All documentaries on ASO - Australia's audio and visual heritage online

Dugong Dugong 1980

Depending on the individual viewer’s attitude, scenes of dugong hunting can be exhilarating or disturbing.

Flamingo Park 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 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 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 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.

Morning Star Painter 1980

A portrait of Djiwul (Jack) Wunuwun, the Morning Star Painter, set in his homeland community of Gamedi in Arnhem Land.

Stepping Out 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 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 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 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 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 1981

Public Enemy Number One gives insight into journalist Wilfred Burchett’s motives in covering wars from the enemy’s point of view.

Two Laws 1981

The concept of two laws – colonial and Indigenous law – can also be spoken about as two ways of storytelling or filmmaking.

Waterloo 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 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 1982

The documentary intercuts archival footage with former test cricketer Bill O’Reilly’s recollections of Don Bradman and notable 1930s test matches.

The Sharkcallers of Kontu 1982

Believing that the spirits of their ancestors dwell in the mako shark, shark callers are not only hunting but also maintaining a connection with their past.

A Shifting Dreaming 1982

Ray Barrett stars in this story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations spanning from the 1928 Coniston massacre to Land Rights hearings in 1982.

Snow… Down Under 1982

Snow… Down Under shows three friends skiing on Mount Kosciuszko, intercut with the history of skiing in Australia.

Allies 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 1983

Filmmaking is in our blood,’ says actor Bryan Brown. 'We’d [Australia] made 14 films before Hollywood had made one’.

Dick Smith Explorer 1983

Dick Smith records his own solo around-the-world flight in a helicopter in 1982; his unfailing enthusiasm helps sustain interest.

First Contact 1983

It was a gift to the filmmakers: seven rusty cans of film documenting ‘first contact’ between PNG people and three white brothers.

For Love or Money 1983

Using almost totally historical material, For Love or Money encompasses the role of Australian women in both paid and unpaid work, over a 200 year period.

Frame Up. Who Bombed the Hilton, Who Didn’t? 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.

Lousy Little Sixpence 1983

Lousy Little Sixpence highlights the injustice of withheld wages, and the fight for rightful payment to be made to Indigenous peoples.

The Rocks: Sydney, Australia 1983

The Rocks was considered a slum until it was restored in the 1970s. This sponsored documentary traces its redevelopment as a tourist precinct.

Serious Undertakings 1983

Serious Undertakings breaks new ground in understanding the construction of meaning and exemplifies the impact of 1970s screen theory on making independent films.

Some of Many: Germans in Australia 1983

An Australian-based German filmmaker traces the changing fortunes of German immigrants to Australia from the first fleet to the late 1980s.

A Voice for the Wilderness 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 1983

This documentary profiles Americans in the entertainment business, including a 16-year-old Marcia Hines brought to Australia by the musical Hair.

Breakout 1984

Japanese POWs were not trying to escape from their Cowra prison in 1944 so much as escape from the dishonour of capture.

Couldn’t Be Fairer 1984

This film, to some degree, is a tribute to Mick Miller, who was committed to fighting for the rights of Indigenous peoples.

The Flying Vet 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 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 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 1984

The film follows the lives of a group of men who have bonded through their addiction to alcohol.

Kemira: Diary of a Strike 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.

Neptune’s Nippers 1984

At the age of 12, Jason Duplator won a scholarship from the Wildlife Research Institute to participate in a marine training program.

Nicaragua: No Pasaran 1984

David Bradbury spent six months in Nicaragua telling the story of the revolutionary Sandinistas coming to power after 43 years of organised resistance.