There are many reasons why it is important to record oral histories:
We have to be careful, though. Just because someone was there when things happened in the past does not mean that they necessarily give a true picture. When people are remembering their early life, what they say is not always accurate:
Like all historical sources, what people say in interviews needs to be questioned and tested against other evidence. Nevertheless, oral interviews are very important for historians. They can also be special for families. Your older relatives – grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins – have stories to tell about their lives which will be lost if they are not recorded in some way. If you can film, audio record or write down their stories your descendants will thank you for it. What seems boring and ordinary now will be fascinating for future historians.
Is there is a migration story in your family? If your grandmother came from overseas and you have a record of why she came, how she felt when she arrived and what the early years were like, imagine how that story of the first in the family to come here will be treasured by your grandchildren.
Consider doing your own oral history interview of family members. You can ask them to talk about their early life, special events, leisure time, family gatherings, shopping, holidays or their working life – what they did and what the workplace was like. In doing so, you become a historian capturing the past to inform future generations.
