Kate Ferguson talks about the Gwalia’s Gold exhibition in the Kalgoorlie Miner in 2017.
Gwalia's Gold - its people and places is a two-part multimedia exhibition which tells the story of Gwalia and the people who helped preserve this iconic part of Western Australia’s gold mining history over the past fifty years.
The exhibition was produced by Kate Ferguson and the initial exhibition ran for three weeks at The Palace Hotel in Perth in 2017 and consisted of 90 photographs and a video documentary, launched as part of Heritage Perth's Perth Heritage Days. This exhibition received state wide media coverage and was a finalist in the Interpretation category of the 2017 WA Heritage Awards.
The interview below provides the background story of the initial exhibition, as I discussed with Caitlin Nienaber from RTR FM on the morning of the initial exhibition's launch in 2017.
Don and Donna Reid, who were instrumental in saving Gwalia from demolition in the 1980’s. Photographed by Kate Ferguson in 2017.
The project grew into over 5000 photographs and a 20 minute video documentary and the second part of the multimedia exhibition was launched as part of the inaugural “Gwalia’s Gold weekend” IN 2018.
The entire exhibition is now on display at the Gwalia
Museum and was a finalist in the Interpretation category of the 2019 WA Heritage Awards.
Below is a radio interview with Kate Ferguson on Ivo Da Silva’s Morning Show on ABC Goldfields before the inaugural Gwalia’s Gold weekend in 2018, which launched the second part of the multimedia exhibition.
Portrait of Terry DeMasson and his dog Jessie in Leonora, which was a finalist in the 2017 Fremantle International Portrait Prize
The project initially started, when I was commissioned by the Shire of Leonora in June 2015 to produce a series of short videos. However, my curious nature felt like I'd struck storyteller's gold.
The project grew into over 8000 photographs and a video documentary.
The exhibition was launched with assistance from Heritage Perth. The launch was an incredible event that ended up like a party atmosphere, as many past and present residents reconnected. Some hadn't seen each other for decades. Here's some great photos from the evening, taken by Rob Duncan:
I was also blown away by the enthusiasm from the former residents, with "the Bobs" - Bob Mazza, Bob Croft and and Bob Biggs taking the time to come down to the exhibition (sometimes daily) to chat with people about their time in Gwalia.
These men are in their 80's and 90's and I was truly honoured and delighted by their enthusiasm and willingness to share their wealth of knowledge at the exhibition. What a delight!
This exhibition would not have happened without the wonderful help of Elaine Labuschagne from the Shire of Leonora.
Elaine was a passionate member of the Leonora community and was instrumental in the preservation and restoration of Gwalia, to the incredible place it is today. Elaine also helped co-curate the 2017 exhibition, with her local knowledge.
Elaine Labuschagne with Stephen Peacock and Jacob Hughes, who have been working tirelessly with The Shire of Leonora to restore the miner's cottages at Gwalia.
Photo copyright: Kate Ferguson.
Aubrey Lynch, photographed by Kate Ferguson in Kalgoorlie in 2016.
We were incredibly lucky to have had some great media coverage from The Kalgoorlie Miner, The West Australian, 6PR radio and ABC radio thanks to the assistance Heritage Perth's Media Manager Gina Church:
The below audio file is a wonderful interview with Aubrey Lynch, one of the stars of the exhibition, with Geoff Hutchison on ABC mornings.
This interview took place in Perth before the launch of the inaugural Gwalia’s Gold exhibition in 2017.
And a following interview with Kate Ferguson on ABC Goldfields after the initial exhibition launch in 2017.
Below is an article I wrote for The West Australian newspaper's Agenda section:
The exhibition panels and graphics were designed by Creative Spaces.
Gwalia's Gold - its people and places was funded by The Shire of Leonora and Minara Resources and supported by Heritage Perth, Brookfield Multiplex and Feral Brewing.