Picnic At Hanging Rock: based on reality or not?

[violaine]

Does anyone know to what extent Joan Lindsay's novel Picnic At Hanging Rock (later made into a film directed by Peter Weir) was inspired by true events, as both the book and film claim?

[geofbob]

The movie is based on a 1967 novel by an elderly woman, Joan Leslie, who hinted that her book, set in 1900, was based on a facts. However, no evidence seems to have been uncovered that would confirm the story to be true. For more detail, see the newspaper article at http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/greatmovies/hanging_
rock.html

[smorodina]

There is a final chapter to the book which was not published in the original that does give some answers, but it is not a very satisfying conclusion, and the story is better without it.