AustLit

'In a land that often seems so starkly monolingual, it is remarkable to consider that over 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and an inestimable number of dialects were spoken in Australia prior to European settlement. Language is culture; words have powerful meaning beyond the literal and the language you speak enriches your sense of belonging within your community. As a Koorie from the South Coast of New South Wales, the very few words that I have inherited from my ancestors form a core part of my identity.' (Introduction)

'In the 1980s, Rob Willis, National Library folklorist and oral historian, began collecting stories of the dairy-farming families along the Nulla Nulla Creek on the Upper Macleay River, which runs through the hinterland between Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. He completed more than 30 interviews of early settlers and their families. Many of these were with the Kyle family, including my father, Lawrence ‘Lawrie’ Kyle, who was interviewed in 2002 when he was 90 years of age, his sisters ‘Alice’ Grace Partridge and Mary Hudson, his brother Allan Kyle and cousins Vaughan Kyle, Brian Kyle, Geoffrey Kyle, Jack Kyle, Joe Kyle and Coral Ball. My father’s exploits, both the exciting and the problematic, emerged often enough in these interviews to fill a special recording of what Rob and I now refer to as The Lawrie Stories.'  (Introduction)

'Russell Doust looks at the variations—and uniformity—of Australian English, as revealed in the National Library’s published collections,'

'Matthew Higgins finds intriguing and entertaining moments in oral history interviews with the people of the high country and beyond.'