Centre for Stories

Nyul Nyul and Nyikina man Jason Hunter shares his journey of learning about the true history of his family: stolen land, people massacred, children stolen, lives controlled. He encourages all listeners to understand this is our shared history and our shared responsibility to change Aboriginal Australia’s future. Content Warning: These stories may include triggering content for Aboriginal and Torre...

Phil O’Donoghue is the Media Officer for UnionsWA and was actively involved in volunteer coordination and training in WA for the YES23 campaign during the Voice Referendum. He shares his story of the failure of the Yes for the Voice referendum campaign and advocates for Australians to embrace uncomfortable conversations, political debate and get involved in grassroots activism. ABOUT THE COLLECTIO...

Holly Story migrated to Perth, Australia as a ‘ten-pound pom’. Her ideas about Australia included expansive red spaces, kangaroos and Aboriginal people living in the remote northern deserts. As she began to ask more questions about Aboriginal cultures, she was shocked to discover a systematic, forced erasure of Aboriginal people and a more nuanced, complex picture of Australian history. ABOUT THE...

Abid Imam is a Sports Manager, Presenter, Podcaster & DJ. Born to Pakistani and Fijian parents, he always felt like the odd one out amongst his classmates and friends. He started to use a fake name to introduce himself: ‘Steve’. Here is Abid’s journey of learning to reclaim his true name and why he believes authenticity is an important aspect of building a relationship to boodjar/country. ABOUT TH...

Trish Ratajczak was born and raised in Walyalup. She remembers a difficult childhood, with a hungry stomach and chaos that threatened to enter her bedroom. When she went in search of her biological father, she discovered she was Aboriginal. This is her journey of finding her mob. Content Warning: These stories may include triggering content for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So, if...

Nandi Chinna had no real understanding of Aboriginal people or our colonial history until she moved to Walyalup/Fremantle as a young woman. After reading books and listening to Noongar elders, she began to feel uneasy about her own place in Australia – could she ever live here without a guilty conscience? This is her journey to finding belonging while acknowledging Aboriginal sovereignty. Content...

In this story, Brendan shares his experience of training for the Rottnest Island Swim with an all-Aboriginal team while reflecting on Wadjemup’s (Rottnest Island) painful history. Content Warning: These stories may include triggering content for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So, if you’re struggling while listening to this story, please don’t hesitate to connect with 13 YARN on 13...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is SELF LOVE. Our storytellers share their personal experiences with self-love. They remind us that self-love is never simple, but it is always transformational. The j...

In this episode, Gerrard Shaw, a Whadjuk Elder with connections to Yued and Ballardong country, reflects on the long journey Australia has been on toward truth telling, reflecting on key historical moments and his own experiences being impacted by the Stolen Generations. Content Warning: These stories may include triggering content for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. So, if you’re st...

Bill Adlam was born at and grew up in Merredin, Western Australia. Merredin is situated on the land of the Njaki Njaki people… but Bill didn’t know this growing up. In this story, he shares his journey of discovering the dark history of his home town and that the past isn’t often so far away as we think it is. Content Warning: These stories may include triggering content for Aboriginal and Torres...

Mariela Espino Zuppa lives in Walyalup/Fremantle but is originally from Mexico. Her work aims to bridge divides—between ‘here’ and ‘there’, and ‘us’ and ‘them’—fostering curiosity, connection, and systems of reciprocal care. In this episode, she shares her journey emigrating to the USA and later, Australia. Her deep desire to find a place she could belong to, where she would finally be accepted, i...

Vaughan Wayne is a Whadjuk Nyungar man with connections to Yued and Ballardong country. He reflects on a haunting childhood memory of a shag, or cormorant, covered in oil by the Derbarl Yerrigan/Swan River. ABOUT THE COLLECTION: Truth Telling in Walyalup is a collection of stories from Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that were shared in local resident’s backyards all around Walyalup/Frem...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is CROSSROADS. Being at a crossroads means grappling with indecision and the weight of potential outcomes. It's when the comfort of the known meets the uncertainty of...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is THE BODY. The body is more than just flesh and bone; it's a canvas on which society paints its expectations, norms, and judgments. We are all subject to the world’s...

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that will be triggering for some, including mental illness and substance abuse. Please take care of yourself while listening and take a break if needed. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. After Kelly Campbell experienced a stroke, she lost her job and was suddenly dependent on welfare payments. Shocked to f...

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that will be triggering for some, including mental illness and substance abuse. Please take care of yourself while listening and take a break if needed. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Anthea Corbett was always good at school – particularly art and painting. But as her life took a series of twists and tu...

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that will be triggering for some, including mental illness and substance abuse. Please take care of yourself while listening and take a break if needed. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Lana Moon was always told she had so much potential. Yet the abuse and violence secretly occurring against her at home m...

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains content that will be triggering for some, including mental illness and substance abuse. Please take care of yourself while listening and take a break if needed. If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. Due to family issues at home, a spiralling drug addiction and the consequences that followed, Gabby was already incarcer...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is GENDER. Just as culture and society is fluid and complex, gender is a spectrum subject to the eye of the beholder and how the person identifies themselves. Gender-b...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is ROOTS. Our roots influence our values, our beliefs, and the way we navigate the world. In this episode, we delve into the journeys of individuals as they navigate t...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is PREJUDICE, a deeply ingrained aspect of the human experience. Our stories show how prejudice manifests in myriad forms across societies and cultures. It's the lens...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is LOSS. Through personal narratives and shared reflections, we confront the complexities of grief, acknowledging its presence as an inevitable part of the human journ...

Story Hour is Centre for Stories' regular monthly podcast where we sift through our archives of recorded stories to bring you up to an hour of diverse, intriguing, and real experiences from (extra)ordinary people. This month's theme is TRANSITION. Transition is the silent conductor orchestrating the symphony of life, guiding each individual through the ebb and flow of change. It shapes our identit...

After ending an abusive and unhappy marriage, Rachel Farnay decided to become an IT and STEM teacher. She hoped that through teaching, she would never be lonely again. Soon she found that it was the students who would give her a joy and meaning she had never experienced before. Funded by City of Joondalup and produced by Centre for Stories, Colourful Stories is a collection of experiences set to t...

After a shock diagnosis of a brain tumour, Natalie Bock's surgery left her vulnerable and isolated at home while she recovered. She couldn’t work, she couldn’t live, and as she wasn’t technically a ‘senior’ or ‘living with a disability’, many support services wouldn’t help her. Desperate, she decided to make friends in unexpected places. Funded by City of Joondalup and produced by Centre for Stori...