The End of an Era: Acknowledging the socio-cultural history and contribution of Australian small-scale fisheries

Australia’s oldest small-scale commercial fisheries which have operated since the 1800s. The Australian commercial fishing industry was built on these original small-scale fisheries operating in the bays, inlets and estuaries. However, these original fisheries and the associated ways of life are disappearing all around Australia. This project will document and preserve oral life histories and photos and present the social-cultural history of the last ten Gippsland Lakes fishing families, their way of life and connection to place and people, and their contribution to fishing communities and the Australian fishing industry as a whole. The project will use oral histories, audio recordings and photography which will be collated by the National Library of Australia, and publicly exhibited. The project will also provide a tested template for other fisheries to publicly showcase their fishery.