Clip description
A title card announces the beginning of a journey from Alice Springs. Pans across the surrounding landscape set the scene. A camel train of around eight camels passes by the camera. A second title card explains that difficulties are ‘willingly overcome by all hands’ – the difficulty being a deeply bogged car!
Curator’s notes
The National Film and Sound Archive summary for this title indicates that the car was bogged on Hermannsburg Road near the Hermannsburg Lutheran Mission south-west of Alice Springs. This gives the viewer an understanding of the difficulties and challenges associated with exploring Australia’s interior – even with modern transport. The expedition party completed their journey from Alice Springs, up to the Daly and Katherine Rivers in the country’s north in 5 weeks. To think that explorers such as Bourke and Wills, and Charles Sturt embarked on their journeys on camel, foot and horseback and took months and months is remarkable given the challenging terrain.