Hear Their
Voices Again

Help us preserve 100 years of memories

Thousands of recorded histories still need saving

State Library Victoria has over 20,000 oral history recordings saved onto cassettes, reel-to-reel and VHS tapes. These tapes hold irreplaceable interviews with Victorians from all walks of life, giving us a unique snapshot into our state's past. Sadly, these recordings are quickly deteriorating, meaning the stories held on them will soon be lost forever.

Thanks to the generous donations we received during our End of Financial Year Appeal, we’ve raised enough funds to digitise over 4,000 oral histories. We are deeply grateful for this support.

But there is more work to be done. We still have thousands of recordings to digitise, ensuring the extraordinary stories of ordinary Victorians can be listened to for generations to come.

Right now, we are seeking to save the next 500 most fragile tapes. To achieve this goal, we are once again asking Victorians to donate.

Donate now to help us in our mission to preserve these oral histories.

A vintage, black and white photograph of a woman conducting an interview with a man.

Wendy Lowenstein recording an oral history, c.1969, photograph courtesy of the Lowenstein family.

Preserve these precious histories

Support the appeal.
Every dollar makes a difference.

Make a donation

Support the appeal.
Every dollar makes a difference.

Make a donation

Give today

Preserve 20 minutes of audio

$45

Donate $45

Save 1 hour of recordings

$150

Donate $150

Preserve 2 hours of audio

$300

Donate $300

Rescue 10 hours of recordings

$1500

Donate $1500

Memories worth saving

Martie remembers Wendy

Martie’s mum, Wendy Lowenstein, was a pioneering oral historian who travelled the country in the 1960s and recorded hundreds of life stories.

Brett remembers George

Brett’s dad, George Nan Tie, was a market gardener in Bendigo in the 1930s.

Kgshak remembers her mum

Lullabies and stories, Sudanese-born Kgshak reflects on the value of her mother’s oral storytelling.

What we’re doing

These voices can’t wait.

To save this remarkable collection, it will cost $2 million.

See the milestones in our preservation program:

$200,000: Digitise the most fragile and significant recordings
$500,000: Preserve the most requested interviews
$1 million: Save half the collection
$2 million: Complete preservation program and make the collection accessible.

Your donation will help make this possible.

Project milestones

Milestone diagram

Milestone diagram

How we’re doing it

Expertise and care are required through each stage of the process:

Digitisation
Converting analogue recordings, such as tapes, to digital formats.

Description
Writing accurate descriptions of the stories so they can be discovered.

Cataloguing
Adding records to the Library’s catalogue for all to search.

Collection access
Enabling Victorians to listen to or request access to the recordings.

Support our work with a tax-deductible donation.

Why help is needed now

Many of our recordings are stored on deteriorating and fragile analogue formats, such as:

Compact cassette
Audio reel
Video
Micro-cassette

These stories will soon be unplayable. You can help save them.

Urgent action is needed to preserve these stories

With your support, these voices can be saved and heard for generations to come.