Proserpine Landmarks Transformed By Film Crews

For three months last year, the usually quiet town of Proserpine was bustling with excitement as film crews descended and countless hours were spent shooting scenes across town, many of them featuring local faces who were lucky to be selected.

From the Sugar Mill to the local pub, the cane fields to the old Hospital, many local landmarks were transformed into the set of this enthralling crime series based in the fictional North Queensland town of Ashford.

The series is steeped in South Sea Islander history and tells the story of a 17-year-old girl, played by Talijah Blackman-Corowa, who is about to graduate high school when her life is tragically cut short.

It is 25 years later when a time capsule is unveiled and releases a startling revelation which prompts Detective Cormack, played by Travis Fimmel, to investigate her murder and find answers to long forgotten secrets.

Local Extras Shine In National TV Series

Over 150 local ‘extras’ were involved in filming the TV series Black Snow with many commenting that the whole production team were friendly, respectful and welcoming.

“They held a community BBQ to introduce themselves,” said ‘extra’ Bess Nolan.

“Everyone was really down to earth, friendly, helpful and normal.

“It was lovely to see so much bustle in town and it brought a whole lot of people into the town which was good.”

Bess featured in several scenes over a period of five days and said it was a really fun experience that she would love to do again.

Nine-year-old Proserpine State School student Meela Thornton played Rob Carlton’s on-screen granddaughter and filmed for one day, which happened to be her birthday.

“I had to yell out ‘poppy!’ as we were running down a driveway,” said Meela.

“I really loved everyone on set, especially the grandfather.”

Aspiring actor, Brian McDermott was the man who lifted the top off the time capsule and he said that he loved being on a real set for the first time.

“It was great to get that experience and see how it all works,” said Brian.

For other ‘extras’, it was an opportunity to tick off a bucket list item and try a new experience.

“I’ve done a lot of things in my life, I’m an old bloke and I’ve had a lot of fun,” said retired press photographer Bob Feeney.

“But this was one thing that I hadn’t done, so I thought - why not give it a go?!”

Mark Fornasiero featured in two scenes and agreed with Bob.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do, something on the bucket list!” he said.

All the extras agreed that there were long days and a lot of standing around, but that it didn’t matter because watching ‘behind the scenes’ was fascinating.

“I worked out that I did 22 hours over two days and I think I’m on screen for between five and eight seconds all up!” said Bob.

“Out of those two days filming, there was only about four minutes of screen time – so it’s a lot of money, a lot of repetition but I thought the whole thing was fascinating to be part of.”

Christina Unterwurzacher said she loved how the directors aimed to convey real life emotions.

“They filmed us hearing the contents of the letter for the first time ‘live’ so they got everyone’s real reactions to it,” she said.

“It was really interesting hearing the big reveal on day one.”

For many, however, it was the cultural undertones and the representation of the South Sea Islander community that was closest to their heart.

Adeline Poid brought members of the South Sea Islander community together when she was tasked with recruiting her family and friends.

“I really wanted to be involved because of my own heritage, I have direct family from Tanna, my uncle is still a chief over there,” she said.

“The South Sea Islander Heritage is very real in this area, and it was really interesting to learn about that through a lot of local elders who helped make the series as authentic as possible.”

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Front and centre – local faces appear in STAN mini-series

Nine-year-old Proserpine State School student Meela Thornton filming on-set

Proserpine’s cane fields were a major feature of the crime thriller

The old Hospital became the set of the high school in the Black Snow series where the time capsule was unveiled