Mr Douglass and Oral History Group convener Helen McAnulty have met in the last week to work on building the two group’s relationship in a bid to record some of the lesser known stories from Orange.

Highlighting the Mount Canobolas bush fires of 1985 and the stories of the men on the front line fighting the fires, Mr Douglass said he and Mrs McAnulty will now record oral stories and file them at the Orange City Library.

“They looked at the number of people that attacked the fire ... Max Hazelton was there amongst other people at the time and it’s just about describing their experiences,” Mr Douglass said.

“There’s always the headlines that are in the paper, but there’s not always the story of the people that fought the flames, and that’s what this is about. Quite often it’s only orally these stories are told, and when the people pass away that history is lost.

“It’s important we keep that oral history.”

Mr Douglass said the Oral History Group meets at the Orange library once a month and it’s these meetings that have prompted a firming of the relationship between the two.

“This resource, we should be capturing it,” he said. “That’s why I want this to develop further.”

The group and the library have put in estimates for the cost associated with buying a high quality digital recording device.

Mr Douglass expects confirmation on the funds for the recorder by the start of the next financial year.

All recording will be catalogued alongside the manuscript at the library so the next generation can “recount events through time”.

nick.mcgrath@fairfaxmedia.com.au