Digital history

Digital history is a beautiful way to combine the skills of a historian with those of archivists and IT whizzes to produce content that comes alive in new and exciting ways. The major projects I’ve worked on are:

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www.findandconnect.gov.au

The Find & Connect Web Resource
From 2011 until 2014, I was the NSW State-Based Historian on the Find & Connect web resource – an Australian Government-funded project to develop histories and archival information that might assist Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants locate their records and understand their histories. It is a multi-disciplinary project, based at the eScholarship Research Centre at the University of Melbourne. I was employed as a research fellow by the Australian Catholic University, full-time, doing child welfare history, but also learning about archiving, web publishing, and social and cultural informatics.

DoS logo
www.dictionaryofsydney.org

The Dictionary of Sydney
From August 2014 until 2018 I was project editor at The Dictionary of Sydney, a historical and cultural resource that explores Sydney’s past and present. In May 2015 I wrote articles on Bidura, Royleston, and Yarra Bay House, with the support of the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage Aboriginal Heritage projects. In May 2016 I was commissioned to write about Lockleys Pylon for the Blue Mountains Icons project, funded by Blue Mountains City Council and Varuna, The Writers’ House. I also wrote two essays commissioned by the Workers’ Education Association to celebrate its history in 2018. 

sirrobertmenzies.com

I wrote the text, with John Nethercote, and the timeline for WBMC. This website was created as part of a project to digitally extend the narrative and the content of the television ABC documentary series Howard on Menzies – The Making of Modern Australia created by Smith & Nasht. Much more than that, it has become a home for Sir Robert Menzies’ archive, life and legacy online.

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State Library of New South Wales, PXB426, digital order number a3858016h

Lithgow History Avenue website
In collaboration with blacksmith Phil Spark, I wrote the text and did the picture research for the Lithgow History Avenue website, which is a timeline that accompanies a series of sculptures, curated by Phil, to allude to key points in the history of the City of Lithgow from 1788-1928. The sculptures and the website were developed for Lithgow City Council in 2013, with sponsorship, to guide visitors through the cultural precinct and heritage of the eastern side of Lithgow.

history and stories