Past Projects

The following are a selection of projects that have been undertaken by the ACPH:

'ShoroC Oral History Project'

Paula Hamilton, Roslyn Burge and Paul Ashton

This project was done in collaboration with the Northern Beaches municipalities of Manly, Mosman, Pittwater and Warringah with a grant from the Libraries Association of Australia. It involved interviewing 72 local people who lived in the general area during the 1930s. This project provided the basis for the current project, 'Cracking Awaba'.

Cracking Awaba: stories of Mosman and northern beaches communities during the Depression

ShoroC, 2005, Paula Hamilton

This project was the second phase of the ShoroC Oral History Project. It culminated in a book which was launched in September 2005.

Sustaining a Nation: Celebrating 100 years of agriculture in Australia

Focus Publishing, Sydney, 2000, Jennifer Cornwall, Gordon Collie and Paul Ashton

'Raising a Nation: A History of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture'

Forestry and Fisheries, The Department, Canberra, 2002, Patricia Hale with Paul Ashton

From Dawn To Dusk: Sydney's Italian Fruitshops

Paula Hamilton, Paul Ashton, Jennifer Cornwall, et al

This project was conducted in partnership with the Italian Association of Cooperation, CoAsIt. Small grants were obtained from the Australian Technology Universities Network and the NSW Heritage Office. Over 200 historical images have were collected along with 40 oral history interviews. A number of articles have been published on the project.

Sutherland Shire: A History

University of NSW Press, 2006 Paul Ashton, Jennifer Cornwall and Annette Salt

Sutherland Shire today is a complex and varied collection of communities. The variety of settlements and settlers, the continued presence of the traditional custodians of the land and the increasing presence of people from different ethnic communities has challenged the perceived monocultural Eurocentrism of the population and created a mosaic of people. This cultural and environmental history of Australia's second-largest municipality was published to mark the centenary of local government in the area.

Times of Hope: A History of the Australian Heritage Commission

Jennifer Cornwall with Paul Ashton

This project, which was commissioned and written but not published, traces the history of the Australian Heritage Commission (AHC). It provides a partial history of the environmental movement in Australia in the last third of the twentieth century. An account of the AHC's history was published as: Paul Ashton and Jennifer Cornwall, 'Corralling Conflict: The Politics of Australian Federal Heritage Legislation Since the 1970s', Public History Review, vol 13, 2006, pp.53-65.