Oral History Interviews

We have about 4,000 recorded interviews on 8,500 tapes in our collection. They include material from private donors (including broadcasters, historians, researchers and local historical societies), and interviews recorded by Archives staff.

Our largest oral history collection is the Imbert Orchard Collection, donated by Mr. Orchard and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1975 and 1985. It includes about 950 interviews with people from all walks of life and from all regions of the province. These interviews were recorded in the 1960s, and focus on immigration and settlement in BC in the years before the First World War.

Other key oral history collections include the Behind the Kitchen Door Project (with interviews about domestic work), the West Coast Medical History Society Collection, the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia Collection, the Coal Tyee Society Collection (coal mining on Vancouver Island) and the Reynoldston Research and Studies Collection (ethnic groups, women and other BC topics).

The Sound Heritage Series (1972-1983) focused on subject areas not well documented by other sources, such as ethnic history, labour history, local history, and specific occupations. Recordings made by Archives staff also deal with topics that complement existing archival holdings, including BC politics and government, and the history of broadcasting and film making in the province.