Exhibition for a new discovery centre at Baradine, NSW
Heading into the Pilliga is a career highlight. The community were hard hit economically by the reduction in timber milling after half the forest had been handed to Parks for conservation protection. But they were resilient, hard working people with a quirky take on life.
The Commission
There was so much to find out and tell, both in the distant and more recent past. I spent time in the remote Pilliga, among the people, the cypress and ironbarks, watching the glossy cockatoos feed and night spot-lighting for gliders. The Indigenous clan took me on a bake out, the mill operators showed me around their now silent work sites, and the townsfolk added to the generosity with their stories and photos.
I highly recommend a visit to Baradine. Say hi to the locals, stay a night, or a while. The people and their forests are extraordinary!
CHI: Major research trip, community consultation, Indigenous consultation, story curation, copy. Production-design by Mothers Art Productions
