Gunditjmara man and actor Tom Molyneux spent 18 months researching the history of his great-great uncle Allan McDonald for his one-man show The Mission after hearing "a small snippet from a family story" from his father.

"Most of the family are from Lake Condah mission, and this is where Allan grew up," Mr Molyneux said.

"He moved to Melbourne and this is where he enlisted for World War I.

"Slowly, piece-by-piece I was able to stitch it all together until I had mapped out (Allan's) life."

ABC presenter Joel Carnegie will perform the second play Stardust based on the life of his grandfather Col Brain, a trumpeter who played around the Western District, and an unopened dresser which sat in Mr Carnegie's garage for 25 years.

"We hope people will start to think about the interesting and fascinating stories in their own family histories," Mr Molyneux said.

"Particularly with The Mission it is good to get people thinking about the indigenous history of their region and the stories that exist there."

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