Nothing But Memories

Research Projects | Updated 5 months ago

A person sits on a bench in front of a camera, which is being operated by another person wearing a light-blue long sleeved shirt
Assistant curator Joshua Kalmund setting up a recording session with Peter Durrant at the Wooroloo Hall
WA Museum

Nothing But Memories was a contemporary collecting project focused on two recent natural disasters: the Wooroloo bushfire (February 2021) and Tropical Cyclone Seroja (April 2021). Made possible by a Minderoo grant from the Foundation for the WA Museum, the project collected stories of these events from residents, volunteers and first responders through video interviews. In 2022, Museum staff recorded over 40 interviews and video journals while visiting the communities of Wooroloo, Gidgegannup, Kalbarri, Northampton, Morawa and Perenjori.

While primarily focussed on collecting oral histories, the project also prompted the collection of objects related to these events, such as a pair of partially melted boots worn by a resident who helped defend his neighbour’s property from the Wooroloo bushfire, and roof shingles torn off Northampton’s historic Railway Tavern by Seroja’s winds.

These objects and recordings represent a resource which the Museum can draw from in the future to tell stories of living through, rebuilding and recovering from natural disasters.