Burke Museum exhibition, People of Beechworth, celebrates residents

This automatic assumption points to why a new North East exhibition is not only welcome, but necessary.

People of Beechworth, now open at the town's Burke Museum, celebrates today's residents, not just the "white men with beards" considered pioneers in the past.

Indigo Shire visitor and tourism industry services co-ordinator Jen Allan said the museum aimed to create a more modern display of contemporary experiences.

"It's a beautiful contrast between historic Beechworth and those who are still creating history as we speak; a lot of history has been made over the last couple of years, pandemics and bushfires," she said.

"To be able to tell those stories, help to show how resilient and strong our community is and remind our community of that."

The project received funding from the federal government's Regional Tourism Bushfire Recovery Grants program, as well as Indigo Shire Council and a donation from the family of Ern Hawking, a longtime volunteer.

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Collections manager Ash Giffney said after developing the concept from 2019, the "hard gritty work" of confirming the participants and organising photo shoots and interviews took about eight months.

Each contemporary subject is paired with a historical counterpart, connected by themes such as food, sport, entertainment or race.

Beechworth photographer Erin Davis-Hartwig created 10 large-scale portraits of residents like firefighter Tracy McVea, musician Liv Cartledge, anthropologist David Lawrence and former Indigo mayor Jenny O'Connor.

Young sportsman Kane Scott and university student Corey Jackson are among the group, as are well-known volunteers Kathryn Chivers and James Tool, who, by the way, is also listed as a "rascal".

An open photo shoot captured 82 more portraits of Beechworth residents, couples and families displayed in a slideshow. More shoots are planned in future years.

Vietnam veteran Terry Walsh, like others, thought "Why me?" when approached to take part, but values acknowledging Beechworth's military connections, which extend beyond the two world wars.

"Resting up in our historic cemetery are American Civil War veterans, Mexican War veterans, Waterloo veteran and of course Boer War veterans," he said.

As the second son in a family conscripted for Vietnam, Mr Walsh could have opted out but chose instead to follow his older brother, who also survived the war.

"The boots that I wore to Vietnam had been worn by my brother in his tour of Vietnam a year or two earlier," Mr Walsh said.

Amandhi, originally from Sri Lanka, moved to Beechworth in 2012 and began cooking and selling pot luck dinners, which continues despite the challenges of bushfires and COVID restrictions.

She felt humbled to be part of People of Beechworth as "so many people do good things with food".

"You do what you do from the heart and hope that people appreciate it, and just keep going," she said.

"As much as we stayed open and did feed the town, the town also fed me, because it's a two-way thing. "

The mother of two praised the exhibition concept.

"The thought of tying these things together, the past and the present, it makes it more relevant for younger people and current Beechworth people," she said.

"I think that's pretty important to know that what you're doing right now is actually creating history for the generations to come."

Mr Walsh congratulated the staff for helping visitors to think beyond the town's historic, gold mining image.

"Yes, we have all of that, but we've grown, we've developed, we've learnt and we're a modern society as well," he said.

A modular, ongoing exhibition, People of Beechworth will evolve each year as more profiles are collected and featured.

For, as the exhibition itself notes, "these stories do not end here".

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