CAPTURING HISTORY
THE value of documenting history as a tool to preserve real life experiences is acutely understood by the students of St Patrick’s College in Townsville who will be recording their experience of living through COVID-19.
College principal Amber Hauff said the project’s images, stories, videos and poems would complement the established collection of resources the college had amassed over its 140-year history.
“The History in Action project would provide an outlet for young people to process their understandings and afford them a platform to share with future generations a fragment of the rich tapestry that is St Patrick’s College Townsville,” she said. “Beginning with images of the Roman Catholic Church and vestry ( pictured right) on these very grounds, and an early image of the founding order the Sisters of Mercy (pictured left) in 1901, through to the extensive visual and written records compiled in the latter half of the 20th century, the History in Action project will contribute valuable historic accounts to the story of the college.”
Documenting experiences through photography, film or the written word serve to capture the human condition and prevail as permanent preservers of cultural memory.
From Dorothea Lange’s 1936 classic photograph, Migrant Mother, to the tragedy on display in Wilfred Owen’s poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, the trials and tribulations of a point in time are thoughtfully and poignantly captured.
Ms Hauff said the project’s images, stories, videos and poems would complement the established collection of resources the college had amassed over its 140-year history.
Mrs Hauff said the project had tangible value.
“Regardless of their content, historical records have always helped create a sense of cultural comfort allowing future generations to visualise the strength and resilience of the communities that came before them,” she said.
“The desired outcome is to create a visual representation that will be made available to the Townsville community via exhibitions, publications and online access.
“And who knows, in 50 or 100 years’ time we may have an image or piece of writing that resonates so deeply with the public that we produce our very own Dorothea Lange or Wilfred Owen.”
For more information and submission details, visit the St Patrick’s College Townsville website.