Conducting interviews
The practice of collecting historical evidence through interviews is called oral history and museums and libraries are beginning to gather together collections of these interviews to record lived history before it is gone.
The Queensland Museum developed some useful guidelines in association with its Museum Magnet project. For the Q150: A Children's Gallery project, you need to have your interview subject sign a consent form. The following collection - describing Tatersall's Hotel in Townsville - shows how an interview can enliven still images and published information.
Tattersalls Hotel (Molly Malone's) Flinders Street (on the corner of Wickham Street) Townsville |
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Townsville's Historic Hotels described Tattersall's Hotel as being a wonderful example of an typical Australian hotel of its period. Built in 1865 it has wide verandahs and an attractive iron balustrade. It is now known as Molly Malones. |
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Thomas Enright (1856-1926) Builder of the "new" Tatersalls Hotel in 1881. Manager from 1886. Later Mayor of Townsville. Source: The Publicans' Trail Son of James Enright, Thomas was a second generation publican, born on the gold fields of Bendigo, Victoria in 1856. The Enright family travelled to Queensland in 1876 with Thomas joining his father as a contractor on the North Queensland gold fields before moving, with his family, to Townsville in around 1878. Thomas was operating a store when he took over the licence of the Post Office Hotel from his father in 1879, beginning his long career as a publican. In 1881, he helped construct a handsome new Tattersalls Hotel for his brother-in-law, Daniel McGrath. The McGraths and the Enrights could have formed a hotelier's dynasty when Thomas married Daniel's sister, Margaret and Daniel married Thomas's sister, Mary during 1882. With the aid of his father, Thomas erected a two-storey hotel along Flinders Street West called the Metropolitan in 1885; however he did not stay on as publican. His short stint was largely due to the death of his wife and their daughter in 1885, which left him to raise their son alone. Thomas took over Tattersalls in 1886. The hotel prospered due to its proximity to the inner harbour wharves and its workers. He replaced the timber building with the brick hotel known today as Molly Malones. Thomas was enthusiastic and committed to local civic affairs, serving as Alderman for three years and Mayor in 1899.
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Interview with Mary Lloyd, Brisbane (May 18, 2008) Mary was born in 1923 in Townsville. Her aunt, known as Auntie Tom (shown at the rear in the 1964 photo on the left ) and her uncle, Syd Ramage managed Tattersall's Hotel from (approximately) 1920-1960. In an interview, Mary recalls what life at the hotel was like when she was a girl living in Townsville. |
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Far Left: Photo of Tatersalls (Taken by Mary Lloyd, 1989) Left: Family photo showing (clockwise) "Tom" Ramage (who managed Tattersall's), Joe Keen, Mary Lloyd (seated), and Phillipa Keen (who grew up at Tattersall's Hotel). Right: Mary reviews her photo collection prior to the interview (2008). |
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Last Modified: 07:07:26 Thursday, 19 June, 2008
