Croker Island Exodus documentary and BBQ night at Da Vinci Social Club

As part of the Rural City of Wangaratta's community pop-up cinema series the moving documentary Croker Island Exodus will be screened on Saturday, 9 August at Da Vinci Social Club at 55 Pyles Lane in Laceby. The film tells the dramatic real-life story of the incredible journey 95 Aboriginal children and their missionary carers make to safety across the continent after the Japanese bombing of Darwin. Over 44 days they travel 5000 miles by foot, boat, canoe, truck and train from Croker Island through Arnhem Land to a Methodist farm at Otford on the edge of Sydney. This compelling documentary film is their story, in their own words, a truly heroic and untold journey. It was 1941 and on Croker Island in the Arafura Sea, the Superintendent and three Cottage mothers are responsible for 95 Aboriginal children allocated to their care by the government. The missionary women are given the option of evacuating but refuse to abandon the children placed in their care. In February 1942, a message by pedal radio comes through saying Darwin has been bombed, and the missionaries will now have to move the children off the island themselves. In 44 days, these brave women and their young charges travel from Croker Island across the Australian continent, in what is a truly heroic and untold journey. After the war, one of the cottage mothers Margaret Somerville returned to Croker Island with 69 children including Alice, Netta and Jessie. She stayed on the island until 1965 when she returned to Sydney to look after her parents. A year later there was a government decision to close the mission and move all the remaining children to homes in the suburbs of Darwin and Adelaide. Alice, Netta and Jessie are now in their 80s. These Aboriginal women still call Margaret, now 100 years old, ‘sister’. It is their shared stories of love, humour and compassion that are central to this film. Entry to the film is $5 and a barbecue is available for purchase on the night from 6pm prior to the screening at 7.30pm, with funds raised going to WASP (Wangaratta Area Suicide Prevention). For catering, bookings are preferred via dvsc.wang@gmail.com or call 0409 307 606. * What's on in brief Wangaratta Farmers Market on Saturday MEET local growers and makers at the Wangaratta Farmers Market on Saturday, 9 August in the grounds of the Holy Trinity Cathedral from 8am to 12pm. There will be wide variety of stall holders showcasing the region's produce, including seasonal fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, baked goods, preserves and much more. * The Pinsent goes country Dust off your boots and grab your hat, when The Pinsent Hotel goes country on Saturday, 9 August from 6pm. Enjoy a night of hearty food, great live music performed by Fiction and lots of country-style fun, with prizes for best dressed in country and western style, plus giveaways throughout the night. Tickets include a two-course meal with drinks available at bar prices, with tickets at pinsenthotel.com.au. * National Tree Planting Day event Help plant native vegetation to support local biodiversity and bushland regeneration when the Rural City of Wangaratta hosts a National Tree Planting Day community event on Sunday, 10 August from 10am to 1pm. Volunteers will meet at Tarrawingee Station on the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail (byo warm clothes, gloves and a water bottle) with lunch to be provided by the Moyhu Lions Club. Register by Thursday, 7 August for catering purposes via humanitix.com/rcow-tree-day-2025. * Joint exhibition at Art Gallery on Ovens An exhibition featuring the work of artists Jacki Macleish and Cath Warnock is open at the Art Gallery on Ovens in Wangaratta. Called Appealing, it features a selection of Jacki's colourful figurative, still life and landscape paintings, and Cath's character-filled illustrations and narrative art pieces. See it on Friday and Monday from 10am until 4pm and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am until 2pm, with entry free. * Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2025 The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2025 exhibition is open at the Wangaratta Art Gallery. The 2025 finalists are contemporary artists who not only demonstrate a mastery of technique in a broad textile medium, but innovation and excellence in their practice. Chosen from over 400 entries, see the work of the 10 finalists including Helvi Apted, Elisa Jane Carmichael, Hannah Cooper, Charlotte Haywood, Cara Johnson, Charles Levi, Emily Simek, Jacqueline Stojanovic, Sera Waters, and $40,000 award winner Jemima Wyman, on display until 17 August. * Wangaratta community market The Wangaratta community market runs every Sunday (except Easter Sunday) at Moore Than Swimming, located at 11-13 Mason Street in Wangaratta, from 8am until 1pm. There are a wide range of stalls to browse with new and used items, plants, fruit and veg and more, with refreshments available. Stalls are available for just $20 each (no bookings required) and car boot sales are welcome for $15, with more information via the market's Facebook page or call Sheree on 0401 665 886. *

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