Mayblooms and Cherry Bobs: Oral History of Hawthorn Arts Centre Project

Exhibition in Open House Melbourne 2023: Collective City.

Mayblooms and Cherry Bobs: Recollection of Hawthorn, was an Oral History project recorded in 1985 by the Hawthorn Library Service. Interviews were conducted with senior members of the Hawthorn community, some interviewees born as early as 1893. The original cassettes are held in the Boroondara Library Service Local History Archives. In 2023, the digitised audio files were edited into short topic based audio pieces. Themes include World Wars I and II, the Spanish Flu pandemic, memories of the Hawthorn area during the early 1900s and the many events and dances which also make up Hawthorn Arts Centre's history.