Titles curated by Damien Parer
234 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 next
1940s
250 Million Years Ago documentary – c1940
While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.
The Dance of the Eyes documentary – c1940
Skylogues’ like this one from Bali, were shown in cinemas prior to a feature film; few Australians travelled abroad then.
Skyway Express documentary – c1948
One of a series of travelogues produced in the late 1940s when very few Australians had travelled overseas, each is about flying into an 'exotic’ location.
1950s
Northern Safari documentary – 1956
This six-month journey in a 1948 Buick later inspired the Leyland Brothers and Albert Mangles.
1960s
The Tasmanian Tiger sponsored film – 1960
This documentary – a partly-dramatised look at Tasmania’s animals and birds – is a good example of innovative documentary making in the early 1960s.
The Big Boomerang documentary – 1962
This promotional film about Qantas has information about the company’s only foray into aircraft construction, which was in 1926.
Life on a Sheep Farm documentary – 1965
Life on a sheep farm over one year in 1965, a time when rabbits were sometimes referred to as 'public enemy number one’.
1970s
Or Forever Hold Your Peace documentary – 1970
This compilation was made by 132 filmmakers, including some of the best known directors and producers of the time.
The 8th Wonder of the World sponsored film – 1973
This documentary coincided with the official opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973 and looks at the architecture, art and functions of the building.
The Breaker documentary – 1973
The Breaker reveals the details of Henry 'Breaker’ Morant’s life before he went to the Boer War and was executed for murder.
Daddy Cool documentary – 1973
A film about successful 1970s rock band Daddy Cool could not be anything but charmingly laid-back.
Monster or Miracle? Sydney Opera House documentary – 1973
Made just prior to the official opening in 1973, this is a celebratory film about the construction and opening of the Sydney Opera House.
The Wreck of the Batavia documentary – 1973
An early film by Bruce Beresford traces the story of the Dutch ship Batavia, wrecked on a coral reef off the coast of Western Australia in 1629.
Across Bass Strait documentary – 1974
The action on board the boats dominates this record of the 1974 Bass Strait Yacht Race.
Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God documentary – 1974
Gaudi’s belief that his artistic work was a form of spirituality has led some Spaniards to ask that he be canonized.
Art documentary – 1974
This short, amusing and thoughtful animated documentary is full of debate about art and is a good starter for students.
Snowy Hydro - The Best of the Years sponsored film – 1974
This 1974 documentary examines the multicultural workforce and its achievement in building one of the world’s largest hydroelectric schemes to that date.
Al Daff documentary – 1975
This straightforward interview with a powerful Hollywood executive contains wisdom about filmmaking that is timeless.
No Fences, No Boundaries – Walter Burley Griffin documentary – c1976
Walter Burley Griffin believed that 'buildings convey the most truth of the mental and spiritual states of various people and times’.
Jubilee and Beyond documentary – 1977
Eighteen thousand schoolchildren greet Her Majesty the Queen in 1977, giving a sense of the relationship between Australia and the UK at this time.
Conrad Martens documentary – 1978
Conrad Martens, whose watercolours are a valuable record of colonial Sydney, is reputed to be its first successful artist.
Frontline documentary – 1979
Combat cameraman and correspondent, Neil Davis worked at the extreme front-line, capturing memorable images of the Vietnam war, taken under fire.
Raccolta D’Inverno, Winter’s Harvest documentary – 1979
The government has now outlawed this traditional Italian community event of slaughtering and butchering a pig and feasting on it.
1980s
Australia in World War 1 documentary – c1980
Hubert Wilkins, official Australian war photographer, would have shot most of this footage, some of which is recreated.
Flamingo Park documentary – 1980
Fashion designer Jenny Kee had talent but so did the film’s crew, many of whom went on to make outstanding documentaries.
Franklin River Journey documentary – 1980
Amateur botanist Antonius Moscal says that rafting down the wilderness of the Franklin River reminds him of the definition of God.
