Forwarded for your information. Beryl O'Gorman Greensborough Victoria Australia List Admin ----- Original Message ----- From: "GSV" <gsv@gsv.org.au> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2001 8:22 AM Subject: [VICGENGP] SS Great Britain Hello everyone, I am forwarding this letter for those interested in the SS Great Britain. Dear Sir/Madam My name is Baz Kershaw, and I am the Professor of Drama at the University of Bristol, England. During the past 18 months I have been involved with the SS Great Britain project. In May, 2000 I produced The Iron Ship, a large-scale show around and on the ship with over 80 performers. The production used a mixture of documentary history and fantasy to present ideas and questions about the ship past and present. The show was very successful in raising public interest in the ship and exploring imaginative ways to interpret it. Now I am planning another, smaller-scale production on the SS Great Britain for September of this year. This will involve just one female performer and will run for five days non-stop during the ship's opening hours. The theme of this show will be the different ways through which we remember the past. To research for the show I have been invited to Australia by the University of Newcastle, NSW between July 8 and August 26. I will be spending some of this time in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane with the aim of meeting descendants of passengers of the ship's voyages from 1852-1876. I am interested in collecting any stories that have been passed down through the generations, especially about the experiences of passengers after they arrived in Australia. The purpose of my project is to contribute to the SS Great Britain's work in designing a new museum exhibition and new ways for visitors to experience the ship. The ship has been successful in its bid for a large Lottery grant (though £3million still needs to be raised in matching funds) which will enable great improvements in the way it is presented to the public. We would dearly love to trace living families descended from the nineteenth century passengers, and to record stories for possible inclusion in the planned new museum. I would really appreciate your help in finding names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc. of relevant families so that I can contact them and seek contributions of stories. I will personally not be able to travel far from the cities, but I will be equipped to record stories from anyone I cannot meet by telephone. I am afraid I am not able offer any financial incentive. Any responses before July 5 should be direct to me via e-mail: baz.kershaw@bristol.ac.uk or fax: 0044 117 928 7832 or post: 71 Cotham Brow, Bristol BS6 6AW, UK. After that I can be contacted in Australia at: e-mail: as above phone 1: 02 4951 5001 (message) phone 2: 02 4921 5006 (direct) post: Department of Drama, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308 I do hope that you are able to assist, and thank you in advance for your efforts. Kind regards Baz Maureen Meyer Administration Manager The Genealogical Society of Victoria Inc Level 6 179 Queen Street Melbourne 3000 Victoria, Australia www.gsv.org.au Email: gsv@gsv.org.au Celebrating our Diamond Jubilee Year 1941-2001 ============================== Create a FREE family website at MyFamily.com! http://www.myfamily.com/banner.asp?ID=RWLIST2