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clip 1Clip description
From a high angle, the camera pans across a timber yard on the edge of the river. Shots of the submerged SS Mannum are shown with a helmeted diver salvaging the wreck. Views of the reclaimed river flats at Pompoota are shown where thousands of acres of land have been cultivated by the soldier settlers of the area. The clip ends with a tracking shot of the agricultural town of Mannum, South Australia, nestled along the riverbed.
Curator’s notes
The soldier settlers scheme was a national scheme introduced after the First World War to find employment for Australia’s returned servicemen and aid in populating parts of rural Australia. State governments provided land to returned soldiers for farms, and they were assisted with start-up funds by the Commonwealth.
