Picnic at Hanging Rock


Picnic at Hanging Rock is a book by Joan Lindsay from Penguin Books, published in 1967 and reprinted various times thereafter. The book concerns the story of a girl's school outing in the Australian outback and the mysterious disappearances that occur during that outing. Various paranormal elements are present in the book, especially the manner in which time seems to stand still at one point. The book was later made into an excellent movie and a not-so-excellent Amazon series.

The book and the movie are apparently entirely fictional. Some people have written me taking extreme displeasure with that statement. An Australian journalist wrote me and told me he had done quite a bit of research through the newspaper files and there was nothing to show that the events really had happened. Although there is one source cited below that says the story is true, that source itself presents no facts to back it up.

What kind of facts am I talking about? Copies of newspaper articles or magazine articles from the time covering the events as factual; copies of police reports concerning any disappearance; copies of any reports turned in relating to any search teams that had allegedly been used to try and find the girls. Also, if the event had really happened, then there would have been others throughout the years that would have gone to Hanging Rock on their own to search for the girls, perhaps for a magazine article about the "anniversary" of their disappearance, but no such article or information has even been forthcoming.

Now, if someone can present me with copies of the above types of proof then I will be happy to add them to this site and give the person full credit. In a way it is a tribute to the outstanding quality of the film that some people still believe quite fervently that the events actually happened despite the lack of any actual proof of anything unusual actually happening on that date.


Availability of the Movie, Revised

For a very long time the movie was, for all practical purposes, impossible to find to buy or even rent. That has now changed with the re-release of the movie in theaters, its running on television and the release in a director's cut dvd version.

Forum

There is a forum for the movie and it is located here. If you like the movie this is the place you should go to talk to others who also like the movie.


Secret of Hanging Rock

The book Picnic at Hanging Rock has 17 chapters, but an 18th chapter was originally written and was not included in the book. This chapter shows what happened to the girls and the teacher who never returned, along with commentary by two other people. My review of that book is here


Movie and Amazon series reviews

Picnic at Hanging Rock movie review
Trailer for Amazon's series
Amazon's PAHR Episode 1
Amazon's PAHR Episode 2
Amazon's PAHR Episode 3
Amazon's PAHR Episode 4
Amazon's PAHR Episode 5
Amazon's PAHR Episode 6

Books and Plays

Beyond the Rock
Black Swan play
Dream Within a Dream Review
Murders at Hanging Rock review
Penguin Classics
Picnic at Hanging Rock illustrated novel
Picnic at Hanging Rock play
Recollection
Resolution at Last (book)
Secrets of Hanging Rock (book)

Other things related to the book, movie and series

Analysis of the novel
Articles about the movie
Details about the movie itself
Everything Begins and Ends
Laser Disc
Lecture on PAHR (You Tube)
Lost Ending Video (You Tube)
Peter Weir interview
Peter Weir's 'Picnic at Hanging Rock': The time aspect and its connection to the mysteries of the film
Picnic at Hanging Rock audio book
Photos
Radio interview
Side by Side Comparisons (You Tube)
Video on whether or not the events were real, and interview with Anne Lambert and others
What Happened to the Girls interview
Other Picnic at Hanging Rock sites and special thanks to other people
Related factual information
Reviews and Synopses of the Movie
Australian Literature 102
Trailer
You Tube videos
More Videos
Outtakes

Thanks, John, for the above two pictures!!


Hanging Rock is, indeed, a real place.

The view of the rock itself, and the view from the rock are both quite beautiful.

My You Tube Video for Picnic at Hanging Rock

Links

A review of the movie by Tony Whitaker is here

Sandra from Germany has her new picnic site here.

This is a site that has an article on Picnic at Hanging Rock. The site was recommended to me by John. Thanks, John!

Photos of the actual Hanging Rock


Note: the information on this page is the most correct I have been able to come up with. In some of the materials below the information stated might differ from this page but this is the page that should be considered as the most accurate.