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Clip description
The frozen waste of the Kiandra goldfield was one of the few in Australia to welcome the Chinese diggers. It also witnessed the start to Australia’s ski fields and winter sports industry, with the country’s first ski club opening there in 1878.
Curator’s notes
Kiandra in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales is halfway between Sydney and Melbourne. Its gold field restored the fortunes of the original colony at a time when it seemed to be losing out to Victoria in the race for supremacy.
This excellent program is written and presented by Bill Peach, known to Australian audiences as the presenter of This Day Tonight (1967-78), Australia’s very first nightly current affairs program. Bill Peach left This Day Tonight after eight years to write and present Peach’s Australia then Peach’s Explorers and finally Peach’s Gold. All three series are visually interesting, well researched and tell good stories that bring Australian history alive.
This clip is a good example of the series – pacy, informative, full of quirky information effortlessly communicated by Peach, one of the best presenters of the time. The mock stock footage of the supposed miners skiing is a particularly nice touch.
