I was just eavesdropping on a conversation between him and my mother and he said, ‘Dear, guess what?’ We broke the world record.” And as a child, who was only about 12 or 13, it just went over my head, but that for some reason that stuck in my ear.
Ruth Ghee
The premiere of a groundbreaking Torres Strait Islander musical which tells the story of a world record breaking day in Western Australia will make its debut in Brisbane tonight.
‘Straight from the Strait’ is the story of the three brothers who leave their Islands to go work on the mainland building railway lines,.
They end up on the Torres Strait Islander railway gang which broke the world record for laying the fastest 7 kilometres of track in a single day on May 8, 1968.
The characters are loosely based on family members of creator and cultural consultant Ruth Ghee, who has been trying to bring this story to the stage for more than 15 years.
“There was another project I was involved with called ‘Dancing the Line’,” Ruth says.
“Through that project with John Romeril, Irene Feuz, Charles Passi, there was a lot of research that happened, talking to the railway legends, if I may call them that. Those stories from those legends were amazing, and the commonality was that world record story. We’ve just built this personal story around that era.”
During the 1960s mining boom, Torres Strait Islanders made an important contribution to the economic development of Australia, with many building the railway networks that exist today.
The story of that time is one that is shared by many Islander families and just how far Islanders found themselves from home can still be seen in those that settled in Western Australia forming their own diaspora communities.
For the production’s Director, Nadine McDonald-Dowd, being involved in the telling of this story was also personal.
“My father was a cane cutter. My mum worked the train lines, but we had family that were all connected in and worked the cane farms, and then they worked the train tracks,” Nadine says.
“My mother’s father was on the ships doing trochus. So we all have a connection. But I never knew this story about the men leaving the Islands and going to to Western Australia.
“There’s (been) other people that have been working on historical works, documentaries, etc but (this story has) never been told in this way.
“Torres Strait Islander people did that. They’ve never been formally recognized. The community have had fight for their own recognition. It’s a really important story.”
Luke Captain is the editor on this production providing the sur titles for the audience and has been involved in the production through years of development.
“It is the story of our people, my uncles, my brothers that worked on the railway, and it was very important for me, and likewise, a few of the other key members of this at the start of this process, it was important for us to tell this story, this untold story of Australian railway history, and how imperative it is to us, not just as people, but us as a nation,” Luke says.
“So I’m really glad that we’re here today. In fact, I’m more than glad – I’m completely almost beside myself.”
`Straight from the Strait’ has used Torres Strait Islanders not only in the cast but also in the production team – from the set design (Kevin O’Brien), Writer/Co-Librettist (Norah Bagiri), and Co-Choreographers (Rita and Cleopatra Pryce) right through to the band, cultural consultants and dance instructors.
Georgia Corowa plays the character of Isabelle which is based on Ms Ghee’s mother, and has been a part of the project in its many different iterations over the past ten years. While she’s excited for opening night, she’s also been trying to master Torres Strait Islander languages with the production using Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya, Torres Strait Creole and English.
“I’m always really respectful and grateful when I have the chance to learn any language, because I didn’t grow up with language at all (as an Aboriginal and South Sea woman), and it wasn’t a thing encouraged in my family, because you weren’t allowed to speak language, and you just had to adapt,” Georgia says.
“So it’s been a beautiful experience working with Auntie Ruth and learning the different languages from different areas.
“And I thought, because there’s been a lot of songs that have been throughout the development of this, and there’s a couple of songs that I haven’t quite mastered yet, and it’s very tricky, but these songs are so beautiful, and so I really enjoy learning language and the rhythm of it and how it sits in your mouth and how it sounds.
For Ms Ghee, she hopes the audience walks away knowing about a piece of Australian history.
“It’s a re-education for all of us, about the history of Australia that’s never been told in schools because it’s our oral history,” she says.
“I want them (the audience) to take away the spirit of the Torres Strait Islanders, that community spirit that made them great workers, that made them make a world record.”
‘Straight from the Strait’ is a collaboration between Opera Queensland, Yumpla Nerkep Foundation and the Brisbane Festival.
(IMAGE: Ruth Ghee. Photo by Rhianna Patrick)
