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For the Honour of Australia (1916)

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clip 'The Sydney's first shot for Australia'

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Clip description

A radar operator receives a brief message from an island near Cocos Island, saying that an ‘enemy cruiser’ has landed men on the island. The Sydney rushes to the scene as the Germans destroy the radio and capture the island’s inhabitants, one of whom is the islander girl Kana (Alma Rock Phillips). The Germans are surprised when the Sydney arrives and opens fire, for the first time in a new war.

Curator’s notes

by Paul Byrnes

This is footage from the second (and weaker) of the two films used to make For the Honour of Australia. For Australia (1915) was made for JC Williamson’s Ltd by staff stills photographer Monte Luke. He had shot Within Our Gates (1915) with director Frank Harvey a few months earlier for JC Williamson’s, but this was his first attempt as director. For Australia was a propaganda melodrama about spies in Australia, and it was criticised at the time for its bad special effects (including a wooden crocodile and unconvincing models of the warships). Monte Luke, born 1885 in Geelong, directed several other silent films, before returning to a career as a stills photographer.

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