CWA President’s Visit and Oral History Workshop

She also had lunch with the Armatree branch on Friday and spent the afternoon with the women at Tooraweenah branch. Ms Stanhope’s visit also heralded the start of the CWA’s Awareness Week which this year is focusing on domestic violence. Gilgandra CWA Evening Branch president Helen Oates said that it was great to have the state president here, it was also an illuminating visit.

“We as the CWA and a community were honoured with her visit as state president, but also her story to tell of self-experienced domestic violence. It is widespread throughout the world which shows how much work we all need to do in this area,” said Mrs Oates.

Ms Stanphope said that current rates of domestic violence “are not acceptable”.

“We are calling for more initiatives, strategies and resources to go towards addressing the issue, particularly in rural areas. We also want to encourage women who are living with violence to reach out for assistance,” she said.

On Saturday the Gilgandra Oral History Group had their full day workshop, which was opened by Ms Stanhope. The 15 volunteers were instructed on all manner of skills necessary to successfully and effectively capture oral history. The workshop was presented by Pauline Curby and Andrew Host of Oral History NSW.

The day began with outlining some basic preparatory skills and giving the group an understanding of the ethical practices that need to be followed. The group was also instructed on the use of the recording equipment they would be using to record the oral histories of Gilgandra. Location was also discussed, highlighting the importance of the acoustics of a room, staying away from large echoey rooms.

The Gilgandra Oral History Group endeavours to record the oral histories of the Gilgandra region and to ensure they aren’t lost and forgotten for the benefit of future generations.