Gill Heal was a teacher, writer and director. She wrote and produced acclaimed theatre events that dramatised local history through the spoken word, original music and images. Gill died in January 2026.
The final curtain
The final curtainJan 16, 2026 - Gill Heal has left the theatre but a touch of magic remains. By Catherine Watson
Leader of the pack
Wonthaggi woman Chris Davies was a horse woman through and through ... until Charlie the pet kelpie started herding sheep. Gill Heal reports
Beyond words
Artist Tom Murray-White has learned to turn off the part of his brain that makes words. Gill Heal reports.
The inside story
By Gill Heal WHEN Melbourne actor Fiona Macleod was invited to read for the latest “Readings at the Old Dalyston Deli” event, she was quick to say yes. She’d recently spent 70 hours recording three...
Leading by example
By Gill Heal I’VE been thinking about values and patriotism and I think I know what our prime minister means. We’re a first world country; we’re out in front of the pack. And we should be proud of it,...
What if we gave up the booze?
By Gill Heal DONALD Trump was elected six months ago and we’re still here. We’ve watched the world’s most powerful leader spin fantasy, insult and demean, and legitimise ignorance. And the sky hasn’t...
Thank you, Dr Brooks
By Gill Heal THERE’S a memorable moment in To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus Finch sits, defeated, in the emptying courtroom. As he rises to exit, the black townsfolk in the balcony stand as one. “Miss...
Here’s to Paul
By Gill Heal PAUL’S Table is the stuff of dreams. Or, to be more precise, of faith. It’s an unlikely idea that’s been forged by life experience and finally made real, here in Bass Coast. Run by Tracey...
Dawn before the dark
Gill Heal wonders if anything can stop humanity’s descent into a new Dark Age. THERE’S a well-known mantra: “Every day in every way, I am getting better.” If you say this to yourself often enough, it...
Little shop revisited
By Gill Heal WHEN Karen Milkins Hendry took her proposal for the cult classic Little Shop of Horrors to the Wonthaggi Theatre Group in 2006, few punters would have backed her chances. At the time,...
Across the great divide
Director Josh Gardiner leaves us no place in hide in his production of The Diary of Anne Frank. From left, Albert Dussel (Brad Beach), Peter Van Daan (Adam Turner), Mrs Van Daan (Jaz Kaye), Anne Frank...
Half way to paradise
Zena Benbow, third from right, at Pioneer Bay’s Aussie Day Bash. By Gill Heal SHE was a city girl until the time she dated a West Gippsland dairy farmer. The relationship fizzled out but her love...
Country boy with a city heart
The city fascinated the young Darren Talbot but when it came to setting up home it had to be within sight, sound and smell of the sea.
Leap of faith
ELEVEN years ago, Mariamma Cheriyan arrived in Australia with little more than a passport and a certificate of nursing.
Newcomers welcome
Maddy Harford and Harry Freeman didn't expect their new lives to be so interesting, they tell Gill Heal.
Playing with fire
Being an actor is a weird job, Rowena Wallace tells Gill Heal, because the boundary between acting and real life isn’t always clear.
The stuff of dreams and nightmares
There were a few nightmarish moments on the way to Wonthaggi Theatre Group’s dream-like production of Pippin, director Karen Milkins Hendry tells GILL HEAL.
Never mind the gap
Taking a year away from study between school and university is sometimes seen as a slightly dangerous diversion. GILL HEAL spoke to five local students who followed their own paths and found unexpected...