Historical Research & Writing

As well as producing comprehensive histories, Way Back When undertakes historical research and writing in a variety of formats, including contributions to collective works, thematic frameworks and narratives, and research reports to inform historical interpretation.

Lost Irish Women of Eureka

Way Back When worked with the Ballarat & District Irish Association and Studio Yum on a Public Record Office Victoria Local History Grant funded project the Lost Irish Women of Eureka. This project involved collecting family stories of Irish women who were present on the Ballarat goldfields at the time of the Eureka Rebellion, 1854. Their tales of bravery, independence, perseverance and creativity are inspiring and humbling. The project would not have succeeded without the generosity of community members in sharing their family histories. The value of this project extends well beyond adding to our collective historical narrative, and is another example of how important the Local Community History Grants are.

The Lost Irish Women of Eureka project includes two parts. The research report completed in 2024 which can be read here and a poetic film interpretation of these stories by Erin McCuskey, Creative Director Yum Studio.
The film will be available in 2025, to register for updates please email info@ballaratirish.org.au 

For more information about this project contact: Ballarat & District Irish Association.

Mt Waverley Tennis Club
Way Back When worked with the City of Monash to create a short report on the history of the Mt Waverley Tennis Club as part of the redevelopment of Mt Waverley Reserve.

Esoterica in the Studio: Three Women Artists and their Spiritual Worlds
The National Trust of Victoria is custodian of the homes of three significant women artists engaged with the esoteric world: Joan Lindsay, Christian Waller and Henry Handel Richardson. Way Back When collaborated with the National Trust and State Library Victoria to create a research report for an exhibition exploring each woman’s spiritual life.

Speedwell Street, Sovereign Hill
Sovereign Hill Museums Association engaged Way Back When to research and write a contextual essay on one of the key zones in the Living Museum. Speedwell Street allows for the interpretation of domestic life and urban development in Ballarat from 1855 to 1861. The essay provides historical context and information on Speedwell Street to express the universal concepts that form the basis of storytelling and interpretation at Sovereign Hill.

Yarra Ranges Regional Museum: A Vintage Holiday
The Yarra Ranges has long been a popular holiday destination, with its natural beauty and plethora of landscapes and attractions for day-trippers, hikers, campers, and holiday-goers to explore. Way Back When was commissioned by the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum to conduct background research into the history of holidaying in the area. We prepared a comprehensive research report that is being used to inform an upcoming exhibition at the museum in 2022.

Maling Road Placemaking Project: Art installation community engagement
Way Back When facilitated a series of community engagement sessions on behalf of the City of Boroondara to identify key themes, events and identities relating to the history and heritage of Maling Road, Canterbury. The outcome of these sessions was presented as a report that incorporates these stories into a narrative framework for understanding the history and heritage of the area, to inform the City of Boroondara’s Maling Road Placemaking Project and future public art installations.

Ballarat Heritage Sites Research
Way Back When was commissioned by the City of Ballarat to conduct research into over 400 heritage places in and around Ballarat, as well as additional research into community and industrial places in Ballarat’s heritage precincts.

E.W. Cole Research Project
Members of the family of E.W. Cole commissioned Way Back When to research the life of E.W. Cole (of Cole's Book Arcade fame), from his arrival in Australia in 1852 to his death in 1918 and his impact on Australian literature and education up to the present day. This research has been added to a comprehensive website of records and information about this remarkable man, who left a permanent mark on the social, economic and intellectual history of Melbourne.

Eureka Centre Thematic Framework
Way Back When worked with the City of Ballarat to develop a thematic framework for an Interpretation Plan for the Eureka Centre. This involved extensive community consultation, as well as research into the contested Eureka story, to develop a comprehensive set of themes that address the issues most important to the local community, academic experts and historical narrative. It is anticipated that the final Interpretation Plan will provide guidance for the Eureka Centre in its future development and help make it a place that is both valued and visited by the Ballarat community and beyond.

East Melbourne Synagogue
Way Back When explored the history of one of Victoria’s oldest synagogues and produced an annotated timeline examining the major milestones, key events, individuals and families who have contributed to the synagogue’s long history. The project included community engagement via a family day held at the synagogue, to collect memories and stories.

Yarra Ranges Regional Museum: Melba's Gift Book
In 1915, Dame Nellie Melba rallied the support of the Australia artistic community to create 'Melba’s Gift Book of Australian Art and Literature', in support of the Belgium Relief Fund. The book itself is a fantastic collection of works by some of Australia’s most famous artists and cartoonists, poets and authors. Way Back When was commissioned by the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum to conduct background research into this fascinating publication to inform an exhibition 'Charity: Melba's Gift Book of Australian Art & Literature', which was presented at the Museum in October 2017.

Following the exhibition, Way Back When worked with YRRM on two publications: a souvenir booklet and a journal article drawing on the research gathered for the exhibition. The article ‘Melba’s Gift Book: Fund-raising, Propaganda and Australian Identity in World War I’ was published in the Victorian Historical Journal, Volume 89, Number 2, December 2018.