The Franklin Wild River documentary – 1980
Bob Brown takes a rubber dinghy through spectacular rapids as part of a filmed campaign to halt plans to flood the Franklin River.
Give Trees a Chance: The Story of Terania Creek documentary – 1980
This recording of an anti-logging protest is one of many documentaries made in the 1980s that reflect growing concern about progress at the expense of the environment.
Stepping Out documentary – 1980
Stepping Out draws attention to the talents of people with intellectual disabilities. The group went on to perform at the Sydney Opera House.
Backs to the Blast, an Australian Nuclear Story documentary – 1981
Made 25 years after nuclear tests were conducted in SA in the 1950s, this documentary stirred up a political hornet’s nest.
Bitter Herbs and Honey documentary – 1981
While this study of Jews in Carlton re-enacts how Jewish boys were bullied, it is also a celebration of family and citizenship.
Bread and Dripping documentary – 1981
Four women recall raising families during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The film also looks at the activism of women and the beginnings of the early feminist movement in Australia.
A Personal History of the Australian Surf: Being the Confessions of a Straight Poofter documentary – 1981
His father told young Sydney-born theatre director Michael Blakemore that the world was divided into three groups, 'fools, crooks and gentlemen’.
Public Enemy Number One documentary – 1981
Public Enemy Number One gives insight into journalist Wilfred Burchett’s motives in covering wars from the enemy’s point of view.
Waterloo documentary – 1981
Tom Zubrycki’s skills as a documentary filmmaker are clearly evident in this history of the redevelopment of Waterloo in Sydney.
The Australian Way: A Salute to Aussie Sex Appeal documentary – 1982
This is a time capsule of what was considered sexy, naughty and outrageous in the early 1980s — by commercial television anyway.
The Bradman Era documentary – 1982
The documentary intercuts archival footage with former test cricketer Bill O’Reilly’s recollections of Don Bradman and notable 1930s test matches.
Snow… Down Under documentary – 1982
Snow… Down Under shows three friends skiing on Mount Kosciuszko, intercut with the history of skiing in Australia.
Allies documentary – 1983
When Gough Whitlam lead the Australian Labor Party to election victory in 1972, it altered Australia’s relationship with the US.
Coming Up from Down Under documentary – 1983
Filmmaking is in our blood,’ says actor Bryan Brown. 'We’d [Australia] made 14 films before Hollywood had made one’.
Dick Smith Explorer documentary – 1983
Dick Smith records his own solo around-the-world flight in a helicopter in 1982; his unfailing enthusiasm helps sustain interest.
Frame Up. Who Bombed the Hilton, Who Didn’t? documentary – 1983
Produced in 1982, an example of the power of the media in the controversial trial of three Ananda Marga members – the men were acquitted two years later.
The Rocks: Sydney, Australia documentary – 1983
The Rocks was considered a slum until it was restored in the 1970s. This sponsored documentary traces its redevelopment as a tourist precinct.
A Voice for the Wilderness documentary – 1983
Jobs versus rainforest preservation – this 1983 documentary was part of a successful popular campaign to save the rainforest inland from Port Macquarie.
Yanks Down Under documentary – 1983
This documentary profiles Americans in the entertainment business, including a 16-year-old Marcia Hines brought to Australia by the musical Hair.
The Flying Vet documentary – 1984
The bonus for the viewer is that the vet, and his wife, provide a real sense of what it’s like to live in remote Australia.
George Dreyfus: A Portrait documentary – 1984
Composer George Dreyfus marks this portrait with his own whimsical style, showing how lively biography can be when the subject is prepared to satirise himself.
Grave of the President documentary – 1984
In 1942, ocean liner President Coolidge accidentally struck two allied mines and sank. One of the world’s biggest shipwrecks is now a popular dive destination.
I’ll Be Home For Christmas documentary – 1984
The film follows the lives of a group of men who have bonded through their addiction to alcohol.
Kemira: Diary of a Strike documentary – 1984
Tom Zubrycki made the documentary on the run, following events as they happened and creating a 'diary’ of each passing day as the story unfolded.
