The Garret: The Drover’s Wife

Activity 1

Leah Purcell is a proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri woman from Queensland. ‘Murri’ is a collective term for several ethno-linguistic groups from southern Queensland and Northern New South Wales. Goa, Gungarri and Wakka Wakka are distinct First Nations groups.

To learn more about Purcell’s heritage, have students use the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia to pinpoint the Country of the Guwa (Goa/Koa), Gunggari and Wakka Wakka peoples. These areas centre around the contemporary regions of Winton, Kingaroy and Charleville. There are some limitations to navigating the web version of the AIATSIS map; ideally you would have a printed copy on hand as a classroom resource. Students can further explore language and Country by conducting a Google Image search of the contemporary townships, and by searching the Gambay First Languages Map using the terms ‘Guwa’, ‘Gunggari’ and ‘Wakka Wakka’.

Activity 2: oral storytelling in First Nations cultures

16:00–18:19

The Garret host Astrid Edwards asks Purcell about the process of weaving ‘recorded history’ with oral tradition. Purcell has variously rendered her version of The Drover’s Wife as a play script, performance, novel, screenplay and film. In this activity, students will experiment with different modes of communicating a message, reflecting on the preservation of ‘truth’ in each form.

Place students in small groups of four or five. One person will be given a phrase that they need to communicate in a chain to the rest of their group, using verbal (whispered), written, non-verbal or pictorial means. The information and phrase slips are available in the communication methods handout (PDF, 78KB).

This activity will then be followed by a class discussion:

• In what ways was the essence of what you were trying to communicate altered by the verbal, written, non-verbal and pictorial forms?
• Which method of communication was the most reliable?
• Is it important to preserve ‘truth’ in communication?
• What might you need to do differently to promote accuracy in each form of communication?

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Activity 3: quote quest

00:58–02:19

Purcell cites the memorable line from the end of Henry Lawson’s short story as having stuck with and inspired her over time. In this activity, students will select and share famous lines from stories they have engaged with. These may be opening or closing words, or other seminal quotes.

Ask students to think about the pieces of writing that have stuck with them as readers. Ask them to try to narrow this down to a single line or phrase. They may need time to ponder or research this; it would be a good task to set for home learning. Afterwards, ask students to share their line (without context) with a partner – it will be interesting to see if their partner can place the line. You can then invite them to share their line with the whole class. You might also ask them to explain why the line is significant to them, and/or ask them to write it on a strip of paper as part of a collective display.

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Activity 4: writing from memory

03:22–04:25

Purcell relates that when she first began adapting Lawson’s short story, she mostly worked from memory, which gave her the opportunity to attune to the resonant elements of the story that had stayed with her since childhood.

Students should choose a familiar fairy tale or childhood story, then complete a writing exercise in which they recount this story from memory. What they produce may be a literal retelling OR an adaptation using details from the original text. With either approach, the intention is for students to experience what it is like to draw on their memory without reference to the original text. They should write for 10–15 minutes. They can then share their writing in pairs, noticing what is accurate and what is not when compared with the source material.

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Activity 5: claim-support-question

00:58–04:25

Purcell describes the process of selecting Lawson’s short story as the inspiration for her play. As she recalls her memories of listening to her mother read the story, and the subsequent experiences that prompted her to begin her work, her language is suffused with fatalistic language (e.g. ‘it obviously meant something deep within me’; the book ‘just jutting out that little bit further’).

Students should listen carefully to this part of the interview and then construct a rationale for the adaptation of Lawson’s short story into a play, using the claim-support-question thinking routine (PDF, 53KB).

Activity 6: place-based writing

02:45–03:22 and 24:02–25:12

Another motivation for Purcell arose when she was filming Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, and realised that the landscape was underutilised on screen. Later in the interview, when recounting the filming of The Drover’s Wife, she says that she felt ‘very blessed’ to sit on the same Country that Molly would have encountered.

Ask students to think of a place that holds special meaning for them and write two to five paragraphs describing it. They should concentrate on creating a strong sense of place, using the senses to create visceral connections for the reader.

