Travel Tuesday
Would you travel from one side of the world to the other for love? Claire Adams did. Claire’s was a story of a Canadian screen star that chose love over fame and created her own version of Hollywood on a farm in the Western District of Victoria, Australia.
Silent screen
actress Claire Adams, who appeared in 46 films between 1919 and 1927, moved to
the Skipton property Mooramong
a year after marrying local grazier Donald "Scobie" Mackinnon in
London in 1936. Their extraordinary life together has finally be revealed with
the launch of the National
Trust of Australia documentary Mooramong - Private Hollywood,
narrated by Rachel Ward. I was fortunate enough to be part of the Melbourne
screening of this delightful story.
The documentary
uses footage taken by Claire over many decades as she recorded life at
Mooramong - glamorous pool parties, international guests, the couple's love of
animals, and their farming and community life.
Whilst sitting
through this 63-minute film (produced, directed and written by Australian
independent filmmaker and journalist, Lina Caneva), I couldn’t help
wondering whether I would do the same. If the man of my dreams worked really
hard to sweep me off my feet, and he happened to live in the Northern
Hemisphere, would I leave family, friends and the life I’ve known behind in
pursuit of a dream? I’d like to think I’d say yes… but then I also have to
work out how to make the arrangement workable.
Certainly with the
frequency of today’s flights, coupled with the number of low cost carriers that
are now available, any visiting routines can be handled a whole lot more easily
than they would have been able to be in Claire’s day.
Really, each of us
is not more than approx. 30 hours away from anyone else, which in the scheme of
things is not that long at all. Add into the mix the use of Skype and Messenger and all other web based
communication tools that are now available, and loved ones are not that far
away at all. In fact, I suspect you may make more of an effort to contact loved
ones overseas on a more regular basis, even more so that you do when they’re
just down the road. Certainly that was the case between my brother and I!
Tools such as these
really would make the decision easier.
No more snail mail, no more travelling by long boat (or only if you want to), no
more waiting for days and days to get to where you want/have to get to. The
older we get, the smaller the world seems to get; don’t you think? Certainly,
there is fabulous upside to moving away on a rather long adventure. Imagine the
experiences, and the memories, and the purchases, and the new people you will
get to meet; probably a whole lot different to the place you are leaving. That in
itself would be enough to spur me on I think...
What about the work factor? Would you give up your current career, your working life as you know it to travel across the seas? Does your current money making arrangement make it possible to pack up and move around the world anyway? Would your care factor about the work you do still be as high as it is now, especially for love? So many considerations...
Would I marry after only a few weeks like Claire and Scobie did? That’s a different question all together!
Happy Travels
the entrepreneurial mother™
Hello!
Thank you for supporting the story of Claire Adams and the choices she made for love.
I am on the verge of completing the life story of Claire Adams Mackinnon and am facinated by her drive, courage and belief in the best of people. She had some very rough times, including near-poverty and an abusive first marriage, but stayed true to herself and the people she loved.
I actually travelled the other way from Melbourne to Los Angeles for love and couldn't help but think of Claire and how she coped going the other way.
My husband was lucky enough to become VP of Research and Collections at the LA Natural History Museum. When we arrived, I got to talking about Claire Adams to one of the History Collection Managers, who happened to be a silent film fan and expert. Her eyes popped when I told her Claire's story and how she lived happily ever after a long way from Hollywood.
I'd become familiar with Claire's story when I was a student in Melbourne and volunteered for the National Trust. I was given the opportunity to work at Mooramong and the fabulous collection there. As it happened, no one knew very much about her early life in Canada and Hollywood. So guess what I've been doing for the last year and a half?
If you or your visitors would like to know more, I've started a blog, Chasing Claire Adams, which tracks some of my history-hunting adventures. I would love to hear from anyone who may have further information or questions about this fabulous and inspiring woman.
Posted by: Heather Robinson Long | Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 02:25 PM