Townsville residents are invited to share their story from the unprecedented monsoon during the North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA).
Townsville’s Flood Stories is being held around the city to collect stories from the community that will be kept in Townsville’s CityLibraries as part of Oral Histories.
Townsville Local Recovery and Resilience Group Chair Cr Les Walker said Townsville Flood Stories is an opportunity for all residents to share the impact of the monsoon on them.
“Townsville experienced an unprecedented disaster earlier this year and it is important that we capture the stories from right across our community,” Cr Walker said.
“We know that the impact from the monsoon has been widespread and touched every resident, whether it was their house that was affected, if they were part of the response or they have family or friends that were affected.
“We’d like to encourage residents to share their story or if they know someone who has a story to tell to ask them to get involved – this is an important part of our city’s history and we would like to capture as much of it as possible.”
Community and Cultural Development Committee Chair Cr Colleen Doyle said there are different options for residents wanting to share their story from the monsoon.
“We want all community members to feel comfortable and empowered to record the impact the monsoon has had on them and through NAFA and the Northern Fringe Festival there are more than one way residents can get involved,” Cr Doyle said.
“For community members who may not want to talk to someone about their experience but still get involved there will be a stall at Strand Ephemera – in Strand Park – where they can record themselves and share digitally with the libraries.
“Residents can also book an interview to recount their story with local film maker and multimedia artist Kate Osbourne at Umbrella Studios – these will be shared with the libraries and form part of the city’s history collection.”
