Our people their stories: Ross Smith

The monthly Our people, their stories: oral histories of Northern Tasmania talks presented by the QVMAG Friends reveal the personal stories of a diverse range of people who enrich the lives of our community.

Museum History Detective

With QVMAG Collections Officer Ross Smith

Ross Smith has spent his professional and personal life in northern Tasmania; he was born in Launceston, grew up in Lilydale and later lived at Piper's River at his family's farm.

After completing his schooling he worked in a few local jobs and briefly in Melbourne before he began an 11 month contract at QVMAG in 1987. That 11 month contract has stretched to a career of nearly forty years as the Collections Officer at the QVMAG Library and Archives.

Ross brings with him an encyclopaedic knowledge of this unique archive and its importance, not just for Launceston, but for all of Tasmania and indeed for the nation. Ross will share his insights into the archives' treasures which tell many stories of northern Tasmania and the people who have shaped it.

He is particularly proud of the archives records that document the social history of QVMAG itself, which continue to inform current staff about the institution and its collections. Ross is a natural raconteur and cricket tragic, deeply immersed in the stories and objects that define this part of the world.