All titles in the ‘Historical’ genre
180 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
E (continued)
Eureka Stockade feature film – 1949
In 1854, miners in the Ballarat goldfields take up arms against government troops in a defining moment of Australian history.
F
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.
First Australians – Episode 4, No Other Law documentary – 2008
This episode examines the coming of the telegraph pole and white settlement to Central Australia.
First Australians – Episode 5, Unhealthy Government Experiment documentary – 2008
This episode explores the lives of Jandamarra, an Aboriginal stockman, and Gladys Gillian, an institutionalised half-caste.
First Australians – Episode 6, A Fair Deal for a Dark Race documentary – 2008
Episode 6 of First Australians explores Indigenous history from 1930–67, primarily in the south-eastern regions of Australia.
First Australians – Episode 7, We Are No Longer Shadows documentary – 2008
The final episode of First Australians covers the period 1967–93 and Eddie Mabo’s fight for land rights.
For Love or Money documentary – 1983
Using almost totally historical material, For Love or Money encompasses the role of Australian women in both paid and unpaid work, over a 200 year period.
A Fortunate Life television program – 1985
While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.
The Foundation 1963–1977 documentary – 2002
Excluded from the census until 1967, Indigenous Australians formed The Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in 1963, to agitate for political and social change.
Frame Up. Who Bombed the Hilton, Who Didn’t? documentary – 1983
Produced in 1982, an example of the power of the media in the controversial trial of three Ananda Marga members – the men were acquitted two years later.
From Sand to Celluloid – Two Bob Mermaid short film – 1996
In this visually stunning short film set in the 1950s, a fair-skinned Aboriginal girl gains access to the local swimming pool where Aboriginal people are legally denied access.
G
Grave of the President documentary – 1984
In 1942, ocean liner President Coolidge accidentally struck two allied mines and sank. One of the world’s biggest shipwrecks is now a popular dive destination.
H
Half Life: A Parable for the Nuclear Age documentary – 1985
O’Rourke presents the case that the US government used the Marshall Islands as a testing ground for atomic weapons to document the long-term effects of radiation.
Harp in the South television program – 1986
The ‘harp in the south’ refers to Irish immigrants in Australia. A mini-series, based on Ruth Park’s book, follows the Darcys in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Heritage feature film – 1935
Heritage is a thunderous piece of endorsement for the pioneer mythology of Australia, made by the prolific Charles Chauvel.
How the West was Lost documentary – 1987
The strike of 1 May 1946 was the first major strike by Indigenous peoples. It took a significant organisational effort to bring unified opposition against the powerful pastoral industry.
Hula Girls, Imagining Paradise documentary – 2005
Western imagination has transformed the spiritual hula dance of traditional Polynesian society into a (male) fantasy presenting the Polynesian woman as beautiful and exotic.
I
In a Savage Land feature film – 1999
Evelyn’s misadventures in the Trobriand Islands are in the foreground of this exploration of racism, colonialism and voyeurism set during the Second World War.
Inauguration of the Commonwealth documentary – 1901
This is possibly the first feature-length documentary made in Australia and the first Australian film to use multi-camera coverage.
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant television program – 2004
An epic period adventure, full of swash and buckle, sweeping landscapes, high seas and romance.
In the Wake of the Bounty feature film – 1933
Made by Charles Chauvel and with Errol Flynn in the cast, In the Wake of the Bounty is an odd mixture of re-creation and travelogue.
J
Journey among Women feature film – 1977
Making this film in the 1970s became politically charged: should and could a male director make a meaningful film about women?
Journey Out of Darkness feature film – 1967
In 1901 Constable Peterson arrives in Central Australia to arrest an Arrernte man who has committed a ritual killing.
L
The Land That Waited television program – 1963
This remarkable documentary tells the early history of colonial Australia through etchings, paintings and drawings produced by the first colonists.
The Last Man Hanged documentary – 1993
The story of Ronald Ryan, last man hanged in Australia, features some of Australia’s best-known actors and interviews with the real-life people involved.
The Last of the Nomads documentary – 1997
A feature-length documentary about an expedition to find the last suriving nomadic couple, who broke tribal marriage laws and fled into the Gibson desert.
The Leaving of Liverpool television program – 1992
Lily and Bert are transported from an orphanage in England to Australia, where their childhoods are stolen from them in so-called 'centres of care’.
The Legend of Damien Parer television program – 1964
The life of the legendary Australian combat cameraman Damien Parer, through the eyes of those who knew him and through footage shot before his death in action in 1944.
The Lighthorsemen feature film – 1987
In Palestine in 1917, two regiments of the Australian Light Horse attack Beersheba, in one of the last great mounted charges in history.
Lousy Little Sixpence documentary – 1983
Lousy Little Sixpence highlights the injustice of withheld wages, and the fight for rightful payment to be made to Indigenous peoples.
Lucinda Brayford television program – 1980
Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Carol Burns and Barry Quin feature in the saga of an Australian heiress who marries into British aristocracy.
M
Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976
Mad Dog Morgan updates the bushranging movie conventions, by seeing Morgan as a modern media phenomenon.
Maidens documentary – 1978
Almost four years in the making, Maidens sparked impassioned debate and became compulsory viewing in women and film courses around the country.
Manganinnie feature film – 1980
Tasmania, 1830. Joanna, a little white girl, is adopted by Manganinnie, an Aborigine who has survived a slaughter.
More Winners – Boy Soldiers television program – 1990
1910 legislation required boys between 14 and 17 to register for compulsory military training . Will Barnes, a brave 14-year-old conscientious objector, refused.
More Winners – The Journey television program – 1990
On an isolated Tasmanian mountain, 12-year-old Ada lives with her wealthy father Justus. Housekeeper Martha is plotting to secure the family fortune for herself.
My Brilliant Career feature film – 1979
This feminist warrior and role model came to life on film in the same year as the road warrior in the masculine fantasy Mad Max.
My Brother Jack television program – 2001
This acclaimed mini-series is based on the classic Australian novel, a record of the changing social mores of the restless time between the First and Second World Wars.
My Mother India documentary – 2001
My Mother India provides an insight into the experience of the filmmaker’s mother as an Australian migrant married to a Sikh in India.
My Mother’s Country Part 1 documentary – 2001
Oral history is an important feature of Indigenous culture. The stories told by family members give the Coniston massacre of 1928 a human face.
My Mother’s Country Part 2 documentary – 2001
Japanangka’s act of retaliation for the theft of his wife sparked one of the last-known massacres of Aboriginal people in Australian history.
My South Polar Expedition spoken word – 1910
Sir Ernest Shackleton tells how the loss of a pony affected his attempt to reach the South Pole in 1908.
N
National Treasures – Bradman’s Bats documentary – 2004
Donald Bradman’s bats are a reminder of how this cricket legend played himself into the record books, earning the status of Australian icon.
National Treasures – Cuc Lam’s Suitcase documentary – 2004
Vietnamese refugee Cuc Lam talks about how this small red vinyl bag was a symbol of a new beginning in a new country.
National Treasures – Endeavour Journal documentary – 2004
A look at Lieutenant James Cook’s journal, written on board the Endeavour during his trip down under in 1770.
National Treasures – First Surfboard documentary – 2004
Duke Kahanamoku shows Australians how to ride a wave in 1914, using a board he built himself.
National Treasures – Gallipoli Boat documentary – 2004
A small lifeboat, retrieved from the shores of Gallipoli, is a direct link to the first Anzacs and the day that helped forge Australia’s identity.
National Treasures – HMAS Sydney’s Carley Float documentary – 2004
A tiny, war-ravaged liferaft’s link to the worst naval disaster in Australia’s history.
