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Extraordinary/Ordinary returns as a live panel conversation hosted by Lisa D’Onofrio—writer, occasional poet, podcast maker, and long-standing advocate for community storytelling in Central Victoria. Her work is shaped by close observation, curiosity, and a deep commitment to uncovering the histories often left at the margins.
The podcast, shortlisted for the 2024 Victorian Community History Awards, focuses on the lives of women—both historical figures and contemporary voices—whose stories illuminate the texture of regional life. For this special Festival event, D’Onofrio is joined by guests Natasha Joyce and Louise Cooper to highlight remarkable women: twelve-year-old goldfields’ immigrant Lucy Hannah Birchall, and pioneering early detective novelist Waif Wanderer (Mary Helena Fortune). A third guest will be announced shortly.
The conversation moves with the clarity and empathy characteristic of D’Onofrio’s work—part social history, part close listening, part reclamation. Longstanding passions such as mapping, walking, and community memory sit beneath the structure of the hour, guiding the way the speakers talk about women’s lives and the gaps traditional history often leaves behind.
Presented in memory of Jacqui Turnbull, this live episode offers an opportunity to hear local stories thoughtfully examined and generously shared. It’s a chance to explore how new histories are created—piece by piece, voice by voice—and how the extraordinary can be found inside the seemingly ordinary lives that shaped this region.
