All titles in the ‘Historical’ genre
180 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
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National Treasures – Phar Lap’s Hide documentary – 2004
How did a New Zealand-born horse become one of Australia’s most loved and enduring icons?
National Treasures – ‘The Magic Pudding’ Illustrations documentary – 2004
A look at the illustrations for one of Australia’s best-loved children’s books, The Magic Pudding.
National Treasures – Tom Roberts’s ‘Bailed Up’ documentary – 2004
Why Tom Roberts’s painting Bailed Up is one of the most treasured in Australia.
National Treasures – ‘Waltzing Matilda’ Song Sheet documentary – 2004
How did the music and lyrics come together to make our most iconic of national songs?
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey feature film – 1988
Medieval Britons journeying through time and space find a contemporary city, where they attempt to fulfil a prophecy that will save them from the plague.
Newsfront feature film – 1978
Some believe that Newsfront, set in the late 1940s and incorporating extensive newsreel footage, is Australia’s best film.
Nicaragua: No Pasaran documentary – 1984
David Bradbury spent six months in Nicaragua telling the story of the revolutionary Sandinistas coming to power after 43 years of organised resistance.
Ningla A-Na documentary – 1972
Ningla A-Na documents the activism of the Black movement in south-east Australia in the 1970s and shows how the activists changed the direction of the movement both nationally and internationally.
No Survivors: The Mysterious Loss of the HMAS Sydney documentary – 1993
The loss of HMAS Sydney, the worst naval disaster in Australian history, sparked allegations of a cover-up.
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The Odd Angry Shot feature film – 1979
Australia’s role in Vietnam was still a raw issue when this film emerged and some criticised it for not condemning that involvement.
The Official Film of the Mawson Antarctic Expedition documentary – c1916
This film documents part of the treacherous 600-mile 1911–1914 expedition to the Magnetic South Pole led by Sir Douglas Mawson.
The Old Man and the Inland Sea documentary – 2005
Warwick Thornton’s documentary about a 'noodler’ on the mining fields of Coober Pedy and the sense of community he shared with Indigenous people whilst doing this work.
One People Sing Freedom television program – 1988
One People Sing Freedom documents the largest gathering of Indigenous people since 1788, a protest march against the Bicentennial celebrations of 26 January 1988.
On Our Selection feature film – 1920
On Our Selection is a landmark of the silent era in Australian cinema, and one of the key films in the career of Raymond Longford, the greatest director of that period.
Oscar and Lucinda feature film – 1997
Drawn together by a passion for gambling, Anglican priest Oscar Hopkins and Australian heiress Lucinda Leplastrier agree on a wager with life-changing consequences.
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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.
Palace of Dreams television program – 1985
In this acclaimed drama series, an aspiring writer arrives in Sydney from the country during the turbulent and desperate times of the Great Depression.
Peach’s Explorers – East to West television program – 1984
Bill Peach loves Australian history and tells us explorers’ stories by using their words, cleverly recreated from diaries and notebooks, and journeying through the same arid interior.
Peach’s Explorers – South to North television program – 1984
There’s a strong sense that each of these men is very much of his time, imbued with a duty to expand knowledge and a ruthless craving for fame and fortune.
Peach’s Explorers – The Secret of the Rivers: Captain Charles Sturt television program – 1984
This Bill Peach series uses recreations, diary entries and letters, among other devices, to tell the story of Australia’s colonial exploration in visually interesting ways.
Peach’s Gold – Eureka television program – 1983
This series exploits a range of first-hand sources for its vibrant retelling of the history, while Bill Peach appears from time to time to explain and analyse.
Peach’s Gold – Finders Keepers television program – 1983
This series is a lively way to learn about history, skilfully blending actors, re-creations, paintings, songs and newspaper headlines to bring the era alive.
Peach’s Gold – Land of Gold television program – 1983
This Bill Peach documentary is full of events, larger-than-life characters and all the madness and colour of this most extraordinary chapter in Australia’s history.
The Picture Show Man feature film – 1977
The comic performances from John Meillon and John Ewart as the last of the itinerant vaudevillians are superb.
