Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘communications’

44 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

1910s

The Sydney Morning Herald documentary – 1911

One of the first Australian docos to be shot at night with artificial light, this Pathé short shows the newspaper printing process of the Sydney Morning Herald.

For the Honour of Australia feature film – 1916

War melodrama about two brothers in 1915: one joins the navy, the other discovers a German spy ring in Australia and is saved after the Sydney batters the Emden.

1920s

The Exploits of the Emden feature film – 1928

A reconstruction of Ken G Hall’s composite film about the destruction of the German warship Emden in November 1914.

1930s

Victorian Police Radio Patrol sponsored film – c1931

This short dramatised scenario from 1931 demonstrates how wireless technology and morse radio clearly improve the ability of Victorian police to do their jobs.

1940s

Australia Post – Post Office Film sponsored film – 1942

This is a mute, black-and-white film record of the dismantling of the Sydney GPO clock tower to relocate communications equipment during the Second World War.

The Inlanders documentary – 1949

The Inlanders comes from a tradition of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that presents the outback as a harsh and hostile terrain to be overcome.

1950s

Australia Post – Royal Tour sponsored film – 1954

As this program amply illustrates, an excited Australian public turned out in droves to see the Queen in 1954. For the PMG, her visit represented a coming of age.

The Back of Beyond documentary – 1954

Battling heat, dust and flood, Tom Kruse delivers mail, stores and supplies along the 517 kilometre Birdsville Track in central Australia.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate – ‘A Milk Tray Day Today’ advertisement – c1955

These ads persuasively argue that Milk Tray chocolates can transform the everyday into a special occasion, satisfy desires and mend rocky relationships.

Australia Post – Olympic Post Script sponsored film – 1956

This film focuses on the telecommunications services set up especially for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. It also has footage of the sporting events that is unlikely to have survived in any other form.

A World to Conquer short film – 1956

In this amateur science-fiction short, an alien surveillance camera lands in a man’s backyard, but his wife does not believe him.

1960s

Jungle Road sponsored film – c1963

While the film is patronising in its approach, it promotes the army’s work as vitally contributing to preparations for Papua New Guinea’s eventual independence.

Australia Post – This is the Mail sponsored film – 1966

When the $6 million Redfern Mail Exchange in Sydney was opened in 1965, it was hailed as the largest mechanised mail centre in the Southern Hemisphere.

1970s

Australia Post – Onward Speed sponsored film – 1970

Fred Schepisi wrote and directed Onward Speed as a sponsored film for Australia Post. It humorously instructs its target audience of executives, secretaries and mailroom staff in the efficient management of business mail.

Australia Post – Post Office Speeds the Mail sponsored film – 1970

With the 1971 changeover from pushbike to motorcycle for mail delivery, Australia Post purchased a fleet of customised motorbikes from Honda.

Australia Post – Standard Letters advertisement – 1974

This ad was made at a time when postage of a standard letter within Australia was only ten cents.

Australia Post – Changing Times advertisement – 1975

This black-and-white commercial informs the public of the split of the Postmaster-General’s Department into two independent Commissions. It offers a neat little history, using stills from Australia Post’s archive.

1980s

A Big Country – Gulf Battlers television program – 1982

Vintage A Big Country featuring Elton and Maude beating the odds to run a small cattle station in the Gulf country of northern Australia.

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.

Australia Post – News Release E-Post Electronic Mail sponsored film – 1985

This 1985 video press release explains E-Post, a new service offered by Australia Post to replace the old telegram service and superseded teleprinter technology.

Australia Post – The Last of the TPOs sponsored film – 1985

This program marks the closure of the Travelling Post Office, a mail service that had worked in conjunction with Australia’s various railway networks since 1865.

Australia Post – Letter Writing Venice advertisement – 1986

This ad was part of Australia Post’s ‘We Deliver’ campaign and produced to encourage international and intergenerational correspondence.

Australia Post – Intelpost advertisement – 1987

This humorous TVC shows a series of instruction diagrams being delivered by Australia Post to a group of ancient would-be soccer players.

Australia Post – 200 Years sponsored film – 1988

With slogans like 'Celebrating a Nation’, the Bicentennial Authority directed emphasis towards celebrating multiculturalism rather than 200 years of white settlement.

Australia Post – Animation advertisement – c1988

This Australia Post commercial promoting Faxpost has been shot at low speed to create the impression of high speed travel through empty Sydney streets.

Australia Post – Express Courier advertisement – 1988

These commercials promoting Australia Post’s courier service exploit the organisation’s reputation for reliability and dependability.

Australia Post – Joint Stamp Issue sponsored film – 1988

This program consists mainly of footage shot at the celebratory launch of the Australian–USA bicentennial stamp in Sydney’s Martin Place.

Australia Post – Lettergram advertisement – 1988

In these television commercials Australia Post attempts to link Lettergram in the mind of the viewer with the traditional uses of the telegram.

Australia Post – Meeting the Challenge sponsored film – 1988

This short training video from Australia Post management briefs personnel about the imminent corporate restructure and shift in image to a commercial service provider.

Australia Post – Postcode Grandma advertisement – 1988

This commercial targeted members of the community who at that time were not yet au fait with the new communication technologies.

Australia Post – Postpak Rap advertisement – 1988

This Australia Post commercial promotes the use of Postpaks for packaging parcels. With rap music still new to Australian popular culture at the time, this commercial was very successful.

Australia Post – We Deliver 1 advertisement – 1988

Television advertising played a major role in the establishment of Australia Post’s new corporate identity in the latter part of the 1980s.

Australia Post – We Deliver 2 advertisement – 1988

This series set out to promote the corporate image, while at the same time promoting Australia Post’s individual products and services.

Australia Post – We Deliver 3 advertisement – 1988

This series is a good example of the way in which the use of music in television commercials had changed by the late 1980s.

Touch the Sun – Top Enders television program – 1988

This lovely production captures the exotic frontier feel of Darwin, as it explores human survival and the challenges and rewards of family relationships and friendship.

Australia Post – Recruitment sponsored film – 1989

It’s interesting to look at the Australia Post jobs on offer in the late 1980s and compare them to employment opportunities available today.

Australia Post – Security sponsored film – 1989

While mail security may be a far greater problem today than in the past, here is evidence that mail security has always presented a substantial challenge.

1990s

Australia Post – Australia Post Inc sponsored film – 1990

The Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 transformed the post office from an administrative centre focused on mail delivery to a sales-oriented shopfront.

Glued to the Telly documentary – 1995

Forty years of television broadcasting in Australia is presented in a self-conscious, ironic style.

Swinger short film – 1995

A story of changing luck told through messages on an answering machine and a messy apartment.

Love Serenade feature film – 1996

The director’s light touch and the performances allows Love Serenade to get away with an outrageous joke involving a big fish.

2000s

Hello short film – 2003

In this beautifully realised short film, animated characters communicate using music and recorded sound.

Bit of Black Business – Bloodlines short film – 2007

Josh is putting off making a difficult phone call. His procrastination is interrupted by voices from his past.

Mary and Max feature film – 2009

Across two continents and 20 years, the tragic comedy of life is described through the friendship of penpals, Mary and Max.