People of Pingelly project captures stories of community stalwarts to preserve town’s history

The stories that have helped shape Pingelly’s history and the community stalwarts who tell them have been captured in a series of videos commissioned by the Shire of Pingelly.

The People of Pingelly project was produced by arts organisation Euphorium to capture and preserve the rich history, memories and anecdotes of the small southern Wheatbelt town.

Fifteen people from different generations and backgrounds were interviewed for the project, including bushfire brigade captain Peter Narducci, Jan Overing from the Pingelly Times and Pingelly Primary School’s Amber Moulton.

Shire president William Mulroney said the project aimed to capture stories of the past and present.

He said the shire obtained funding for the project through the Federal Government’s Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal grants.

“Pingelly is filled with so many amazing stories, whether it be by personal experience or through a loved one or family member,” Cr Mulroney said.

“Through this project we have seen incredible stories come to fruition. It gave viewers a more meaningful connection to those that pass on the street and an understanding of people more in depth than skin deep.

“These stories will be on display within Pingelly on a constant basis as well as archived for future generations.”

The shire and Euphorium team members began collecting expressions of interest in May from both long-term and newer residents who had an interesting story to tell.

The creative team then travelled from Geraldton to Pingelly six times to interview the local residents starring in the videos.

Producer Frankie Mann said they wanted to document a wide range of stories.

“We were really wanting to capture the stories about Pingelly, the ones that people may have heard before that have been passed down through generations,” she said.

“We also wanted to capture those lesser known stories, the ones that people may not have heard about or may have forgotten.”

Ms Mann said every interviewee had several fascinating stories to tell.

“With everyone we talked to, we discovered some really amazing things about the people themselves,” she said.

“For example, Rex Hallett, who’s 90 years old and everyone knows him in the community. When we were talking to him he told us that he grew up in England during World War II and a bomb was actually dropped next to his house.

“He has this clock that had fallen off the mantel at the exact moment that the bomb hit and the time on the clock froze. He still has that clock in his house today.

“Those are the kind of stories that you wouldn’t hear unless you talked to these people and when they die, those stories are often gone forever.”

Ms Mann said the project aimed to build a community connection while preserving the town’s history.

“One side of it was to bring the community together and build a connection with people that they may not have met before or know,” she said.

“The other part was about preserving those stories so future generations could watch them.

“There is a lot of history in Pingelly and it actually surprised me how many incredible stories there are.”

The project was officially launched with a premiere of the videos on August 27 at the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre.

“The community of Pingelly has had a very positive response to the project so far, with many attending the official launch,” Cr Mulroney said.

“It amazing to see how many people have come out of the woodworks to take part in the People of Pingelly Project, which in turn has allowed them to be more sociable.”

New videos will be posted to the People of Pingelly website, shire Facebook page and YouTube channel every Wednesday.