Long before Agatha Christie became globally famed as the Queen of crime writing one Mary Helena Fortune, a former writer for the goldrush era Mount Alexander Mail newspaper, began writing crime fiction.
Fortune, wrote under a pseudonym and had sufficient command of the written word to be offered a sub editor’s job with the early newspaper that was the precursor to today’s Castlemaine Mail.
However, when it was subsequently discovered that she was a woman, the job offer was unceremoniously withdrawn.
Fortune’s personal story is as mysterious, tragic and significant as it is largely ignored and lost.
But now one creative Castlemaine local is doing something to change all that.
Keen social historian, video and digital games creator Louise Rockabilby Cooper is telling the life story of Mary Helena Fortune as part of a unique public arts project – the Dunolly Women’s Historical Art Trail.
Backed by $10,000 in cultural tourism accelerator funding through a Regional Arts Victoria government grant, plus a handy $5000 Maldon and District Community Bank grant, she’s about to kick some creative goals.
The former Dunolly resident, who recently moved to Castlemaine, is creating a stop motion animation telling Fortune’s tale.
It’s soon to form part of a special arts project celebrating significant but much under-acknowledged pre-Federation women via what will become the Dunolly Women’s Historical Art Trail.
“We will have six or seven different stories of women who all at one time lived in Dunolly,” says Cooper who is overseeing the project that also involves the other artists and creatives telling the women’s historic stories as well.
“All of the works will be digital art works that work using GPS, with smart pones or other devices so long as they have location services,” Cooper says.
Once the new site-specific trail is up and running, visitors to Dunolly will be able to use their smart phone or device to activate the digital works and learn the stories of each of the significant women that relate to the site.
“We’re also mapping what some of the old buildings used to be using the bank funding,” Cooper says.
She says the project will also involve production of an augmented reality art game.
Other under-acknowledged women whose stories are being told include Eliza Ellen Russell – “who sewed the first Australian flag,” notes Cooper.
“We’ll also have the story of Emily Glyndon who performed at Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal and who travelled the world advocating for women to be able to wear pants.”
Cooper says all will be welcome to attend the upcoming launch of the new arts trail which is set for 5-8pm Saturday September 17 at Dunolly’s Welcome Stranger cafe.