Conserving Community Memorabilia: North Balwyn RSL Sub-Branch
The North Balwyn RSL Sub-Branch opened in 1959, but its doors closed forever in April 2016. Way Back When was engaged to assist this RSL in recording, digitising and conserving its records, history and memorabilia prior to closure. This project involved capturing the oral history of long-standing RSL members, as well as researching and writing biographical histories of the 186 individuals who are memorialised on a wall of plaques. This exciting project required us to comb through NAA service records - something we've become very good at over this WWI centenary - and to collect oral histories.

City of Port Phillip World War I Home Front
As part of the World War I centenary commemorations, Way Back When worked with the City of Port Phillip to explore themes associated with home front activities in the area during World War I, which included fundraising events and support services for serving and returned soldiers. The aim of the project was to explore how these themes are reflected in materials held in local history and heritage collections. This research was used to inform an exhibition that the City of Port Phillip developed in 2015. 

Provenance: The Journal of Public Record Office Victoria
The narrow laneways that wind their way throughout Melbourne’s CBD have become icons of the city’s rich culture and history. But how did laneways appear in the city in the first place and what can they tell us about its past? Using PROV’s extensive collection of rate books, Sands and McDougall directories and building applications, this article 'Little Latrobe Street and the Historical Significance of Melbourne's Laneways' by Fiona Poulton examines the history and heritage of Melbourne’s ‘little’ streets through an in-depth study of one particular inner-city laneway. The article can be read in full here.

Issue 10, 2011
ISSN 1832-2522

Circa: The Journal of Professional Historians
The historian’s job is to capture the past. But as well as this, we are charged with the sometimes daunting task of making that past accessible, relevant and sometimes most challenging of all – interesting. The tools available to historians to help tell these stories are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. New technologies mean new ways of communicating and this article 'Reflecting on History, Entertainment and New Media' by Lucy Bracey examines the ways in which historians and history is engaging with these new forms of presentation. By looking at the links between history and entertainment, this article identifies some of the questions and challenges raised by the engagement of history and new technologies and explores the ways in which historians are utilising these innovative methods to engage with audiences.

Issue 2, 2011
ISSN 1837-784X

Reflections of Fitzroy
Spanning from the 1850s to the 1990s, this collection of essay celebrating the sesquicentenary of the suburb of Fitzroy includes many local icons (the Labour in Vain, St Vincent’s, Edinburgh Gardens), as well as broader themes on prostitution, World War I, the depression, education and the final decade of the Fitzroy City Council. Lucy Bracey contributed an article on prostitution and the ‘social evil’ in the suburb during the late nineteenth century.

School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne, 2008
ISBN 987-0-646-49608-5
223 pages. Soft cover with black and white images

'They Are But Women': The Road to Female Suffrage in Victoria
This collection of essays examines and illuminates people, events and organisations surrounding the enfranchisement of women in Victoria. Published to commemorate the centenary of this achievement in 2008, They Are But Women celebrates and contributes to the enduring legacy of female suffrage in Victoria. Fiona Poulton contributed an article on Margaret Goldspink and the charity workers of Melbourne.

School of Historical Studies, University of Melbourne, 2007
ISBN 978-0-646-47727-5
221 pages. Soft cover with black and white illustrations

The Encyclopedia of Melbourne
The Encyclopedia of Melbourne is a comprehensive guide to the history, people, events and businesses that make Melbourne one of the world’s great cities. Created by a team of academic experts and professional historians including Way Back When, the encyclopedia covers the city's history from pre-European settlement up to the present day. Entries range from short factual summaries about places, institutions and events, through to extended survey articles on key topics such as Architecture, Aboriginal Melbourne, Economy, Early Settlement, Law and Order, Literature, Science, Sport, Suburbia, Theatre and Transport.
Cambridge University Press, 2005
ISBN 10 0-521-84234-4
820 pages. Hardback

The Complete Fact Finder on Australia and the World
The ultimate resource for every reference library, this book features over a million facts, figures and statistics, presented in an engaging and accessible manner. Contributions by Way Back When include chapters on Australian History and States and Territories.
Hardie Grant Books, 2004, 2005 and 2006
ISBN 1-74066-333-0 (2006)
646 pages. Paperback (2006)

Kraft Australia
An audit of historical records at Kraft Australia was undertaken by Way Back When with the prospect of a compiling a comprehensive history of the company’s rich history in order to preserve the stories of early founders and record the important legacy of Kraft in Australia. 

Melbourne University Mosaic: People and Places
This collection of essays brings together the various elements that have shaped the development and character of the University of Melbourne, historically and today. Using archival remnants and individual memories, the collection highlights the variety of faculties, departments, colleges, activities and concerns of the university at many different points in time. Way Back When contributions include chapters on the Town and Gown Guild by Sarah Rood and Myra Roper by Katherine Sheedy.

Melbourne University Press, 1998
ISBN 0-7340-1544-5
372 pages. Softcover with black and white illustrations