Every community has its own story to tell. Stories shape the way a community sees itself – where it’s been and where it’s going, its individual personality and perspectives – what makes it different from other places.
Telling Our Stories is a two year community history project drawing on the people and collections of the Alexandrina Council region to capture digital stories about the region’s history.
Community historians Madeleine Regan and June Edwards and filmmaker Malcolm McKinnon have unearthed memories, images and objects to make connections between the intangible stories of individuals and the tangible historical record through five short films with five more to emerge for launch during About Time History Festival in 2014.
You can watch them here
A crowd of around 70, many who had participated in the making of the films, filled the Richardson Hall in Woodchester in early May 2013 for an evening film event held as part of the About Time History Festival.
The night featured the first five short films produced as stage one of a two-year digital storytelling project to record some ‘lost’ aspects of history or to tell known historical stories in different ways.
Telling Our Stories is being created for the Australia Council, Arts SA, Country Arts SA, History SA and Alexandrina Council as part of Just Add Water through the Cultural Places Initiative, an Australian Government Pilot, an expansion of the state government’s Regional Centre of Culture Program which rolled out in the region in 2012.
In the films, personal stories are mixed with photographs, moving image and images of objects, to place them in a historical context. Film subjects are varied and take in a range of locations in the Alexandrina Council area. The films feature people, places, boats a bicycle and even a cow.
The five films are titled Ritjarukar (Willy Wagtails) – preserving and sharing Ngarrindjeri language, Percy Well’s legacy – Centenary Hall, a place for community to come together, Deadly Treblig – bicycles made in Strathalbyn, A Noble Craft – the living history of river boats in Goolwa, and A Good Jersey – cows, milk and cheese. You can watch them here.
Country Arts SA pays respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognises their continuing connection and spiritual relationship to these lands, waters and skies. We are committed to listening and helping care for Country, and to safeguard, share and celebrate First Nations’ living cultures.