Historical information

Mr Forrest was born on the 11th of November 1916 in Beechworth. Mrs Forrest was also born in Beechworth. Mr and Mrs Forrest's families have strong association with Beechworth's farming community, especially when it came to rearing sheep and cattle.

This oral history recording was part of a project conducted by Jennifer Williams in the year 2000 to capture the everyday life and struggles in Beechworth during the twentieth century. This project involved recording seventy oral histories on cassette tapes of local Beechworth residents which were then published in a book titled: Listen to what they say: voices of twentieth century Beechworth.

These cassette tapes were digitised in July 2021 with funds made available by the Friends of the Burke.

Significance

Although Beechworth is famous for its history in gold, the project by Jennifer Williams is significant as it captures the everyday life and struggles of residents living in Beechworth during the twentieth century.

Mr and Mrs Forrest’s story is significant as their story brings to light the life on a farm in Beechworth. It gives insight into not only the Forrest’s role in Beechworth’s farming, but it also gives insight into the changed Beechworth went through during and after the war period.

Physical description

This is a digital copy of a recording that was originally captured on a cassette tape. The cassette tape is black with a horizontal white strip and is currently stored in a clear flat plastic rectangular container. It holds up 40 minutes of recordings on each side.