may 21 - 27 | 2014
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inside page 7
Passion for the past circulating in wangaratta, myrtleford, bright, mt beauty, beechworth, yackandandah, rutherglen, chiltern and districts
By KYLIE WILSON
VALUABLE PIECE:
Patrick Watt with a knife from the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, and Burke’s revolver.
GARDENING WITH APPIN PARK
KINDER
RSPCA
FILM
OLLIE
X MEN: DAYS OF
WITH
FUTURE PAST
WINE TALK WITH
ANITA
FROM his early days putting together a makeshift museum with his brother on his family property, Patrick Watt’s passion for history has never been in doubt. Digging up Aboriginal artefacts such as axes and grinding stones, and polishing up vinegar jars and ceramic pots that he would find all over the farm, and even looking after a relative’s Boer War era bayonet, Patrick, now the manager of Beechworth’s Robert O’Hara Burke Museum, was hooked on the stories behind these everyday items. And although no one ever visited the brothers’“museum”, the seeds for his future career were sewn. “I always hoped people would come, they never did,” he said. “I never thought that was something I would do later on.” He is a passionate advocate for engaging people in learning, especially when it comes to history. “We’re all learners for our whole lives,” he said. An avid student of history with a love of performing, Mr Watt first began his career at Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill, “where I could do both”, he said. While there, he also became involved in Adelphi Theatre Company, and developed plays for corporate and school groups. The further he progressed, the more he began to make the connection between performance techniques and engaged learning. continued page |
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AFSL 247298
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