Australian
Screen

Clip description

Wally King (Chips Rafferty) and his stockmen ride to the waterhole on the land they have come to occupy at Bitter Springs. Tommy (Tommy Trinder) gets a shock as he takes a drink from the spring: the Aborigines are there with spears to warn them off. Blackjack (Henry Murdoch) tells Wally to sit down on the ground, or they may think they want to fight. Three Elders also sit to discuss terms. The senior Elder offers them food and hospitality for a few days, but then they must move on. Wally tells them he has come to stay. The young men of the tribe erupt in protest. Wally’s son John (Charles Tingwell) cocks his rifle in anticipation.

Curator’s notes

The close-ups of black faces at the beginning of this clip are very unusual for the time it was made, especially the extreme close-ups at the end of the sequence. We can read a series of emotions here: fear, distrust, curiosity, anxiety. These shots give personality and individuality to the Aborigines; they are not simple 'natives’, they are men concerned for their own safety and that of their families. This is not the technique of a classical western, where identification with the emotions and interests of Native Americans is generally avoided, or shown simply as a collective interest. These Aboriginal men are shown first as individuals, then as members of a group. At the waterhole, they are also shown as politically savvy – they offer limited hospitality, rather than outright aggression. Or perhaps, they offer both at the same time.