All documentaries
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1930s (continued)
Spirit of Progress: Australia’s Wonder Train 1937
As the only new passenger train to be constructed in Australia during the 1930s, the Spirit of Progress was a symbol of technological achievement.
Captain Cook’s Cottage 1938
Russell Grimwade paid £800 for the family home of Captain Cook and transported it from Yorkshire to Victoria.
Follow the Sun 1938
Pioneer filmmaker Frank Hurley is best known for documenting wartime and adventure but he also made travelogues like this one.
A Nation is Built 1938
This sprawling and patriotic documentary uses actuality footage, historical re-enactments, fictionalised scenes and propaganda to chronicle Australia’s development and progress as a nation.
Take Notice 1939
Take Notice uses innovative and sophisticated filmmaking techniques to describe the need for a solution to rising rents and substandard living conditions in Sydney.
1940s
250 Million Years Ago c1940
While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.
Choo Choo c1940
An amateur film of the Spirit of Progress passenger train, made by the Owen Brothers.
The Dance of the Eyes c1940
Skylogues’ like this one from Bali, were shown in cinemas prior to a feature film; few Australians travelled abroad then.
The Golden West 1940
This film was made by William George Alma, a member of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society who was predominantly a magician and collector of material about magic.
Sydney on Show c1940
This documentary from about 1940 shows Sydney’s progress as a modern city. It is from the large private film collection of Roger McKenzie and Bernard Kent.
While There is Still Time 1941
The Chauvels aimed to encourage Australians at home to work to help their loved ones fighting overseas. Future Oscar winner Peter Finch has a small but pivotal role.
Power to Win 1942
Having been determined medically unfit for the army, Charles Chauvel saw his film work as a contribution to the war effort.
Soldiers Without Uniform 1942
This propaganda film made by Charles Chauvel aims to boost worker morale by recognising their contributions to the war effort.
The Circus Comes to Town c1943
The great circus families of the past had a huge impact but not after the arrival of the animal rights movement.
A Mountain Goes to Sea 1943
Made during the Second World War, A Mountain Goes to Sea was intended as a morale booster for workers building the machinery of war.
Cradle of Creation 1944
A compendium of the Middle East filmed by Frank Hurley during his years working as an official war photographer in the Second World War.
Family Antics 1945
This is very strange but oddly compelling: a father, his son, and three fox terriers do acrobatics and balancing acts for the camera.
Mid-East 1945
The African continent would have still represented the ‘heart of darkness’ for many Australians viewing this film.
City in the Sun 1946
Post-war austerity is nowhere to be seen in this romanticised look at the streets of Sydney in the summer of 1946.
Travelling Library c1946
This remarkable colour footage captures the excitement that the mobile library brought to school children in the 1940s.
Cinderella on Strings c1947
Cinderella is a marionette but she still gets to meet her Prince Charming.
Land Short of People 1947
A narrative of white settlement pioneering against the odds – the tyranny of distance, the harsh conditions, and the massive landscapes.
Aborigines of the Sea Coast 1948
A valuable ethnographic record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land.
Prices and the People 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.
Searchlight on Japan c1948
Made by Ken G Hall, Searchlight on Japan focuses on Japan under Allied occupation at the end of the Second World War.
Skyway Express c1948
One of a series of travelogues produced in the late 1940s when very few Australians had travelled overseas, each is about flying into an 'exotic’ location.
Antarctica 1948 1949
A record of the operations of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition, November 1947–April 1948.
Around a Gum Tree 1949
This documentary cleverly uses gum trees as a device to explore the broad range of industries that Australia supports.
Behind the Big Top 1949
The Wirth Brothers Circus, one of Australia’s largest and most successful, survived another 15 years after this film was made.
The Inlanders 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.
Thrill of the Surf 1949
This short Cinesound documentary from Ken G Hall boasts beautifully filmed visuals, with surfers seen in silhouette and sunlight bouncing off the water.
1950s
Division of Radiophysics 1950
This public relations documentary outlines research undertaken by the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics during the 1940s.
Fighting Blood 1951
This Cinesound documentary highlights the talents of Australian fighters, including Aboriginal boxers Alfie Clay, Elley Bennett and Dave Sands.
Antarctic Vigil 1952
One of the first colour films about Australian bases in the sub-Antarctic islands.
Evolution of the Australian Crawl c1952
Swimming champion Andrew 'Boy’ Charlton, who has a picturesque Sydney pool named after him, is one of those interviewed.
They Chose Peace 1952
The Realist Film Unit covered the Youth Carnival for Peace and Friendship in Sydney, which took place in the highly political climate of 1952.
Pensions for Veterans 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.
The Back of Beyond 1954
Battling heat, dust and flood, Tom Kruse delivers mail, stores and supplies along the 517 kilometre Birdsville Track in central Australia.
Blue Ice 1954
The story of the 1954 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition to set up the first Australian base on the Antarctic continent.
Just Peanuts 1954
Following the warm reception this film about peanuts received, Kingsford Smith became a successful and prolific producer of over 300 sponsored films and commercials.
Overland Adventure: The Story of the 1954 Redex Reliability Trial 1954
Jack Murray earned the nickname ‘Gelignite Jack’ through his habit of blowing up outback toilets, livening up his entrance to towns along the route.
The Queen in Australia 1954
The first colour feature made in Australia, documenting the first visit of a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1954.
The War Against the Rabbit 1954
This sponsored documentary made by the CSIRO is about a farmer’s campaign to eradicate a wild rabbit infestation.
The Hungry Miles 1955
The Hungry Miles covers more historical ground than the WWF Film Unit’s earlier works and they regarded it as one of their most significant accomplishments.
November Victory 1955
November Victory was reported by ASIO officials as being a 'scandalously untrue and distorted film version of the 1954 waterfront strike’.
Antarctic Voyage 1956
In 1955, the Danish ship Kista Dan takes a team of Australian scientists south for a year at Mawson, Australia’s new Antarctic research station.
The Argentine Ant 1956
This short CSIRO documentary explains how to identify and eradicate the Argentine ant, a domestic and agricultural pest.
Banners Held High 1956
The narrator, former wharfie Jock Levy, is one of the founders of the Waterside Workers’ Federation Film Unit.
Northern Safari 1956
This six-month journey in a 1948 Buick later inspired the Leyland Brothers and Albert Mangles.
The Forerunner 1957
The Forerunner positions the the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme’s as the country’s 'first major step towards the final solution of Australia’s water problem’.