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Activity 7: textual connections and conventions

Much of the interview focuses on the opportunities and limitations of each form that Purcell has used to adapt The Drover’s Wife. To reinforce the vocabulary of each of these forms, students should complete the textual connections and conventions table (PDF, 50KB).

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Activity 8: character

Around the 05:55 mark, Edwards asks Purcell about her protagonist, Molly Johnson, who Purcell constructed in part as a tribute to her mother and grandmother. Molly is described as an amalgam of these family members, Purcell herself, and the character from Lawson’s short story.

Based on their understanding of the text, students should brainstorm as many different elements of Molly’s character as they can think of. You might like to offer one or two of the following ideas to set the tone of the activity and model possible responses:

• mother
• wife
• defender (of the property)
• nurturer (of her children)
• murderer
• Aboriginal woman

Once they have completed the brainstorm, ask students to start a new one listing the elements of their own identity.

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Synthesising task: sketchnoting

Split the class into groups and assign each group ONE aspect of the writer’s craft:

Students should listen closely to the relevant section of the interview. They should take detailed notes about the discussion, then work collaboratively to synthesise their notes into a one-page sketchnote-style summary.

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Activity 9: Blak heroes

26:52–31:02 and 43:19–44:20

Purcell remarks that a key choice in crafting the novel’s resolution was to preserve the role of Molly, Yadaka and Danny as ‘[Blak] heroes’. The notion of ‘reclaiming’ a part of Australian literature for First Nations characters comes up several times throughout the interview. For this next activity, students will research stories in various forms that illuminate heroic First Nations figures, both fictional and non-fictional.

Present students with the following list of films, television shows, novels and real-life individuals. It is by no means exhaustive! Students may choose to research one of these options OR pick their own in consultation with you.

* Reading Australia resource available

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Activity 10: additions and adaptations

20:40–26:08

Purcell notes that the important silences or pauses in a theatrical or screen production are filled up in a novel. One of the reasons this interview is so striking is that it provides insight into the process of a single creator adapting the same story across multiple forms, and the opportunities and restrictions of each. Ask students to create a list, table or diagram comparing each of the forms Purcell uses. As an additional challenge, ask them to find an example of a text that has been adapted from other material; is an add-on to that material; OR is inspired by a seed of historical truth. Students might upload their findings to a collaborative website (e.g. Padlet) to share with the rest of the class.

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Activity 11: telling a ‘good yarn’

Edwards and Purcell discuss the genre of The Drover’s Wife around 18:18. It has variously been received as a work of reconciliation, resolution and reclamation. Purcell also states that she set out to engage and move people, and acknowledges that audiences will derive their own readings from the story she has created.

Students can use the table below to record evidence for the various readings of the story mentioned in the interview.

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Rich assessment task

Students will compose a sustained creative response that incorporates the following elements:

1. a text or piece of literature that has been important in their life (perhaps a childhood story, like The Drover’s Wife was for Purcell); AND
2. an aspect of their own family history.

For example, they might draw on Joan Lindsay’s classic Australian story Picnic at Hanging Rock while recounting a family gathering or celebration. How might they bring the gothic elements of Lindsay’s novel (and/or Peter Weir’s 1975 film adaptation) into a contemporary short story? Alternatively, if their family were situated in the story’s nineteenth century landscape and something went wrong, how would the various personalities involved respond to the crisis?

Students should choose a mode from the list below that best facilitates their storytelling:

• play script
• performance/monologue
• film/video
• narrative short story

The completed response should be the equivalent of 700–800 words in length. This should be accompanied by a writer’s statement of 200–300 words, in which students explain the connections they have made and justify their choices in plot, form, style and language.

Students can build on their work from previous activities, including those focused on writing from memory (The Writer’s Journey > Activity 4), the quote quest (The Author > Activity 3), and place-based writing (The Writer’s Journey > Activity 6).

Success criteria

• Evidence of close consideration of Purcell’s experience of adapting The Drover’s Wife, and consideration of an appropriate form
• The response makes connections to a significant text and to the student’s own family hi(stories)
• The response utilises skilful application of the chosen form’s conventions
• The writer’s statement accurately and thoughtfully explains the choices made in the creative process

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