Who’s involved
Canterbury City residents
Canterbury City Council
Project steering committee
Migration Heritage Centre
Assistance from consultants Mary Ann Hamilton and Sue Andersen
When and where
Project location: Canterbury City local government area, south-west Sydney
Project status: Completed project
Date of completion: November 2003
Project description
Canterbury City Council has been leading the way in promoting and valuing cultural diversity and harmonious community relations among the many language and culture groups in the City for over a decade.
Local cultural heritage material and knowledge associated with the history of more recent migration into the area were scarce and migration heritage initiatives had not occurred previously. There was a need to actively preserve the diverse local cultures while at the same time, build upon this cultural diversity as an asset and promote harmonious community relations.
Representatives of Council’s Multicultural Advisory Committee, Community Development Team and Canterbury Local Studies Centre were on the Canterbury’s People steering committee. Canterbury’s People aimed to:
- document social history of people and migration into Canterbury through oral histories;
- acknowledge the efforts and achievements of local people;
- promote contributions of local migrant families to the economic and social life in Canterbury;
- facilitate support for the heritage needs and aspirations of migrant communities;
- promote understanding of diverse cultures especially among younger generations to combat racism and prejudice;and
- create an accessible archive of migration community history.
Canterbury’s People involved contracting two researchers with historian experience (Mary Ann Hamilton and Sue Andersen) for a period of six months to collate and document oral histories of predominant language and culture groups in Canterbury City. The 20 stories collected have been placed on the MHC site with a link to Council’s website. These stories reflect the lives of the following local residents:
Gladys Allen
Stephen Cho
Greg Chronopoulos
Souad Daizli
Tigidankey Daramy
Ivana de Windt
Hanna Diab
Angelina Gonano
Les Hall
Helen Hu
Katherine & Alex Kasiou
Veronica Kim
Adib Marabani
Samuel James Newton Nguyen
William Pawa
Khalid Rashid Sager
Maddy Slabacu
Gladys Smit
Anna & Giovanni Tomc
Mimi Zou
IN OCTOBER 2004, CANTERBURY’S PEOPLE WAS PUBLISHED AS A BOOK. Copies can be purchased for
$10 through Canterbury City Council.
Project contact
Joanna Stobinski – Team Leader, Community Development
Canterbury City Council
Phone 02 9789 9472
Fax 02 9718 7227
Email Joannas@canterbury.nsw.gov.au
Address:
PO Box 77
Campsie NSW 2194
AUSTRALIA
