Making the storiesofourtown.com series constantly takes Tony Whittaker and I to cool places to meet passionate people. Thursday afternoon was one of those days, meeting some of those people. We spent the whole afternoon in the Australian Museum’s archive with Vanessa Finney, curator and head archivist. She’s also the author of Tranformations, a fabulous book about The Scott Sister of Ash Island which is the subject of our next film. The story of the Scott could make a Hollywood film. It’s about overcoming adversity, female empowerment, family, art, science, loss and regeneration which happened right in here in Newcastle. Vanessa is a normally composed person, but her eyes light up when she talks about these remarkable women who were at the forefront of entomology at a time when women couldn’t be scientist. I’d only ever seen photos of the Sisters work but something magical happened when Vanessa showed us the 170yr originals.
The vivid colour and intricate detail are mind blowing in real life. Some of the fine work was painted with single haired brushes. It’s more than science, it’s high art, world class and a major part of Newcatsle’s history.
Spent Thursday morning with Dr Michael Bennett, who has spent much of his life working on Native Title claims as well as being the author of Pathfinders, a book about Aboriginal Trackers in NSW. His book is a remarkable, layered story that begins at the start of the 19th century and goes all the way up to 1973. He was such a smart, warm and well researched man. So much of the book is centred around Newcastle and the Valley. At the core of this story is that Aboriginal people have a much higher understanding of this country and I feel the sooner we quieten the noise and listen to them the better this country will be. Michael’s retelling of this intriguing chapter in our history will really elevate a film we’re releasing later in the year. Stay Tuned
So excited to have Kim McKay the director and CEO of The Australian Museum on board with our storiesofourtown.com project. Kim is not only the first woman to run the Museum in it’s 192yr history but she also a brilliant communicator who is so passionate about the importance of preserving history. Her insights into the Scott Sisters of Ash Island really humanised the story of this underrated artists and scientists. Nice that Charles Darwin photo bombed our photo.
