Historical information

Portland C.E.M.A. (Council for Encouragement of Music and the Arts) was formed in 1945. In 2025, as part of its 80th Birthday celebrations, a series of taped interviews from the 1980s and 1990s were digitised with the assistance of Glenelg Shire Community Grants. (Arts and Culture) The variable quality of the original recordings has meant digitisation has not been possible for all interviews. Transcripts have been provided where possible. Dorothy Woolcock's recording was damaged, but the full 1983 transcript and most of the audio have survived. Dorothy was an office bearer on the CEMA executive and the Arts Council Branch and instrumental in running Arts festivals in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Significance

The series of oral history interviews (1983-1990) captured the memories of some active early members of the Portland Council for Encouragement of Music and the Arts. First hand memories of the formation of the organisation in 1945, early activities of its groups, fundraising and building of the CEMA Arts Centre provide a window into community life in Portland and District in the post WW2 era. Recent digitisation (2025) has preserved deteriorating cassette tape recordings.