Inspired by the much-loved Australian children’s book My Place, All the Best runs back through the history of one place, The Rocks, Sydney, to the colonial characters that lived on and interacted with the land after British settlement. The country, traditionally cared for the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, underwent a radical transformation in the 18th and 19th centuries, and those living on it experienced the best and worst of industrialisation.
Death at the Gasworks
This is a tale of three deaths at The Rocks — and a silent killer. The backdrop is the city’s first gasworks. A neighbour to houses and schools, the gasworks gifted its power — and industrial pollution — back to its community, and keeps on giving today, long after its smokestacks stood tall.
Produced by Jessica Minshall.
Music credits: ‘My Girls’ by Animal Collective; ‘Got to Move On’ by Fennesz; ‘What I Saw’ by Broadcast and The Focus Group; ‘Come Away’ by ESG;’Round and Round and Round’ by Broadcast and The Focus Group.
The Miller at the Point
Come on a walk down Windmill Street – and back in time – to find out the story behind the name of one of Sydney’s oldest suburbs. Turns out, it was a prickly miller who started out at Millers Point.
Produced by Madeleine James.
The Rocks Windmill project ‘These Walls Have Ears’ was managed by: Live event production: Carly Anne Kenneally and Giordana Caputo. Documentaries Executive Producer: Belinda Lopez. Additional technical supervision by Zacha Rosen.
This project was made possible with the support of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.
Picture credit: ‘Miller’s Point’ by Joseph Fowles/ State Library of NSW.
Australia’s first colonial creatives probably didn’t think of themselves as artists. Mostly, they were just trying to get by. All the Best listened for secret histories from Australia’s first penal colony in The Rocks, Sydney. The result was These Walls Have Ears, a live event and radio project supported by the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.
Convict Theatre
A radio movie about a highway robber turned patron of the arts: Robert Sidaway was a convict transported to Australia. By day he was a baker, and by night, he dreamed of starting a theatre in new land.
Produced by Merran Winchester.
The cast included:
Brendon Taylor – Robert Sidaway
Adrian Barnes- Judge, Governor(s)
Robert Edwards- Reverend Johnson, Various Voices
Anna Martin- Women Voices
Dominic Witkop – Sparrow & Various Voices
Thomas Adams – Various Voices
Paul Winchester – Various Voices
Original music composed and performed by John Bellamy.
References: The Convict Theatres of Early Australia 1788-1840 by Robert Jordan, published by Currency House (2002).
The First Man Hanged
Have you ever walked along Harrington Street in The Rocks, Sydney? It used to be called Hangman’s Hill. Why? Because that’s where the first man in Sydney was hung. Thomas Barrett was his name. He was a forger, a mutineer and a thief. The fact that he was the first man hanged isn’t his only claim to fame – he is now recognised as Australia’s first colonial artist. He made a medallion commemorating the arrival of the First Fleet. A month later, he was awaiting execution. This is his story.
Produced by Catriona Menzies-Pike. (Find her on Twitter).
Additional music and technical support by Zacha Rosen.
Music credits: ‘Tango til They’re Sore’ by Tom Waits; ‘Black Bottom’ by The Hoodangers; ‘Nantes’ by Beirut; ‘Lovely Raquel’ by Thomas Newman; ‘Bad Ritual’ by Timber Timbre; ‘Into the Rainbow Vein’ by Boards of Canada; ‘Black Heart’ by Calexico.
The Rocks Windmill project ‘These Walls Have Ears’ was managed by:
Live event production: Carly Anne Kenneally and Giordana Caputo.
Documentaries Executive Producer: Belinda Lopez.
This project was made possible with the support of the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.
It was 1982. HIV/AIDS was creeping into Australia and neither the gay community nor the government knew how to beat it, or even what it was. One man decided to fight against the death toll and the rising hysteria, backed by a motto: ‘Don’t Mourn, Organise’. All the Best shares a sliver of little-known Australian history: about an unexpected social revolution that sprung up from the utter despair of the epidemic.
2013 marks the 30th anniversary of the Victorian AIDS Council. Find out more about its history – Phil Carswell was its founding president.
Produced by James Douglas.
Music credits: ‘Cinematic’ by Jaga Jazzist; ‘Lithuania’ by Jaga Jazzist, ‘Nètsanèt (Liberty)’ by Mulatu Astatke.
Sound credits: Courtesy of Sounds of Barcelona; FXProSound.
Production Manager: Carly Anne Kenneally. Features Executive Producer: Belinda Lopez. Executive Producer: Giordana Caputo.
Banner photo supplied by Phil Carswell, taken at a Candlelight vigil held in Collins St, Melbourne.
24 Hours. 1 pool. 620 bodies. 2485.8kms. Dive in and join All the Best in a marathon against the clock, all to raise money and awareness of Multiple Sclerosis. Over the course of one day, a swimmer tells her story: from life’s darkest moments to a kind of success she’d never even dreamed of.
Produced by Joel Carnegie. (He’s also on Twitter).
Music credits: ‘Ride this Feeling’ by Kate Miller Heidke; ‘The Last Day On Earth’ by Kate Miller Heidke; ‘Eternal See You Soon’ by Monoganon; ‘Elande No.1’ by Dan Tepfer & Lee Konitz; ‘Your Hand in Mine’ by Explosions in the Sky.
Production Manager: Carly Anne Kenneally. Features Executive Producer: Belinda Lopez.
Executive Producer: Giordana Caputo.
Banner photo credit: Katherine Hala
Photo of Carol Cooke by Ben Vella/MS Australia.
