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Clip description
Beth Winters (Judy Morris) and cameraman Danny (John Howard) arrive in Gamulla. After booking rooms at the pub run by Turner (John Ewart), Beth interviews shooter Jake Cullen (Bill Kerr). Jake says he enjoys killing razorbacks.
Curator’s notes
Outsiders receiving frosty receptions at outback pubs is a staple of Australian cinema. In this example American activist-reporter Beth and her Australian cameraman are greeted with a mix of mockery and suspicion by Turner and his regulars.
This early scene confronts the international audience Razorback is aimed at with the unpleasant truth about kangaroos: a beloved symbol of Australia and part of the national coat of arms (alongside the emu), the kangaroo is a pest which requires culling and is used for pet food. Scriptwriter Everett De Roche stops short of mentioning kangaroo meat has been eaten by Australians and exported for many years.
