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The Great Depression - Victor Stamford - 18 June 1988

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Description

The Margaret Henry Oral History Archive is a collection of audio tapes, transcripts, summaries and essays that were part of the Oral Histories Open Foundation Course (1986-1989). Margaret Henry was a history lecturer at the UON in the 1980s.

The oral history tapes have been digitised and made freely available to the wider global research community thanks to the generosity of The Vera Deacon Regional History Fund.

SummaryInterview by Maureen Sinclair in 1988 with Victor Stamford about the Great Depression in Newcastle. Victor was born in 1913 at Binnaway, he spent his early life in the township of Karuah. At 17 he married Leila Davis and shifted to Mayfield, this was during the Depression years and life was difficult. He recalls walking to the Arnotts Biscuit Factory in Cooks Hill to purchase a pillowslip full of broken biscuits for two shillings. He also tells of the practice (which was apparently widespread) of acquiring coal which spilled onto the railway lines from coal trains. People would collect the coal, keep what they needed for their own use and sell the balance for a shilling a bag. Victor also remembers 70-100 men positioning themselves at the gates of BHP, Rylands and Lysaghts each morning in the hope of gaining work. Last edited by: sarah

SubjectGreat Depression Last edited by: sarah

Coal

Unemployed Last edited by: sarah

Mayfield (N.S.W.) Last edited by: sarah

PersonSinclair , Maureen Last edited by: sarah

Stamford, Victor Last edited by: sarah

Interview logA7464 (xvi)_Stamford Last edited by: sarah

CollectionHome Grown in the HunterMargaret Henry Oral History ProjectDate Created1988-06-18 Last edited by: sarah

Location^[1] Last edited by: sarah

IdentifierA7464 (xvi)_Stamford Last edited by: sarah

A7464 (xvi)_Stamford.mp3

Captions/Tags

Introduction 108 secs
Working in Mayfield 122 secs
Working at Ryland's 116 secs
Working for the dole 105 secs
Working on iron boats 127 secs
Waratah Station 215 secs
Getting a fine 129 secs
Humpty towns 113 secs
Getting to work 148 secs
Unions and communism 202 secs
Struggles to get the dole 127 secs

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