Tales of Tassie Tigers and saveloy teas

Mole Creek films 1

JUNE 2017 | Sharon Webb

EIGHT MOLE CREEK residents star in four short films about their town to be ready for viewing in August this year.

Dallas Howe, Deb Hunter, Greg Murray, Joe Parsons, Kelvin Howe, Bernie Howe, Peter Sykes and Roy Evans were interviewed for the films to share their expert knowledge of their town.

Resident Susan McLeod said each three-minute film captures an aspect of the area.

“Six of us from around the State did the Tasmanian Leaders program in 2016, resulting in this community-based project,” she said.

“We wanted to capture the identity of a small Tasmanian town – the stories, memories and characters.”

The Tas Leaders group also included Tasmanian film-maker David Pyefinch and former Federal Group HR manager Prue Horne.

Ms Horne said the four themes also include the Tasmanian Tiger and Mole Creek’s natural environment and strong sense of community.

“A number of people say they’ve seen tigers so we had to include that,” she said.

“We also wanted to portray the sense of community in Mole Creek: that life has changed since the days of active sport, tea dances and saveloy teas but the community is still strong and close-knit.”

The films are based on eight interviews with locals.  Ms McLeod, an environmental scientist who has lived in Mole Creek for five years with her husband Justin, put out the word to find people interested in being involved. “The films done so far are fantastic,” she said.

“My favorite is the one about Alum Cliffs because it links the local indigenous people’s history and culture with the beautiful environment.

“For that we interviewed Greg Murray, whose ancestors lived in the Central Plateau/Western Tiers area. He grew up in Deloraine and still spends a lot of time here.”

Ms Horne said the use of the films is up to the Mole Creek community. “They’ll be screened at the Mole Creek Community Centre and then distributed online with the intention that locals and tourists will share the clips."

The Tas Leaders film-making team included Chris Griffin, CEO Tourism Northern Tasmania; Theresa Hay, program manager Submarine S&T Capability, Defence Dept; David Pyefinch, director Madfinch Media Production Company; Stuart Loone, general manager Spring Bay Mill; Susan McLeod, senior environmental consultant GHD; and Prue Horne, former HR manager Federal Group.

Photo | Prue Horne