HCNSW Executive & Strategic Development Officer, Catherine Shirley presenting the Australian History winner So-Jean Yun with her certificate. Photography credit: Supplied by HTA NSW.

History in Urgent Times: Heather Goodall’s Reflections on Research, Storytelling, and Wetlands

At the History Teachers’ Association of NSW High Achievers Award Presentation, historian Emerita Professor Heather Goodall addressed prize-winning students with warmth, wisdom, and urgency. Celebrating their achievements in historical research, analysis, and storytelling, Goodall framed their work not as a final destination but as part of a broader, ongoing conversation—one that matters not just to history but to the challenges facing the world today.

This personal touch set the tone for a keynote that moved between storytelling and social commentary. For Goodall, history is not simply the study of what happened, but a way to understand how we arrived at the present, and to imagine—and influence—where we’re going. In her words, “history seeks to understand how we got to where we are today. And where we might be going – and can we change it?”

Today, the threats have shifted. While some wetlands in the lower estuary have been “restored,” the upper river is under pressure from longwall coal mining, even as the city continues to depend on fossil fuels. Goodall noted the strength of community action in defending the upper Georges, particularly in areas like O’Hare’s Creek and the Woronora Plateau, but also highlighted the lack of communication and shared understanding between communities upstream and those downstream.

Overlaying all of this is the accelerating challenge of climate change. As Goodall pointed out, the Ramsar Convention of 1971—the first major international environmental agreement to recognise the importance of wetlands—marked a turning point in conservation history. Australia was one of the earliest signatories. Yet fifty years on, rising sea levels and temperatures are altering wetlands in ways few could have predicted. Sites that were once “restored” are now being overtaken by mangroves or choked by weed growth. The concept of returning wetlands to a past or “pristine” state, she suggested, must be reconsidered in light of new ecological realities. Whose past are we restoring to? Which stories are being privileged, and which are overlooked?

At Prospect Creek in Fairfield, an activist community and a sympathetic council once led successful restoration efforts—but even there, questions remain about long-term outcomes and public access. Meanwhile, Lignum Swamp in Campbelltown remains a focal point of local conservation work, though it sits on private land. And the upland swamps of Dharawal National Park are under renewed threat from coal mining, sparking both local and inner-city activism.

Goodall’s address urged the audience to think about how history can inform our responses to the environmental and social issues of today. It’s not just about understanding what wetlands were, but about recognising the many values they hold for different communities—First Nations groups, market gardeners, recent migrants, and long-time locals alike.

In closing, she returned to the theme of ongoing conversations. History, she reminded us, is never finished. It is shaped by the present and concerned with the future. The work of history students—just like that of professional historians—is important not only for what it tells us about the past, but for what it helps us imagine and build for the future.

HCNSW Executive & Strategic Development Officer Catherine Shirley with Jonathan Pan, and So-Jean Yun at the HTA NSW History High Achievers Award Presentation, at Chaur Chak Wing Museum, 24 March 2025. Photography credit: Supplied by HTA NSW.