Titles tagged with ‘workers’
29 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1910s
Australasian Gazette – The Strike Spreads newsreel – c1917
In this Australasian Gazette newsreel, waterside workers unload perishables from a ship. This footage may be from the the New South Wales General Strike of 1917.
1920s
Sewerage of a Great City: Melbourne sponsored film – c1922
By the time this sponsored documentary was made, over 166,000 homes and 70,000 people were, according to its intertitles, 'enjoying the benefits of sewerage’ in Melbourne.
Australian Cement in the Making documentary – c1926
Everything you wanted to know about cement making — in the 1920s — but were afraid to ask.
Buckley, Anthony: Buckley Family Collection: Tarn Shan Tin Mine, Thailand home movie – c1928
This footage is rare because Australians travelled infrequently to South-East Asia in the 1920s.
1930s
Jewel of the Pacific documentary – 1932
In this 1932 travelogue shot and narrated by Frank Hurley, rat tails bring a reward of sixpence each and Lord Howe Island locals join the hunt for the pests.
Australia documentary – 1934
This record of the man on the land in the 1930s, aimed at UK audiences, would have been narrated by the filmmaker when screened.
The Maryborough Railway Employees’ Picnic historical – 1938
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, thousands of children and their families would attend the Maryborough Railway’s annual employees’ picnic.
1940s
The Constant Threat sponsored film – 1946
This short film promotes the importance of having a free chest x-ray, provided by the NSW Department of Public Health, to test for tuberculosis.
Timber sponsored film – 1947
Timber communicates a romantic perspective of logging and the timber industry – both seen as having minimal negative environmental impact.
Prices and the People documentary – 1948
Prices and the People provides a working-class view of price increases, wages and mounting profits and the effects on everyday people in 1948.
Duff, Paul: Papua New Guinea home movie – c1949
This is a unique record of Australia’s interests in the natural resources of our Asia-Pacific neighbours.
1950s
Snowy Hydro – The Snowy Mountains Scheme sponsored film – 1952
Interesting as an early document on the Snowy Hydro scheme, it’s an unabashed celebration of the entire endeavour, depicting it as a model of postwar reconstruction.
Pensions for Veterans documentary – 1953
A first glimpse of the Waterside Workers’ Federation Film Unit’s agenda – to depict labour history from the point of view of the workers.
November Victory documentary – 1955
November Victory was reported by ASIO officials as being a 'scandalously untrue and distorted film version of the 1954 waterfront strike’.
Snowy Hydro – Conservation in the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1955
This film traces the history of soil erosion in the Snowy Mountains and demonstrates the approach taken by the Snowy Mountains Scheme to counteract the problem.
Banners Held High documentary – 1956
The narrator, former wharfie Jock Levy, is one of the founders of the Waterside Workers’ Federation Film Unit.
Four’s a Crowd documentary – 1957
Four’s a Crowd comically portrays four types of workers in the waterfront industry – Glass-arm Harry, Tiddly Pete, Nick-away Ned and Ron the Roaster.
Sanitation and the City documentary – c1957
This documentary outlines the management of water supply and sanitation by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.
Think Twice sponsored film – 1958
This occupational safety film for metalworkers highlights three main sources of injury – heat, rays and fumes – and illustrates safe and unsafe ways to operate in the workplace.
1960s
With Gentle Majesty television program – 1962
The high point of the Melbourne Royal Agricultural Show each day is the Grand Parade. The initial languid pace of the filming and editing nicely underscores the images of the huge, slow-moving workhorses.
Snowy Hydro – Sound and Safe sponsored film – 1963
Produced in 1963, this safety film focuses on 'drill and blast’ tunnelling on the Snowy Mountains Scheme in an effort to save lives and prevent injury.
Snowy Hydro - Where Men and Mountains Meet sponsored film – 1963
This film is a fascinating depiction of the national ideal of postwar masculinity, looking at the spectrum of workers involved in the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
1970s
A Big Country – On the Hook television program – 1976
An unusual departure for the A Big Country team as they examine the traumatic history and growth of the union that protects wharfie’s rights.
The Painters and Dockers Strike documentary – 1976
In the 1950s the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia had its own film unit to counter government policies of the day.
The Last of the Knucklemen feature film – 1979
Near the remote town of Andamooka a group of opal miners work for Tarzan, a tough foreman known as ‘the last of the knucklemen’ for his fighting abilities.
1980s
Rocking the Foundations documentary – 1985
Rocking The Foundations is more than a film about a union: it’s a film about social change and how ordinary people can make that happen.
1990s
Black Harvest documentary – 1992
When coffee prices plunged, it sparked drama of epic proportions in this, the third film in a celebrated trilogy set in PNG.
2000s
Bit of Black Business – Jackie Jackie short film – 2007
Inspired by a dream, Jackie Jackie is reminiscent of Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Tracey Moffatt’s BeDevil (1993) in its stylised kitsch.
2010s
Face to Face feature film – 2011
A group of colleagues meet to decide the fate of a sacked co-worker facing jail.
