Filming “Min(d)ing The Dead”
By Evelyn Saunders, 2024 Digital Collections Catalyst Fellow | 3 February 2025
Evelyn Saunders - 2024 Digital Collections Catalyst Fellow
Creating Filming “Min(d)ing the Dead” – an interactive project about Ravenswood, Queensland’s first large inland settlement and North Queensland’s first major mining town.
Filming this project is proving to be a highly rewarding journey. I’ve connected with people who either have called or continue to call Ravenswood home, and their stories prove how profoundly this town has affected them. Ravenswood is more than a place that offers tourists a sense of nostalgia, workers a job, and investors dividends; for many, it has provided a source of belonging. The gold in this project has been the discovery of a shared narrative of place, one that highlights the inimitable role a town plays in fostering connections, shaping identities, preserving memories, and offering a sense of stability across generations. I’ve been struck by how the connection to its past that Ravenswood proudly displays continues to influence identity and a sense of community.
To date, I’ve interviewed some twenty-eight people and hope to interview more. Not everybody is keen to appear on film; some prefer audio-only interviews, while others agree to an audio recording on the grounds it will only be used for my research. All interviews were invaluable and were made under a 'Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial licence' which means that the interviewee retains copyright in their audio and/or visual interview and filmed items, but that others, including State Library of Queensland may share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) under the following terms:
- Attribution — Anyone who uses the interview or other items must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made..
- Non-Commercial —The interview or other items must not be used for commercial purposes.” (1)
Luckily for me, the town actively celebrates its history. It was through events such as the Ravenswood State School’s 150th Anniversary, the Ravenswood Restoration and Preservation Association's (RRPA) Pioneers’ Luncheon, and the Ravenswood State School’s P&C-run Halloween celebration that I was able to meet people. I’ve put together some photos that I hope you’ll find interesting.
Ravenswood State School - 150th Anniversary
The Ravenswood State School’s 150th anniversary drew people back to Ravenswood from far and wide. Ron Eardman, who attended the school in 1937, and Dot Weinheimer, who attended the Ravenswood Convent School, and Ron Eardman, who attended the Ravenswood Public School in 1937, and joined more recent alumni and current students to celebrate the longevity of the historical public school.
Ravenswood State School 150th Anniversary - flyer, February 2024.
Ravenswood State School with original and new school buildings. Photo by Evelyn Saunders, December 2023.
Ravenswood State School timeline of school enrolments 1873-1996. Created by the Ravenswood Restoration and Preservation Association representatives for the 150th Anniversary. Photo by Evelyn Saunders, March 2024
The school was built in 1873. Then known as the National School of Ravenswood, 115 students were enrolled for the 1874 school year. Five years later, in 1889, the school's enrolment peaked at 390 students. The school cost a total of £998 to build - £306 of which was raised locally from subscriptions including: £90 from the proceeds of a lottery (items included in the lottery were revolvers, Livestock, clocks, drapery, fancy work, watches and specimens), £32 from the proceeds of a Ball, £29 donated by the Ravenswood Amateur Dramatic Society, £32 fron Ashton's Circus, £21 from the raffle of picture a model ship and £100 from public subscriptions. (2)
Here are some images of documents detailing previous school anniversaries, and the historical school buildings:
Ravenswood State School in its original location on School Street (circa 1900). John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg 164752.
Ravenswood‘s Pioneer Luncheon
The Pioneer’s Luncheon is an annual event run by the Ravenswood Restoration and Preservation Association (RRPA). Ninety people attended, many of them catching a bus from Townsville that was organised by the RRPA. On arrival, Ravenswood Gold provided a tour of the mine and catering.
According to historian Carmel Whitton, the Pioneer’s Luncheons have been running since 2005 after workers were required to live in the mining camps and families began to move out. Subsequently less people were available to help with and participate in events like rodeos, gymkhanas, and cricket matches. The aging and shrinking population meant things had to change.
Social Media post for Ravenswood’s Pioneer Luncheon. Image courtesy of RRPA. See “LoveRavenswood” Facebook, 20 July 2024.
Ravenswood Halloween Ball
Run by the Ravenswood State State School P&C, the annual Halloween Ball attracts fun-loving visitors from all over the country. Many people are surprised to discover that Halloween was celebrated in Australia way before the commercialised form we know today. The following extracts from the Ravenswood Mining Journal show that it was already a much-anticipated Celtic tradition in Ravenswood in 1906.
![CU of the article promoting the event. Image of Ravenswood Mining Journal, 31 October 1906 as it appears in “Ravenswood : a report for the National Trust of Queensland / [By Ian Black and Company]”](/sites/default/files/styles/slider/public/HalBall_2_RWdMiningJrn_HalloweenFest_IMG_2538.jpeg?itok=eDYn336g)
![Advertisement for Murphy’s shop. Image reproduced from Ravenswood Mining Journal, 31 October 1906 as it appears in “Ravenswood : a report for the National Trust of Queensland / [By Ian Black and Company]”](/sites/default/files/styles/slider/public/HalBall_3_1906HalAd_Screenshot%202025-01-13%20at%203.28.21%E2%80%AFpm.png?itok=PbQEuwJ8)
![The headline and article promoting the event. Image of Ravenswood Mining Journal, 31 October 1906 as it appears in “Ravenswood : a report for the National Trust of Queensland / [By Ian Black and Company]”](/sites/default/files/styles/slider/public/HalBall_1_RMJournal19906_IMG_2538-min.jpeg?itok=2o-nCdza)
The headline and article promoting the event. Image of Ravenswood Mining Journal, 31 October 1906 as it appears in “Ravenswood : a report for the National Trust of Queensland / [By Ian Black and Company]”. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland.
Interestingly the approach to advertising in the past one hundred and twenty years has remained remarkably similar.
What has altered is how people dress and celebrate!
Group of men, women and children dressed in Scottish dress for Halloween, 1908. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Image number: 9997-0031-0001.
Queueing for the Halloween Ball outside the School of Arts Hall. Photo by Evelyn Saunders, October 2024.
Of course, not all the interviews were conducted at these events, but they proved to be a great way to meet people and form relationships. If I had my time again, I’d move into town for a couple of months so I could get to know the place and the people better.
Please stay tuned for my next instalment, “Creating Min(d)ing the Dead” in which I’ll delve into the challenges of putting everything together for an interactive documentary!
Ev
Other blogs by Evelyn Saunders
Reference
- Reproduced from SLQ document “Copyright permission for oral history and digital story interviews, June 2020”
- Reproduced from “THEN AND NOW RAVENSWOOD 1868-2018”, Ravenswood Restoration and Preservation Association with Carpentaria Gold and Flying Arts Alliance Inc ‘Small Schools Project 2018’.
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