October is History Month around Australia!

Earth Matters listens back to the first episode of the Exploring Extreme Heat series – Hot Histories.

We delve into the near past to discover how Australians of European background lived through heatwaves in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, and what their experiences mean for Australians today. We hear from settler Australian environmental historians Rochelle Schoff and Mandy Paul who spoke at a History Council of Victoria Making Public Histories event last year. The event was convened by Margaret Anderson, manager of the Old Treasury Building in Naarm/Melbourne.

Rochelle Schoff is a La Trobe University PhD Candidate and member of the Parched research project team.

Mandy Paul  is a public historian researching the history of heatwaves in Tarntanya/Adelaide and Head of Collections at the History Trust of South Australia.

Thanks to the History Council of Victoria for providing access to the recording of Making Public Histories—Thinking about the weather: Heatwaves and history in twentieth century Australia event held on 27 November 2025. You can watch the full event here.

Note: Statements made by Anangu community members shared by Rochelle Schoff were sourced from the following research paper, Bardsley, D. K., & Wiseman, N. D. (2016). Socio-ecological lessons for the Anthropocene: Learning from the remote Indigenous communities of Central Australia. Anthropocene, 14, 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2016.04.001

Earth Matters Exploring Extreme Heat series explores what intense heat events mean for Australians across the continent. We hear from settler Australians, migrant communities and First Nations people living in different parts of so-called Australia to understand how heat affects us, and whether current adaptation practices are sufficient to equip us for a hotter future.

Part One – Hot Histories

Part Two – The Mental Health Impacts of Heat

Part Three (coming soon) – Hot houses in remote arid central Australia

Part Four (coming soon) – Hot Futures: adaptation and education