All titles in the ‘Education’ genre
56 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1890s
Torres Strait Islanders historical – 1898
A national treasure: the oldest film made of Torres Strait Islanders and of Aboriginal people. This film deserves national and international cultural icon status.
1930s
Safety First sponsored film – c1936
This early road safety film uses drama, artwork and song to show children the correct way to behave when on the road.
Commonwealth Bank – Willie Wombat: Waste Not Want Not sponsored film – c1939
Willie Wombat was produced by Eric Porter – Australia’s first career animator – to promote the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia’s School Banking program.
1940s
Browning Machine Gun sponsored film – c1940
An animated army training film that illustrates the operation of the Browning machine gun.
Cinderella on Strings documentary – c1947
Cinderella is a marionette but she still gets to meet her Prince Charming.
Aborigines of the Sea Coast documentary – 1948
A valuable ethnographic record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land.
1950s
Division of Radiophysics documentary – 1950
This public relations documentary outlines research undertaken by the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics during the 1940s.
Schools for Farmers sponsored film – c1950
This short film promotes schools for farmers during vacation time at Hawkesbury Agricultural College.
Commonwealth Bank – The School Bank sponsored film – 1951
The bank commissioned this film to replace personal school visits by Bank Liaison Officers, recently cancelled because of postwar labour shortages.
Four’s a Crowd documentary – 1957
Four’s a Crowd comically portrays four types of workers in the waterfront industry – Glass-arm Harry, Tiddly Pete, Nick-away Ned and Ron the Roaster.
Sanitation and the City documentary – c1957
This documentary outlines the management of water supply and sanitation by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.
The Happy Years sponsored film – c1958
This film showcases the health services provided to state school students.
Think Twice sponsored film – 1958
This occupational safety film for metalworkers highlights three main sources of injury – heat, rays and fumes – and illustrates safe and unsafe ways to operate in the workplace.
Kindergarten Playtime television program – 1959
In 1959, two years after the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite is launched, Australia’s first pre-school television show tackles space travel.
1960s
ABC Children’s TV Club – Monday Showcase television program – 1961
The iconic Children’s Hour on ABC radio morphs into television. This episode features artist Jeffrey Smart and Aroora the Red Kangaroo.
Birth of the Red Kangaroo documentary – 1965
This CSIRO documentary details the reproductive cycle of the red kangaroo, its mating habits and growth in the pouch.
The New Gladesville Bridge sponsored film – 1967
A public relations film made for the NSW Department of Main Roads documenting the construction of the New Gladesville Bridge, then the longest reinforced concrete arch span in the world.
Sydney-Newcastle Expressway sponsored film – 1968
This film comprehensively covers three-and-a-half years of construction of the Sydney-Newcastle Expressway in 50 minutes.
Warringah Expressway sponsored film – 1969
This public relations film for the NSW Department of Main Roads documents completion of the first stage of the Warringah Expressway from the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Cammeray.
1970s
A Film for Discussion documentary – 1973
This black-and-white experimental film was made collectively by members of one of Australia’s first Women’s Liberation groups. It sought to promote Women’s Liberation by engaging viewers in active discussion, hence its name.
The Western Distributor sponsored film – 1973
This sponsored film documents the construction of the first stage of the Western Distributor, providing a route from the Sydney Harbour Bridge through to Ultimo and the city’s west.
Why It Is So television program – 1973
Professor Julius Sumner Miller amazes and astounds his viewers with ‘light, optics and a brief adventure into modern physics’.
Continuously Reinforced Concrete Pavement documentary – 1976
This sponsored film demonstrates the successful application of continuously reinforced concrete pavement in a major infrastructure project.
Size 10 documentary – 1978
Size 10 is about how four young women break free of the pressure to conform to beauty and fashion norms.
1980s
The Sharkcallers of Kontu documentary – 1982
Believing that the spirits of their ancestors dwell in the mako shark, shark callers are not only hunting but also maintaining a connection with their past.
