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The Memory Tapes

The Memory Tapes

Yazan: The National Library of Australia
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The Memory Tapes is a new podcast from the National Library of Australia that brings history to life through the voices of the people who lived it. Drawing on the nation's most significant oral history collection, the series explores remarkable stories of resilience, innovation, creativity, migration, activism and everyday life. In each episode, oral historian Dr Shirleene Robinson AM combines firsthand accounts with expert storytelling to reveal the people behind Australia's history.2026 Social Sciences World
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  • The Memory Tapes Episode 11 - [Bonus] Trailblazers: Women, Change and the Work Still Ahead

    The Memory Tapes Episode 11 - [Bonus] Trailblazers: Women, Change and the Work Still Ahead
    15 Oct 2026
    Episode Eleven – Trailblazers: Women, Change and the Work Still Ahead International human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson joins Dr Shirleene Robinson for a special episode centred on the remarkable life of her grandmother, Philipa Cracknell. A survivor of domestic violence, Philipa went on to spend seventeen years working in one of Australia's earliest women's refuges, helping other women find safety and support. Jennifer reflects on Philipa's courage and the profound influence she has had on her own life, including her own commitment to fighting for women's rights and human rights more broadly. Their conversation also recognises other trailblazing women who helped change the course of Australian history. Together, Jennifer and Shirleene reflect on how far women have come, the new challenges they face and the work ahead. Sensitivity Warning: This episode contains discussions and references to domestic violence, gender-based discrimination and sexual violence. Some listeners may find this content distressing and listener discretion is advised. To learn more, the book The Memory Tapes is available where all good books are sold. Included in this episode are excerpts from the following oral history interviews from the National Library of Australia's Oral History Collection: 1.Philipa Cracknell interviewed by Shirleene Robinson Philipa Cracknell was born in Papua New Guinea in 1937 to an expatriate Australian father working there. Following his death when she was very young, she and her mother returned to Bondi. In her oral history, she recalls a childhood shaped by the Second World War, her bond with her mother, her talent for horse riding and the strong sense of community in Bondi. She later married a jockey but experienced abuse within the marriage. She divorced her husband in the 1950s, when divorce was difficult, details were public and support was limited. She reflects on her seventeen years working at Bonnie Women's Refuge, where she supported women in court as a litigation friend and trained police in responding to domestic violence. Philipa speaks proudly of the achievements of her granddaughter, renowned human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, and her other grandchildren. She reflects on the progress made in women's rights, the challenges that remain and need for continued vigilance. 2. Anne Summers interviewed by Hazel de Berg Dr Anne Summers AO, born in 1945, is a pioneering Australian author, editor, academic and feminist whose influential work over more than five decades has helped transform public understanding of gender equality and domestic and family violence. She helped establish Australia's first women's refuge, Elsie, in Sydney in 1974, and later headed the Office of the Status of Women under Prime Minister Bob Hawke and served as an adviser to Prime Minister Paul Keating. In her 1975 oral history, Summers reflects on her landmark book Damned Whores and God's Police (1975), childhood and education, involvement in the women's liberation movement, her role in founding the feminist journal Refractory Girl and helping to establish Elsie. She shares her views on feminism and reflects on her plans for the future. 3. Jessie Street interviewed by Hazel de Berg Jessie Street, born in 1889, was an Australian feminist, diplomat, peace activist and human rights advocate. She advocated for the rights of First Nations people and collaborated with Indigenous activists such as Pearl Gibbs, as well as Faith Bandler, a woman of South Sea Islander, Scottish and Indian descent, on the campaign for constitutional change that culminated in the 1967 referendum. In her oral history, she reflects on the quality of life for Australian women at the beginning of the twentieth century, her family history and her childhood experiences in India. She recalls challenging inferior sporting facilities provided for women at the University of Sydney, where she studied Arts and met her future husband, Sir Kenneth Street. She also describes living in England during the First World War, collaborating with sex workers to pursue reform in New York and shares her thoughts on trade unions. Street speaks with pride about travelling to San Francisco in 1945 as the only Australian woman in the delegation to the founding conference of the United Nations. She also reads a passage from her book, Truth or Repose. 4. Faith Bandler interviewed by Hazel de Berg Faith Bandler ACE MBE, born in 1918, was an Australian civil rights activist of South Sea Islander, Scottish and Indian descent who played a leading role in the 1967 referendum campaign. In her oral history, she reflects on her family background, including how her father, who died when she was five years old, was forcibly taken from Vanuatu at the age of thirteen and brought to Queensland to work as slave labour on sugar plantations. She recalls her involvement in the long campaign for constitutional change for Aboriginal and ...
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    49 dk.
  • The Memory Tapes Episode 10 - Bright Sparks: Australian Innovation