Playing Beatie Bow feature film – 1985
Playing Beatie Bow has the sumptuous look and feel of a period film, thanks to its award-winning cinematography and production design.
Police State television program – 1989
The script for this docudrama-style telemovie was developed using the transcripts from the Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption.
Poor Man’s Orange television program – 1987
Harp in the South was so admired by Network Ten’s then head of drama, Valerie Hardy, that she immediately commissioned this second series.
The Proposition feature film – 2005
Many Australian films present the outback as a dangerous place but probably only Wake in Fright can offer an outback with predatory instincts to match The Proposition.
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Red Matildas documentary – 1985
Told through the lives of three women, Red Matildas explores the social and political conditions in Australia during the Great Depression.
Ride On Stranger television program – 1979
Bookworm Shannon Jones heads for the Harbour City to learn about life, love and politics in the 1930s.
Riot or Revolution documentary – 2005
Three things struck filmmaker Don Parham about the Eureka story – it was a 'ripper yarn’, with a great cast of characters and fascinating politics.
Robbery Under Arms television program – 1985
Before this 1985 version there had been five attempts to tell this story, the best known being the Australian–British feature film of 1957 starring Peter Finch as Captain Starlight.
The Rocks: Sydney, Australia documentary – 1983
The Rocks was considered a slum until it was restored in the 1970s. This sponsored documentary traces its redevelopment as a tourist precinct.
Rusty Bugles television program – 1980
Based on a banned 1948 stage play, this telemovie follows a group of soldiers posted to a remote base in the Northern Territory during the Second World War.
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Secret Fleets documentary – 1995
Early in the Second World War plans were made to fight the Japanese enemy on Australian soil. Americans submariners were given a warm welcome.
Seven Little Australians television program – 1973
This is a delightful and faithful adaptation of Ethel Turner’s iconic Australian story, Seven Little Australians, into a charming television series.
A Shifting Dreaming documentary – 1982
Ray Barrett stars in this story of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relations spanning from the 1928 Coniston massacre to Land Rights hearings in 1982.
Shifting Sands – My Colour, Your Kind short film – 1998
When under threat of having their children stolen by authorities, Indigenous mothers resorted to darkening their fair-skinned children with mud and charcoal.
Smithy feature film – 1946
Smithy was Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s first film. With characteristic modesty, he later said he won the part as a control tower officer because he supplied his own uniform.
Snakes and Ladders documentary – 1987
An account of the achievements and setbacks of a ‘shifting landscape’ as Australian women attempt to gain equality in education in the 20th century.
Snowy Hydro – Conquest of the Rivers sponsored film – 1957
This is essentially a recruitment film, targeting the types of workers whose adaptability and skills base would well serve the Snowy Hydro scheme’s requirements.
Snowy Hydro – Conservation in the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1955
This film traces the history of soil erosion in the Snowy Mountains and demonstrates the approach taken by the Snowy Mountains Scheme to counteract the problem.
Snowy Hydro – Gardens of the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1967
This Snowy Hydro film encourages visitors to the area to take a wider look around, but also counters any criticism of the vastly expanded settlement of the region.
Snowy Hydro – Operation Adaminaby sponsored film – 1958
In an extraordinarily florid finale, reminiscent of wartime propaganda, the film pays tribute to the residents and their noble act in moving the town of Adaminaby.
Snowy Hydro – Safety on the Snowy Scheme sponsored film – 1964
The culture of the all-male workplace was one where risk taking and daring were highly valued, an environment intensified by the experiences of two world wars.
Snowy Hydro - Snowy 69 sponsored film – 1969
This 1969 film makes a concerted effort to explain the many facets of the Snowy Hydro scheme to the public, including how the system was being built.
Snowy Hydro – Sound and Safe sponsored film – 1963
Produced in 1963, this safety film focuses on 'drill and blast’ tunnelling on the Snowy Mountains Scheme in an effort to save lives and prevent injury.
Snowy Hydro - The Best of the Years sponsored film – 1974
This 1974 documentary examines the multicultural workforce and its achievement in building one of the world’s largest hydroelectric schemes to that date.
