The gold rush appeal of Clunes will again be recognised on the small screen this year with a portion of the Picnic at Hanging Rock remake to be shot in the town.
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The cast and crew of the Foxtel-commissioned mini-series will spend five days shooting along the iconic Fraser Street, which has previously played host to high profile productions such as Ned Kelly in 2002.
The six-part series which is being produced by Fremantle Media is currently shooting in and around Melbourne, and while the company declined to give a precise date for filming in Clunes, the first of the hour-long episodes is expected to premiere later this year.
Hepburn Shire councillor Neil Newitt said Fremantle Media’s decision to use the town reasserted Clunes’ fame as a hub for authentic gold rush architecture.
Most of the historic Fraser Street was built in the period between 1860 and 1910 and that’s all still in tact.
- Neil Newitt - Cameron Ward councillor
“Most of the historic Fraser Street was built in the period between 1860 and 1910 and that’s all still in tact and we want to enhance that built environment and streetscape,” Cr Newitt said.
British actress Natalie Dormer of Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games fame will star as the headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard in the adaptation of the 1967 Joan Lindsay novel, while Orange Is The New Black's Yael Stone will take the role of Miss Dora Lumley.
Over the past three years the town has been in high demand from television producers, with HBO series The Leftovers venturing to Clunes in September.
The previous year the town had been used as the site for the ABC3 mini-series Tomorrow, When the War Began, based off the well known John Marsden book series.
“Productions recently have used locals as extras, plus the flow on benefit of increased activity from the numbers involved with filming has great economic benefits for the whole region,” Cr Newitt said.
The town originally rose to prominence on the silver screen as one of the sites of the 1979 Mel Gibson cult classic Mad Max.