History in the Clearinghouse

Maude Frances admits she likes to collect things, which is a good thing considering the job she has.

Frances is the research resource manager behind the new online database documenting the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Australia, from the early 1980s through to the present day.

The database is called the Clearinghouse and is an initiative by the National Centre in HIV Social Research at UNSW. It also archives the history of hepatitis C and other related diseases.

Frances has been working on the Clearinghouse for three years. The database documents every stage of Australia’s reaction to the epidemic – from initial research and government planning through to completed media campaigns and community reaction.

There is also an extensive media section which presents the way various health initiatives were reported. Archival stories are featured from Sydney Star Observer through to the mainstream arena of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph.

“It is so interesting to look at the shifts of time,” Frances says. “It is also important we all take a look back at the history of the epidemic so we can learn from it.

“Australia is a fascinating case as the initial response to the epidemic was so strong and immediate and that is why containing HIV rates has been so successful.

“The information on the Clearinghouse provides a chance to see that success in context – through the policies, campaigns and community reaction. It is all intertwined.”

The Clearinghouse also records such landmark health promotion campaigns as the Grim Reaper and Talk Test Test Trust.

Frances says time was running out on gathering some of the collection before it was lost or discarded.

“As the response to the epidemic was done in such an urgent fashion, there was not the luxury to document this properly – people were too busy moving on to the next project,” she says. “It really was that fast.

“Stuff exists all over the place, so it has been a matter of pulling it together so people can access it in the one place. The historical value of this material is so important, and I believe it is important to preserve cultural history, but also to curate it so it is accessible.”

While the Clearinghouse is intended for use in academic research, policy making and by health practitioners, Frances believes it will also prove a fascinating archive for anyone who lived through the darkest days of the epidemic.

One section is devoted to the public obituaries, which were once a weekly part of pages in Sydney Star Observer.

“The obituaries are very sobering,” she says. “It is a record of each person who was lost and whose passing was marked. That will be important for the people who were the loved ones of each person.

“The uses of the Clearinghouse will be many, and while it is being constructed as an academic resource, it is also something for the community.”

See http://theconsortium.nchsr.arts.unsw.edu.au/clearinghouse.htm.