Memories of life in Armidale from 1955 to today

In conversation

Noni Wells
Kath Wray

Recorded: 2012
Length: 39:42

“Mrs Wray, I want to thank you and your husband for bringing the trade union to Armidale.”

About this conversation

Kath Wray talks to Noni Wells about the Armidale that she and her husband George discovered when they arrived in 1955.

Kath Wray talks to Noni Wells about the Armidale that she and her husband George discovered when they arrived in 1955. George became involved in starting the local Trade Union movement in Armidale, and Kath was surprised not only by the level of poverty in town but the squalid living conditions for the local aborigines who lived on the edge of town at the local dump. She talks about the positive changes in work conditions that George oversaw and the work they both did to procure better housing for those on the margins. Later on, in response to dieback, denuded farmlands and the general lack of tree cover, Kath got involved in local native revegetation programs; firstly, the Armidale tree group in the eighties, then starting Citizens Wildlife Corridors in 1991, and later becoming involved in the local Landcare group. Kath is still working at Citizens Wildlife Corridors (CWC) 21 years later. Kath talks about a complex series of maps she produced pointing to areas that could be developed as wildlife corridors and showing properties that share CWCs vision.

Transcript

Transcript coming soon.

We’re transcribing these conversations one by one. In the meantime, you can listen to the whole recording.