AN international web-based broadcast that involved films from Eglinton and Perthville public schools themed around the activities of infamous gold rush-era bushranger Ben Hall and gang has won the prestigious Museums and Galleries National Award (MAGNA) for Orange Regional Museum.
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Devised and delivered by Bathurst author Paul Stafford and Orange filmmaker Vince Lovecchio (working as The Project Zone), Bigger than Ben Hall broadcast live from Canowindra via videoconference to nearly 100 schools in NSW and USA.
It featured a re-enactment of the gang's notorious three-day Siege of Canowindra, with bushrangers on horseback closing the main street of Canowindra and shepherding locals and visitors into the Royal Hotel, site of the original siege and three day-long, bushranger-funded party.
The short film festival, anchored by students and bushranger author and historian Craig Lawler, followed a Welcome to Country by Wiradjuri Elder, Aunty Esther Cutmore.
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Topics covered by the films included Eglinton Public's interpretation of Ben Hall's attack on the Keightley farm at Dunn's Plains, where Caroline Keightley's courage and ingenuity saved her husband's life, negotiating with the enraged bushrangers and making an epic overnight ride to Blackdown on Eleven Mile Drive to obtain ransom money.
Perthville Public's short film examined the background to the gang's daring raid on Bathurst, spurred by a challenge issued from two surveyors they'd robbed (with mixed results) near Perthville just days before.
"The project grew out of a concept program we created called History Here, which helps students identify, research, script and film events from their local history," Paul Stafford said. "Many participating schools wanted to cover their bushranger activity, so we decided to theme it around the Ben Hall gang's activities.
"This project represents a major collaboration with the Department of Education to create a one-off broadcast for the last day of school, 2018. They provided the web-platform, equipment, personnel, and tech support [for] us to broadcast internationally.
"The participating schools were stoked - it involved lots of strong learning outcomes like writing and research, helped students contextualise, own and re-interpret their local history, and embedded STEM elements like green-screening and international web-based content delivery.
"Bigger than Ben Hall took widespread community involvement, massive in-kind support and goodwill - and lots of fake beards."
The research component of the project involved schools linking up on-line with Mitchell Library, whose digital archives include a substantial collection of Ben Hall correspondence, weapons, wanted posters, memorabilia. A special collaboration negotiated between project partners meant curators of the collection were made available to assist students to identify and interpret material pertinent to their particular bushranger incident.
A previous History Here film project screened at Amusu Theatre, Manildra, won the 2018 National Trust Heritage Awards (Events, Exhibitions and Tours).
This is Paul Stafford's second MAGNA. His web-based literacy module Scattered Bones won in 2011 for the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum.
To watch the prize winning broadcast, search for Ben Hall Christmas Special on YouTube.