The Trail of the ‘Roo (1931)
Synopsis
This short documentary produced by the McDonagh sisters for cinema audiences is about the capture of kangaroos and rock wallabies for zoos and museums in Australia and overseas. It follows an expedition leaving Widgiewa Station in the Riverina region of New South Wales, the ensuing roo hunt and the transportation of captured kangaroos to their new zoo environments. It includes a voice-over narration scripted by poet and journalist Kenneth Slessor.
Curator’s notes
The Trail of the 'Roo is one of a handful of documentary featurettes made by the McDonagh sisters – Paulette, Phyllis and Isabel – pioneers of Australia’s early motion picture industry. As well as their four feature films, the sisters produced short documentaries for Neville Macken of Standardtone Sound Recording Studios, one of the first companies to specialise in the production of sound films. In 1932 they collaborated to produce Australia in the Swim, Stranger in his Own Land (about Aboriginal culture since European settlement), How I Play Cricket (about Don Bradman), The Mighty Conqueror (the only documentary about Phar Lap made when he was still alive) and The Trail of the 'Roo.
The McDonaghs had experimented with a sound-on-disc music score and three sequences of synchronised sound for their feature film The Cheaters (1930). In The Trail of the 'Roo they made the most of the soundtrack by employing a lively commentary scripted (but not spoken) by poet and journalist Kenneth Slessor. Slessor also wrote Stranger in his Own Land (1932) and How I Play Cricket (1932). The soundtrack in clip one was recorded separately to the images with sound effects and background noise added in the studio at the same time as the narration.
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