WHEN she’s not solving murder mysteries on the fictional streets of 1960s Ballarat, Anna McGahan has a different calling entirely.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Since travelling to Nepal about five years ago, the starlet, who joined the cast of The Doctor Blake Mysteries in season four, has been undergoing a kind of spiritual awakening or epiphany.
Ms McGahan spoke about her experiences from navigating the Sydney acting scene to finding her spiritual path at a sold-out event at Delacombe’s Salvation Army centre on Saturday.
She said she felt a strong affinity with the organisation’s ethos and ambitions to take action to help others through social justice campaigns.
The event aimed to raise money for a beauty and cafe school in Nepal that aims to train and employ women involved in human trafficking.
“I feel an affinity with the heart of the Salvation Army, the Christian heart of social justice,” she said.
“I found faith probably four or five years ago, and to be honest that radically changed the way I see a lot of the suffering in the world, because suddenly in my mind there’s hope.
“In all honesty, I wouldn’t know my way through it all otherwise.”
Since travelling to Nepal, a country she loves, she has become a tireless campaigner for women in the developing nation.
“I saw such poverty...and I really saw their suffering,” she said.
However, finding out about the Salvation Army’s programs for women helped her transition from feeling “helpless to empowered”.
“It’s really brought to my attention what issues are there and what changes can be made,” she said.
“There’s just so much hope in having programs like this, particularly a group of women banding together to help their sisters.
“What we’re talking about is women and their worth.”
Ms McGahan came to prominence in Underbelly: Razor. She now plays Rose Anderson, a journalist for The Courier, in Doctor Blake.
Since joining the show, Melbourne-based Ms McGahan said she had fallen in love with Ballarat.
“There’s a culture that’s retained, a sense of community and a sense of loyalty you don’t find in Melbourne,” she said.
“There’s a camaraderie I find in Ballarat, and it’s aesthetically beautiful too.”
Ms McGahan is currently preparing for performances at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival and the National Play Festival, before returning to Ballarat in September to shoot season five of Doctor Blake.
To find out more about the Making it Happen project, visit www.sarmy.org.au/en/Ministry/Womens-Ministries/Making-It-Happen