Update on local halls

Previously there have been a couple of posts concerning stage curtains - the section of the stage which sets the scene. These backdrops were works of art, huge canvases often depicting rural/garden scenes or town/cityscapes, see posts - Drawing the curtain and On stage in Watchem.

There are still a number of local halls which have not succumb to the mere film screen perched at the rear of the stage - Aubrey, Rupanyup, and Kooreh.

And here is Kooreh's stage curtains - very English

The stage curtains & the new flooring

450mm of flood water inundated the Kooreh Hall during the floods in January 2011, leaving behind 15cm of silt. While the floorboards and some fittings were ruined and had to be replaced, the historic stage curtains were saved.

The flood level peaked at the mark on the plaque now attached to the side door of the hall (photo on the left).

It was thanks to funds from the government & the Shire that the hall was restored.

The restored hall now

Kooreh represents what can be done with local community support and sufficient monetary funds. Unlike Gre Gre, where the hall building has to be approaching 'too-far-gone'

Gre Gre Village Soldiers Memorial Hall

The Gre Gre Village Hall was erected as a memorial to the soldiers of World War 1, in 1923. 

Fourteen Gre Gre district people served in the First World War, including Nurse A.C. Jackson.

The building has deteriorated even further since this photograph (on the right) was taken by Esma Barratt in 1988.

Dressed to make the film

Now that 'The Dressmaker' film has hit the theatres and the DVD has been released, people are looking to see who and what they recognise (refer to earlier post 'Done and dusted' of filming scenes in the Wimmera). Here is a location guide to film settings, with screen shots from the DVD matched to actual places.

Dungatar looking up the hill to Molly's

Dungatar town exteriors - Mt Rothwell near Little River (room interiors - Docklands Studio)

The approach to Jung

Silo - distant views - Jung, except for the CGI superimposed on Mt Rothwell landscape (close-ups - Docklands Studio) 

 << The real Jung silos beside the Melbourne-Adelaide rail-line.

Below - the silos as in the film with Gyton Grantley (playing Barney McSwiney) sitting on the lid of the steel bin.

Jung silos looking west

 Dance exterior - Sailors Home Hall (interior - Williamstown)

Sailors Home Hall with the Blue Ribbon Rd in front

The Sailors Home Hall & toilet block

Molly's burial - Jerro Cemetery

Mourners at the Jerro Cemetery

The Jerro Cemetery, north of Jung on the Greenhills Road

Wedding church - unknown

Longerenong Homestead

Wedding breakfast - Longerenong Homestead

The marquee on the front lawn at the homestead

Side view of the Longerenong Homestead

Winyerp Theatre exterior - Murtoa (interior - Yarraville)

Murtoa's Mechanics Institute Hall

Football match - Jung Recreation Reserve

The massive gums surrounding Jung Rec Reserve

The pavilions at the Jung Rec Reserve

Train - Victorian Goldfields Railway (Muckleford Station and steam locomotive D3 639)

Leaving Muckleford for Maldon