    The Memory Tapes Episode 10 - Bright Sparks: Australian Innovation
    29 Jul 2026
    Episode Ten – Bright Sparks: The Story of Australian Innovation In this final episode, Dr Shirleene Robinson explores the remarkable history of Australian innovation and scientific ingenuity. The episode investigates 65,000 years of invention and imagination from First Nations Australians and considers the stories of 20th century scientists such as Howard Florey's discovery of penicillin. Hear about Fiona Wood and Marie Stoner's invention of spray-on skin, and delve into the incredible stories of Australian women in the space industry. This episode asks an intriguing question: how does a country with less than half a per cent of the world's population keep producing discoveries that change the world? To learn more, the book The Memory Tapes is available where all good books are sold. Included in this episode are excerpts from the following oral history interviews from the National Library of Australia's Oral History Collection: 1. Barry Marshall interviewed by Peter Pockley Barry Marshall is Professor of Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. In December 2005, he travelled to Stockholm, with colleague Dr Robin Warren, to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease". In this interview he discusses 2. Roy Barker interviewed by Rob Willis Artist Roy Barker was born at the Brewarrina Mission in 1928, in this interview he reflects on life on the mission in 1930's, the Stolen Generation, Aboriginal musicians, claypan dances and gum leaf players, the disappearance of Corroborrees and the emergence of hillbilly music and old time dances taking their place, country music and its importance to the Aboriginal people, assimilation, removal from tribal lands, the Aboriginal Control Board, his knowledge of Aboriginal language, astronomy and lore, the stories passed down from his father, the official Government Apology, the Referendum of 1967, Census of Aborigines in 1938, Aboriginal deaths after colonisation in relation to Australian war deaths and the future for Aboriginal people. 3. Kevin Pearce interviewed by Graham Dodsworth Kevin Pearce talks about his family, childhood and indigenous background, his family background in handicrafts, Aboriginal art and culture, traditional indigenous economy and the importance of didgeridoos as trade items, indigenous weapons and tribal wars, passing skills to the next generation, boomerangs, grass weaving and women's handicrafts, traditional authenticity of designs, and of being a teacher of culture to students. 4. Howard Walter Florey interviewed by Hazel de Berg Florey speaks about his childhood, his studies at the medical school in Adelaide, his career in pathology, his work on penicillin, the setting up of the John Curtin School at the Australian National University and receiving the Nobel Prize. 5. Frank Fenner interviewed by Ann Moyal Frank Fenner, microbiologist and virologist, was born in Ballarat, Vic. on Dec. 21, 1914, graduating in medicine and surgery at the University of Adelaide. After serving in the Australian Army Medical Corps from 1940-46, he undertook research in microbiology in Melbourne and New York before being appointed as Foundation Professor of Microbiology, Australian National University from 1949-1967. He was prominent in developing the myxamatosis virus as a biological control for rabbits. He campaigned for the need to establish an international centre for virology research resulting in his appointment as Director of the ANU's John Curtin School for Medical Research in 1967-73. 6. Fiona Wood interviewed by Peter Pockley Dr Fiona Wood is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon, the Director of Burns Service at the Royal Perth Hospital and the Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Western Australia and she was named Australian of the year in 2005. In this interview she discusses her early life in Yorkshire, her father's job as a miner, her mother's youth work, her and her siblings various part-time jobs, contributing to the household, the whole family moving so that she could attend a Quaker Ackworth Friends' School, her growing interest and skill in maths and science, attending St Thomas' medical school, working as a plastic surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital, developing an interest in burns care, the complex nature of burn injuries and the nuances of treating burns, tissue engineering, bioengineering and artificial skin, establishing a laboratory at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth to explore skin growing technology, their development of skin culture treatments and cell suspension grafting or 'spray on skin' and producing Clinical Cell Culture kits and starting a company (C3) to make the technology accessible around the world. 7. Katherine Bennell-Pegg interviewed by Louise Whelan Katherine Bennell-Pegg is the first Australian woman to qualify as ...
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    37 dk.
  • The Memory Tapes Episode 9 - From Sand to Stadiums: Australians at Play

