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IT HAPPENED IN HAMILTON (1987)
This is a story in poetic form of the observations of a small boy growing up in a country town in Australia - his impressions of the world around him, of Mulga Fred, of Soldiers and the
effects of the second World War, of fires and floods.
The book is, in effect, a history of the events that occurred in the Victorian town of Hamilton between 1939 and 1949.
However, similar events occurred in country towns throughout Victoria, and indeed, Australia, so that this micro-study of
Hamilton is representative of Australian society as a whole
during this period.
The study's simple poetic style is an attempt to capture the
impressions and emotions of a child growing up in Hamilton as it was some forty years ago, and thus the presentation should
appeal to readers of all ages.
THE PUTTING DOWN OF NED KELLY by Len Kenna
This play should be of interest to schools and theatre
companies alike. It was on the VCE for Victorian Schools in Australia in 1997 and was also performed in the Old Police Garage next to the Old Melbourne Gaol where Ned Kelly was hanged, Benalla Arts Festival 1995 and many other Schools and Victorian venues.
It considers the legal interpretations of the trial, the
history of the period and other religious interactions
between various sections of society shortly after the Irish Potato Famine.
Synopsis
Melbourne late October 1880. A notorious bushranger Edward (Ned) Kelly is about to be brought to trial for murder following the killing of three police
officers at Stringy Bark Creek in North East Victoria. Ned Kelly , was charged with the murder of Constable Lonigan who had been captured some weeks earlier in spectacular and highly unusual circumstances at Glenrowan,
Victoria.
Ned Kelly is imprisoned in the Melbourne Gaol awaiting trial. His mother is in the same gaol convicted to 3 years hard labour for aiding and abetting the attempted murder of Police Officer Constable Fitzgerald. The attempted
murder of Fitzgerald is one of several charges pending against her son.
During this time the City of Melbourne is one of the richest cities in the world. North Eastern Victoria where the Kellys live, is experiencing a series of droughts and economic decline in rural industries this has had a serious effect upon the social and economic activities of the area. There is a large gulf between the 'haves' in the city and the 'have nots' in the North East.
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