Australia Post – The Last of the TPOs sponsored film – 1985
This program marks the closure of the Travelling Post Office, a mail service that had worked in conjunction with Australia’s various railway networks since 1865.
Rocking the Foundations documentary – 1985
Rocking The Foundations is more than a film about a union: it’s a film about social change and how ordinary people can make that happen.
Australia Post – Post Office Spruce Up sponsored film – 1987
This program introduced a competition between post offices to mark the launch of the first incarnation of commercial, sales-oriented post office shopfronts.
Painting the Town: A Film About Yosl Bergner documentary – 1987
Bergner was one of the first contemporary artists to depict the plight of urban Aboriginal people and parallel their dispossession with that of European Jews.
1990s
Lift Off – A Load of Old Rubbish television program – 1992
EC has minimal facial features and doesn’t talk, communicating through gesture and movement. Children warm immediately to this doll and what it represents.
Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part B television program – 1992
Spruikers from the ‘Bonza’ cereal advertisement come out of the TV set to persuade Poss and Kim that buying Bonza will make all their dreams come true.
Pacifica: Tales from the South Seas – Episode 1 documentary – 1993
Traditional stories, myths and legends from the Cook, Kiribati and Vanuatu Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Pacifica: Tales from the South Seas – Episode 6 documentary – 1993
Traditional stories, myths and legends from two Pacific Islands – Tahiti and Western Samoa.
Frontier: Stories from White Australia’s Forgotten War television program – 1996
This documentary is about the continuing war that erupted between white colonists and Indigenous peoples upon first contact.
Rats in the Ranks documentary – 1996
The behind-the-scenes political wheeling and dealing in the countdown to the election of a new mayor for Sydney’s Leichhardt Council.
Bridewealth for a Goddess documentary – 1999
Bridewealth for a Goddess is a remarkable record of a ritual that may never be repeated.
2000s
Maintaining the Links: Maintenance of Historic Timber Bridges in NSW sponsored film – 2001
This film from the RTA Oral History Program documents the history of timber bridge design and construction in New South Wales.
Much Ado About Something documentary – 2001
Much Ado About Something is a poetic investigation into whether the literary works attributed to Shakespeare were really written by Christopher Marlowe.
Smoking the Baby documentary – 2001
Smoking the Baby demonstrates an Indigenous ritual that helps children and mothers fend off illness.
The Colony television program – 2005
In this 'living history’ series, participants chosen to match the social fabric of the time as convicts, free settlers and Indigenous Australians relive the birth of the Australian colony.
Crook Hat and Camphoo documentary – 2005
This is an episode of the important Nganampa Anwernekenhe TV series that aims to preserve indigenous language and culture.
Sunset to Sunrise (ingwartentyele – arrerlkeme) documentary – 2006
A yarn told by Rupert Max Stuart, an Arrernte and Mu-tujulu Elder, encapsualing his philosophies about passing culture on and keeping it alive.
Wirrangul Women: Always Have, Always Will documentary – 2006
Elders Doreen and Gladys are the last speakers of the Wirangu language. They must find a way to pass their language and tradition on to younger generations.
Bomb Harvest documentary – 2007
This documentary follows an Australian bomb disposal specialist training a team in Laos to clear bombs left from the ‘secret war’ the US waged at the time of the Vietnam War.
End of the Rainbow documentary – 2007
This documentary traces the impact on the communities of moving a gold mine operation from Indonesia to West Africa.
A Hard Rain documentary – 2007
A Hard Rain came out of David Bradbury’s concern that Australia was about to embark on the biggest environmental disaster since white settlement.
First Australians – Episode 1, They Have Come to Stay documentary – 2008
The opening episode of this landmark television series explores the first contact, meetings and relationships between the British and the first Australians.
First Australians – Episode 2, Her Will to Survive documentary – 2008
This episode covers the period from 1825–60 and European settlement in Tasmania, told through the stories of Truganini and George Augustus Robinson.
First Australians – Episode 3, Freedom For Our Lifetime documentary – 2008
Episode 3 focuses on the first Australians of Victoria and the lives of Simon Wonga and William Barack.
