Sally Montgomery, The Lord Howe Island Signal

Thank you to everyone who joined me at the Community Hall to hear about my Social Anthropology research on the Island. It was wonderful to have the Hall packed with those that could make it – it meant a lot to be able to share it and thank so many of the people who have been involved. The presentation was followed by a small cultural heritage celebration which included a performance of some of the old Island songs, a slideshow of historic photos and a gathering after where we shared some traditional Island baking. Big thanks to Lani, the singers and Darcelle for helping with the event. 

The following is a summary of the presentation for all those who couldn’t make it – unfortunately the video recording I was hoping to post overheated (I must have talked for too long!).

Research summary

For now, over 14 months I have been completing my fieldwork research on Lord Howe Island for my PhD in Social Anthropology. I am now leaving to return to England where I am completing my studies – there I will write my thesis on Lord Howe Island. It is due in early 2026, but I will hope to finish it before then and come back to the Island to do another presentation.

What is Anthropology?

Broadly, anthropology is a social science that studies humans, the human experience and what it means to be human. I study Social or Cultural Anthropology which looks specifically at the things humans do, believe, experience, and create.

Social Anthropologists usually focus on specific social contexts – researching one place or group of people for a long time to gain an in-depth understanding. Anthropology is open-minded, flexible research.

Research methods

Ethnography

Ethnography is what I have been doing here – it is a qualitative research method based on the practice and process of spending time with people in their world, doing what they do. During fieldwork we enquire into the broad complexities of a place – being curious, looking at as many different angles as possible and thinking about how they might fit together or interact.

Participant observation

Key to ethnography is what we call participant-observation. This is the research method of using your own experience to gain as much of an appreciation and understanding of a place as possible. Here, for example, to experience living on an isolated island, in a small community. I tried to learn about the Island through a whole range of different angles. Just some of the things I did include helping at the Nursery to learn more about the history of the palm industry; volunteering as a weeder to learn about eradication programs; joining tours to research tourism; attending public Board meetings to learn about governance; joining environmental scientists on fieldwork to learn about their research and attending community gatherings and events.

Interviews

I interviewed many people during my time on the Island. The interview style I used was what we call ‘semi-structured’, meaning I came with questions prepared and asked those, but also allowed the conversations to lead elsewhere. Interviews generally ranged from an hour to 4 hours and took place in people’s homes, places of work, on hikes and boats and over the phone.

Historical research

Key to my research is also a historical understanding of the Island and what has shaped it up to this point.

Archival research has included reading the 1,157 Signals available in the Museum’s digitized collection; reviewing all the historic Board meeting minutes; and conducting archival research in the State and National Libraries on the mainland. I’ve also been lucky to have people share with me their personal archives too – family diaries, books, newspaper clippings and photographs. Recording oral histories through the interviews has also been a key part of this research. 

Fieldnotes

Finally, a key research method in anthropology is the practice of writing fieldnotes. Everyday an anthropologist writes what they did, what they observed, what happened, how things felt and what people said when they asked questions in order to record the ethnographic material. I have over 500,000 words of fieldnotes (excluding archival and interview material) so my job now is to analyze all of this as I go about writing my thesis.

So, what will it be about?

It is hard to summarize a thesis I haven’t yet written but here are a few early ideas about some themes and questions I will likely write about:

• What generational links to the Island mean to people, how they are understood and experienced;
• The role of tourism on the Island. How the tourist economy structures and shapes life here and what the role of tourism has been in the development of the Island’s social and environmental history;
• The history and present of Island governance and its role on the Island;
• Environmental care of the Island;
• The history of scientific research and involvement on the Island and how local and scientific knowledge interact;
• The experiences of people who come here and become residents and how they experience the Island;
• The experiences of seasonal staff on the Island.

Why?

An important question that is sometimes lost in academic work is ‘why?’. In large part, my research here is motivated by a hope to help in documenting and preserving the social history of the Island – the cultural and heritage of Lord Howe is unique and interesting and needs to be conserved and celebrated.

Thank you and stay tuned

Thank you to everyone who took the time to talk to me, who welcomed me into their homes and lives, who shared and trusted me with their stories, opinions, and knowledge. My research wouldn’t have been possible without all of your involvement. I have been so grateful for how welcoming and open people have been and it has been such a privilege to get to know everyone and experience the Island this way.

If you have any further questions or want to contribute ideas, thoughts or stories or are interested in being interviewed please email me at scm88@cam.ac.uk or Facebook. I will keep you updated through occasional Signal articles as I write and will hopefully be able to return as a I write and then when it is done to do give another presentation!

Thanks again to everyone who helped in this research and who made me welcome on the Island. I look forward to visiting you all again soon and continuing to share my research with you.

This article appeared in The Lord Howe Island Signal, 31 August 2023.