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ABC Victoria | Returning Home
Returning Home : A story of Ararat
Returning Home is a series of four short Flash format documentaries about the changing fortunes of Ararat, a small rural town in the Western District of Victoria. Mark Shea produced the stories under funding from the Regional Production Fund About the project
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Like the Ark Ararat is the town of Mark Shea's youth, where his Irish ancestors settled five generations ago as farmers.
Ararat was founded by gold prospecting Chinese in 1857. Trekking overland from South Australia the Chinese discovered the Canton Lead, the world's richest shallow alluvial goldfield.
The goldrush that followed was one of the biggest Australia has seen, with estimates of between 30,000 and 50,000 people living on the Ararat Goldfields within a couple of months
To understand Ararat's place in the world, one must first know its history.
Click here for a Flash presentation of the story. [duration 3:40 minutes]
Death of a country town After the Gold Rush, Ararat became a farming district and very much a government town, housing a Mental Asylum, Prison and acting as a railway hub, with lines stretching out in five different directions. Ararat also developed quite a manufacturing industry, particularly with regard to textiles.
In the early 1990's the closure of many of the Government institutions such as the Psychiatric Hospital and the Railways, together with a downturn in manufacturing lead to huge job losses.
The population of the town shrank by ten percent over a five-year period. Click here for a Flash presentation of the story. [duration 4:00 minutes]
The Turnaround Mark Shea returned to Ararat after living away for fifteen years and was amazed at the turnaround in the Town after the crushing blow of industry shutdown.
Through community spirit the Town has managed to find new ways to continue and thrive.
Tourism and Training are two initiatives that have helped put the Township back on its feet.
Click here for a Flash presentation of the story.
Click here for a Flash presentation of the story. [duration 4:08 minutes]
The Bush Spirit Aussies in the Bush are an ingenious bunch, making the most of every opportunity. Without rural entrepreneurs many country towns would lose their lifeblood.
Mark Shea looked at three success stories ranging from manufacturing to farming.
Click here for a Flash presentation of the story. [duration 4:42 minutes]
About the project
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