Sound and Oral History

Few archival institutions in South Africa have acquired collections that so clearly reflect the decades of racial and ideological conflict that preceded the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.

Remarkable stories of courage and human suffering, which were part of the liberation struggle, are told in the hundreds of recordings of interviews with exiles and former political prisoners contained in the oral history collections. Other collections record speeches and interviews with activists from across the political and social spectrum, and document events and conferences that were instrumental in bringing about a new social order.

The sound and oral history section of the Archives comprise 28 collections, with more than 2 000 recordings on cassette and 1/4” tape.

The most recent addition is a collection of approximately 200 in-depth interviews with ex-political prisoners, collected by the Robben Island Museum as part of the Robben Island Memories Project.

• Interviews with many South African ex-political prisoners and political exiles.
• Major meetings, rallies, briefings, press conferences of the Southern African liberation movements and allied support groups.
• Lectures such as the annual Canon Collins Memorial Lecture Series delivered by, among others, Oliver Tambo and Govan Mbeki.
• Tapes of historic importance, such as Chief Albert Luthuli’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, an interview with Nelson Mandela recorded in 1961, and interviews with those who took part in the 1955 Congress of the People and were later charged in the 1956 Treason Trial.

For the past few years there has been an important focus on the Audio-Visual Conservation Project, designed to provide the best care for the sound and oral history collections. The conservation project for these collections comprises eight components, ranging from the arrangement and description of the audio recordings to training in the handling and cataloguing of audio material. A fully indexed catalogue of these collections is available to researchers upon request.

The Robben Island Museum is continually seeking ways of expanding its research and oral collections; the task is urgent, as ex-prisoners need to see their contributions acknowledged and because our old people (our libraries) will not be around forever.