In 1940, refugees from Nazi persecution who had fled to Britain were suddenly classified as enemy aliens, transported to Australia on the ship Dunera, and held in camps in Hay and Orange, NSW, and in Tatura, Victoria. In their attempts to re-create traces of their former lives, internees ran a remarkable range of activities inside the camps, from art classes to university-style lectures and theatrical performances. As a result, they produced an extraordinary array of personal art and artefacts, from beautiful portraits and landscapes to pop-up paper models and even an unofficial camp currency. The Library has spent many years compiling collections that piece together this little-known chapter in Australian history and now holds one of largest Dunera collections in the world.

The Dunera Mass is a dramatised concert, telling the story of these refugees using the recently rediscovered music manuscripts of Dunera composer Max-Peter Meyer, with projections of artworks created by fellow Dunera refugees to illuminate the story.

Writer-researcher-narrator: Dr Nicole Forsyth

Performers:
Luminescence Chamber Singers
The Oriana Chorale
Roland Peelman AM
Dr Anna McMichael (violin)
Nicole Forsyth (viola)
Stephanie Li (cello)
Jem Harding (piano)

Sound engineer & producer: Jim Atkins

Presented by the State Library of NSW in association with the exhibition Dunera: Stories of Internment.

This performance is part of a project funded by Creative Australia.