    The Memory Tapes Episode 9 - From Sand to Stadiums: Australians at Play
    29 Jul 2026
    Episode Nine – From Sand to Stadiums: Australians at Play Few things capture Australia's imagination in the way that sport does. And yet, even in a country that celebrates sporting victories, the playing field has not always been level. In this episode, Dr Shirleene Robinson focuses on sport. From Cathy Freeman to avid fans of AFL, hear stories of First Nations athletes who carried pride and expectation, of swimmers who challenged the rules, the impact of the Matildas on women's sport, and all those everyday Australians who gather each weekend on sidelines across the country to cheer others on. To learn more, the book The Memory Tapes is available where all good books are sold. Included in this episode are excerpts from the following oral history interviews from the National Library of Australia's Oral History Collection: 1. Max Walker and Max Walker Snr address at the National Press Club on 21 July 1993 Max Walker Junior, sports commentator and former test cricketer, speaks humorously about his cricket career and his childhood in Melbourne. 2. Mina Wylie interviewed by Neil Bennetts Mina Wylie, an early women's swimming champion and Olympic silver medallist, speaks about the development of women's swimming in Australia, competing in 1912 Olympics in Stockholm and coming second to Fanny Durack, her family background, the introduction of mixed bathing, women's swimming since the 1920s, going to America in 1920 with Fanny Durack, and her election to the International Swimming Hall of Fame. 3. Jack Tonkin interviewed by Marjorie Biggins Jack Tonkin, who was born at Woollahra, Sydney, speaks of his parents and family life, celebrations, exhibitions and shows in Sydney, swimming, dancing and other recreational activities, and the introduction of surfing to Australian sport. 4. Bernard "Midget" Farrelly interviewed by Neil Bennetts Bernard "Midget" Farrelly, Australian international surfer and surfboard manufacturer, speaks about his surfing titles, his family background and early memories of surfing at Bondi at age 6, his first surfboard at age 12 when he first learnt to surf at Manly, the evolution of professional surfboard construction, the changing perception of surf culture in Australia, and the art of surfing. 5. Harold Coe interviewed by Rob Willis Harold Coe, born 1955 in Condobolin, New South Wales, talks about his family background and education, early memories of the Murie, the spiritual significance of the Murie, living conditions on the Murie, and the leisure activities and sports they played there. John Maynard interviewed by Hamish Sewell Historian and Emeritus Professor, John Maynard is the son of Mervyn Maynard, a Worimi man and highly sought after jockey. In this interview he discusses his early experiences with education, being of Aboriginal-Irish descent, his father's career as an international jockey, the family love for horse racing, his childhood on the Newcastle Racecourse, travelling for his father's career, and his developing interest in history. Jenny Rose interviewed by Rob Willis Jenny Rose, born in Warragul, speaks about her love of sport, meeting Lionel Rose, his early boxing days and training, his work to become a world champion, the attitude towards women in the boxing industry, the elements needed to be a champion, and the mental courage required to compete. Lisa Jackson interviewed by Frank Heimans Lisa Jackson, born in Surry Hills, speaks about her Aboriginal Australian background, her family history, Stolen Generations, the 1967 Referendum, AFL and its Aboriginal history, the Sydney Olympics, Corroboree 2000 and Bridge Walks for Reconciliation, political activism, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, and working with NSW Police Force Elizabeth Edmondson interviewed by Ian Jobling At the age of 14, at the 1964 Tokyo Paralympic Games, Elizabeth Edmondson became the youngest swimmer to win a gold medal for Australia, a record she held for 48 years. In this interview she speaks about the 1954 polio epidemic, recovering from polio and the resulting mobility difficulties, swimming at the 1964 Tokyo Paralympics, support for athletes with a disability in Australia, her involvement with the WA Wheelchair Sports Association, the changing attitudes towards awareness, acceptance and appreciation of people with a disability in Australia. Susan Alberti interviewed by Nikki Henningham Victorian born businesswoman and philanthropist, Dr Susan Alberti was Vice President of the Western Bulldogs football club between 2012 and 2016, and the inaugural ambassador for the AFL national women's competition in 2017. In this interview she discusses playing sports at school, her start in business, the importance of youth sports, Aussie Rules football, the attitudes towards professional women's sports, her extensive philanthropic works, her defamation lawsuit against ...
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    35 dk.
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