Early in 2019 Douglass Doherty founder and Artistic Director for DoMaur Productions Incorporated was approached by the Burnie Regional Art Gallery (BRAG) to assist in providing a theatrical experience for the West Coast as part of the MMG Limited sponsorship of the BRAG. Once the initial stumbling blocks had been overcome Doug came up with the idea of a travelling variety show involving local poets and story tellers. Doug contacted Peter Winskill and asked him to be the Artistic Director for the show. He had the contacts and he was a poet in his own right. Once we had the outline of the idea, we contacted Connor French (an up and coming director and actor) to assist in bringing it all together. While we acknowledge that this is not the whole story of the West Coast and only explores the European history we only have 90min. The rest as they say is history and “The Miners Trail” was born, a show unlike any other, an exploration of the history of European settlement of the West Coast of Tasmania.
The West Coast of Tasmania is a place unlike any other in the state indeed unlike any other in the country. This side of our island home is in many aspects still as wild, raw and untamed as the first days of settlement. Though many of the towns found on the coast can feel isolated they are all linked together by a rich history, a mining history. Tonight, we hope to give you all a glimpse into this history. With the help of our talented group of performers we hope to take you back in time and relive the early days of the west coast. While it may not be as populated as it was in previous years, the west coast still thrives on mining, its shared history and its stories. Its these stories that The Miners Trail tells. The European History of the West Coast of Tasmania took 150 years to build but we only have 90 minutes to share it with you.
