen in the Valley in your lifetime? |
| Schooling | Tell us about your schooling. Where did you go to school? Why? How old were you when you started and finished school? How did you get to school? Uniforms? Clothing? Size of classes. Subjects and lessons. Rewards and punishments / trouble. Games. Memorable teachers / why were they memorable? If you could advise your school-aged self now, what would you tell them? How do you think schooling has changed today? |
| Working life | How old were you when you started working? Tell us a bit about your working life – in the Valley or elsewhere? What were the main jobs in the Valley? How has working life changed in the Valley over your lifetime? |
| Family life | How did your family celebrate special family events such as birthdays, Christmas etc.? What did your family eat/drink for regular family meals? Were there any special family traditions followed? |
| Community events | Tell us about the type of community events that took place in the Valley – Clubs and societies, Sport, Horse races, Dances, Concerts etc. |
| Notable events | What are some memorable events that took place in the Valley? Fires, floods, new roads, arrival of electricity etc. What Australian or World events impacted on day-to-day life in the Valley – Depression/unemployment, Wars, Conscription. How did these events impact on life in the Valley? |
| Services | How and where did you get health services? Dental, doctor, hospital etc. Were there any shops or other services in the Valley? To what extent did you grow and/or sell your own food? Where and how did you do most of your shopping? |
| Communication links with the World outside Araluen | How did you hear about life outside the Valley? Newspapers, Library, Gossip / via mail, Trips Away, Telephone (when?) TV (when?), Internet (when?), Voting, politicians, Government policies that impacted on the Valley. What are the most significant technological changes you have lived through? How did they impact on day-to-day life? |
| Entertainment | How did you spend your free time? As a child. As a teenager. As an adult. Now. Most fun. How has entertainment changed in the Valley over your lifetime? Did you seek entertainment outside the Valley? If so, where and what? |
| Valley characters | Tell us about some people who have lived in the Valley in your lifetime that we should remember. Why are they memorable? What did they do (good or bad)? |
| Aboriginal people | What do you know about the traditional owners of the Valley? How have relationships/attitudes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people changed over time in the Valley? What should or could be done to recognise Aboriginal history in the Valley? |
| Beliefs and values | What role has the Church played in your life/Valley life? What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in Araluen? What are the main strengths of our community? What are the main challenges in the Valley? Have these challenges and strengths changed over your lifetime? What things/issues caused controversy in the Valley in the past? Now? |
| Best and worst | What are the best things about living in Araluen? What are the worst things about living in the Valley. Why? How could we make living in the Valley even better for future generations? |
| Finally | Imagine you were talking to someone in 100 years’ time from now. How would you describe the Valley and day to day life in it? |