Malcolm McKinnon: Film maker.

Serious work has begun! This is the first time I have been involved in collaboration of this type. Film maker and artist Malcolm McKinnon is taking my version of the story of Edith's Lyrebird and transforming it into a digital story for Lilydale Musem. Today began in the State Library of Victoria in the Heritage Reading Room photographing a copy of The Age newspaper, February 13th 1932. We were particularly interested in the article 'The Miracle of the Dandenongs' by Ambrose Pratt. It was in this article that Mr Pratt first described the relationship between Mrs Edith Wilkinson and a remarkable Lyrebird. Mission accomplished - we then headed down to ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) and viewed some footage from 1934 of a male Lyrebird in display. Well!!! ..... you could have knocked me over with a feather!! It was our man! Edith's Lyrebird.

The joy of this kind of research is indescribable. Tracking down a story to its roots, touching and seeing the very beginning of a tale from the past and pulling into the present.