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The Bogong Centre for Sound Culture is a remote-regional cultural initiative situated in the foothills of Victoria’s Alpine National Park. Established by Philip Samartzis and Madelynne Cornish the Centre supports projects focusing on the processes and impacts of sustainable energy production; effects of climate change in wilderness areas; ethnographic studies of remote communities; the chronicling of vanishing industrial procedures; and systems of representation used to render natural and built environments.
Additionally, the BCSC facilitates a broad cultural program comprising, festivals, exhibitions, publications, master classes and artists’ talks focusing on site-specific art practices. These programs establish a connection with place, its inhabitants, geographic space and memory. They engage a wide range of audiences, bringing together local, interstate and international artists across multiple disciplines and fields to realise ambitious works.
The BCSC is situated at the newly restored old school at Bogong Alpine Village located 350 kilometres from Melbourne in North East Victoria.
About Bogong Village
Bogong Alpine Village is 325 kilometres North-East of Melbourne situated at an altitude of 800 meters in the Alpine National Park between Mount Beauty and Falls Creek. The village was established in the late 1930s to service the first hydroelectric scheme in mainland Australia. More recently it has become a popular site for alpine sports, recreation and ecotourism. Click here for directions.
A Short History
Work on the Kiewa Scheme commenced in 1938 with the construction of a road from Tawonga to the High Plains. Previously the only access was by foot or horseback along tracks that had been forged by cattlemen of a bygone era. Bogong Village was established once the road from Junction Camp was trafficable (March 1939); this paved the way for the construction of permanent buildings. Prior to that life was tough; large canvas tents and flies were used for sleeping quarters and smaller tents were set up to house the kitchens. By 1940 Bogong Township had grown considerably with a general store, staff offices, recreational mess, police station, and a variety of accommodation such as single men’s quarters and residences for married staff and families.
Bogong State School
In 1941 the Primary School at Bogong Village enrolled its first intake of students comprising nine pupils. Initially the school consisted of a large classroom, storeroom and boys and girls toilets. Extensions were carried out in 1944, which expanded the capabilities of the school. A library, storeroom, pupil’s lunchroom and shelter shed were added and rock gardens were established. By 1947 the number of students had grown to 46 all of whom were children of local SEC workers. Over the years class sizes fluctuated and the building remained unchanged. In 1980 it ceased to operate as a school and sat idle, eventually falling into disrepair. In 2004 it was sold along with many other buildings in the village.
Madelynne Cornish and Philip Samartzis bought the Old School and set about restoring it to its former glory. The rotting weatherboards and floorboards, smashed windows and flaking paint are now a distant memory. The newly refurbished building occupies it’s original footprint and bares a strong resemblance to it’s former self. Although the internals have been modernized remnants of it’s past history remain. The Old School once played a significant role in the fabric of village life. It inspired the community and helped shape the minds of those who studied there. It is our intention as custodians that the School once again functions as a place of inspiration.
Reference: Kiewa Kids School Days at Bogong & Mount Beauty by Graham Gardner
The last couple of days have been spent exploring the sonic qualities of a small bridge crossing a river, on a walking track near Fainter Falls. The metal span passes over a connecting tributary that feeds into the main river flowing down from Mt McKay power station, the volume of water passing underneath producing a consistently heavy roar. The intensity of the river underneath the bridge is such that it translates to vibrational activity in the metal structure of the bridge itself, subsequently picked up by contact mics that I placed at various points. I also noticed that any kind of transient activation (stepping, jumping, hitting the fencing, etc) would produce strong, gong-like tones, with a subsequent wash of percussive rattle. I also made numerous acoustic recordings of the ambient sound of the river’s roar.
After recording a sufficient amount of the water vibration padding, I set about exploring how to “play” the bridge in various ways. My time at the BCSC has interestingly seen me become more open minded to myself playing a part in my sound works – in the past, I have been strict with capturing only naturally sounds, any activation of a body or structure has been from wind, water, fatigue, etc. I am still very much interested in this kind of naturally occurring activation, but seem to be involving more of my past practice as a musician/percussionist.
The material recorded here will most likely form a finished piece of its own, to be included in what will be an EP that features sound works created from BCSC residency material. Other tracks will include the Junction Dam exploration recordings, as well as the Mt McKay tower recordings, and perhaps some captures from Pretty Valley.
