There are Fairies at the bottom of My Garden.

A special screening of Fairy Tale: A True Story was just screened at the Star Cinema by the Bendigo Art Gallery to coincide with the current exhibition, Looking for faeries; the Victorian Tradition.

Arriving to cupcakes, fairy bread and a brew of hot tea was a perfect setting to begin a film about fairies. Elderly women gathered together while the rain set in, then it was time to move to the red couches and watch the film.

A special screening of Fairy Tale: A True Story was just screened at the Star Cinema by the Bendigo Art Gallery to coincide with the current exhibition, Looking for faeries; the Victorian Tradition.


Arriving to cupcakes, fairy bread and a brew of hot tea was a perfect setting to begin a film about fairies. Elderly women gathered together while the rain set in, then it was time to move to the red couches for the viewing.

The 1997 film tells the story of two young girls of Cottingley in England, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, based on actual events. During 1917 the cousins had taken photographs of themselves with fairies. The photographs had then caught the attention of writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who had a strong belief in the images and used them in an edition of the 1920 The Strand Magazine to illustrate an article he wrote on fairies.

After a decline in the interest of the fairies images, they still remained in peoples thoughts but during the 1980’s both girls confessed that the photos were taken of fairies made out of card board cutouts. However Frances Griffiths still believe that one of the photographs was in fact genuine.

Many years on and the story still leaves an imprint on one’s mind. The Case of the Cottingley Fairies by Joe Cooper (who was an advisor on the film about the affair) is a great read if anyone would like to know more detail on the events that a cured.

Looking for Faeries; the Victorian Tradition exhibition is on display at the Bendigo Art Gallery until November 28th.

^ Elsie Wright, Alice and the fairies (Frances), 1917 photograph (reproduction),

Courtesy of Science & Society Picture Library, Science Museum, London.