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Transcript 12/07/2001 8:00pm The Woodlanders Producer: Caitlin Shea and Brigid Donovan Researcher: Kristine Taylor and Mara Blazic The WoodlandersHello. I'm Les Murray, poet. My father was a timber-cutter and tonight you'll meet the McDonald brothers who are very like him, like most forest people I've known. The style doesn't change much over the generations. A few years ago, I got to know the Melbourne painter Jenni Mitchell and it's typical of Jenni that the friendship that's grown up between her and the McDonalds is full of sharing and trust and a lot of discovery both ways.  JENNI MITCHELL: We came to Digby because we wanted a quiet retreat - a place to work and hibernate away from the city and uninterrupted. It's amazing that search for peace - instead I seem to have got involved with McDonald's lives and, um, sometimes it's as busy down here as it is in the city. I've wanted to write about them because they're so full of character and different to the city and their needs and their attitudes. Digby's in the western district of Victoria, about 400km from Melbourne. MERVYN HANNAN, Jenni's partner: Pound Cottage is kind of unique inside, you know. It's like a regular, rough little country cottage on the outside and it's quite different inside. JENNI: One of the changes we wanted to make to our cottage was to fix up the deck. And to do that, we needed timber. ALAN McDONALD: All the mates around the district know where to come. They tell one another. I only met Jenni a bit over 12 months ago - that's the first time we set eyes on her - come out here and wanted some timber. Yeah, I don't think she knew the difference between a cow and a bull. Years ago, that's all they used to do. If it's a hollow tree, you hear a hollow sound. If it's a sound tree, it's got a different ring to it. JENNI: I respect the McDonalds for the way they take only the timber they need in the forest. MERVYN HANNAN: The back of that truck was just curved, it was amazing. But now, after seeing them loading timber and the logs on it, I can understand why that truck's got a bent back. I can understand why their backs are a bit bent too. Watching them work, it's hard yakka. Um, rolling those lumps of wood around. I mean, they're pretty heavy. ALAN: He's got to be the main man on the mill, the benchman. If he don't cut the timber right, well, nobody will want it. MERVYN: I really like the way they.....they don't have to communicate. It's almost musical, you might say, the way they, operate it without... without... well, without talking. JENNI: I asked them if I could photograph them. I felt that what they're doing has to be recorded and if the mill closed, that would be part of our pioneering mythology we would lose.  MERVYN: For her, I think it must be just seeing another side of life. You're meeting something that's really different and I think that's what's made Jenni fascinated about it. ALAN: Oh, well sometimes you have a few arguments especially when the football's on. I barrack for different teams to what they do and they won't tell me. Have a few arguments but oh, well, you get over it after a while. Seem to get on alright, not like most, some don't get on alright and they clear out. We've been stopping together so far. Probably stop together a bit longer. JENNI: I asked them if they'd ever considered marriage and they haven't really had the time or the need to. I mean, Alan said the other day, I guess we just had too much fun on the farm. It wasn't really an issue. KEVIN McDONALD: If they weren't here, I don't know what I'd do. You'd have to look for a woman then. Alright. JENNI: They built the new house and then they pulled the old house down. The left the chimney and that is a barbeque area. ALAN: Well, that's Mum and Dad when they got married. Don't ask me what year it is because there's no dates on it. JENNI: The brothers have lived together all their lives, really. Ah, their mother died probably three years ago now and their father about six years ago. ALAN: That's Kevin, Ron and that's me when I was small. JENNI: As I got to know the McDonald brothers, and they told me they'd never been to Melbourne, I was really surprised. Most country people have travelled to their capital city. It's more unusual for city people not to have been to small towns in the country. ALAN: Problem is, we wouldn't have known where to go in Melbourne because we would have got lost. KEVIN: Not till Jenni come around. Until she came out here, that was never on our mind. RON McDONALD: First of all, Kevin was jibbing and you know, all of a sudden, she rang up one night and said we were going and I nearly fell over, I think. JENNI: They found out I was a painter and the second trip to Melbourne was, in fact, to paint their portrait. I had thought of doing it in Digby but it just seemed to be the best excuse in the world to bring them up to here. MERVYN: I think for the McDonald brothers, I suppose it's like an escape in a way. I mean, they didn't plan any of this, they didn't expect it, you know, that such a rapport would happen. And that she'd invite them to Melbourne and see the sights. JENNI: So, really, there's lots of family in Melbourne. It's just that you've never come down to see them. And of course, they were a bit hesitant. But, ah, I feel that, they really feel that it's fun. You know, because they've been down on the farm and now, well, they've done their hard slog so now they're enjoying life. As well as painting their portrait, we decided to take a trip down the Yarra because they hadn't been on a boat. ALAN McDONALD: Oh, it's a big difference from out in the country. Only seen it on television but I didn't think it was that big. Yeah, you'd better move or you get knocked over quick. RON: People are rushing here and there...They're like a mad mob of sheep, they're going one way, and they're coming one way and they go another. And they coming straight towards you then. Like a mad mob of sheep - that's what they do. They knock you over. Oh, here we go. Let's see if it fits. Let's hope so. JENNI: I've been painting portraits for the last 20 years and most of those portraits have been poets and more recently, people that I've called "extraordinary people". And I think the McDonalds fit into that category. They're unique and I've just enjoyed getting to know them. For me, they're extraordinary. The MacDonald brothers have now developed quite a taste for travel. They are looking forward to their next trip ... to Ballarat. |
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