All titles in the ‘Historical’ genre
180 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
1980s (continued)
Winners – Top Kid television program – 1985
A compelling moral drama, made more powerful by its refusal to deal in absolutes, Top Kid draws on the real-life rigging of top American quiz shows in the 1950s.
Australia Post – Letter Writing Venice advertisement – 1986
This ad was part of Australia Post’s ‘We Deliver’ campaign and produced to encourage international and intergenerational correspondence.
China, the Long March documentary – 1986
There is much to learn from this work about China’s Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, who died in 1976.
Cyclone Tracy television program – 1986
A fictional account of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters – a major turning point in the history of Darwin.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Tale of Ruby Rose feature film – 1987
In 1933 Ruby Rose leaves her isolated home in the Tasmanian highlands to rediscover her past.
Australia Post – 200 Years sponsored film – 1988
With slogans like 'Celebrating a Nation’, the Bicentennial Authority directed emphasis towards celebrating multiculturalism rather than 200 years of white settlement.
Australia Post – Joint Stamp Issue sponsored film – 1988
This program consists mainly of footage shot at the celebratory launch of the Australian–USA bicentennial stamp in Sydney’s Martin Place.
The Dirtwater Dynasty television program – 1988
In this 1980s epic production from the Kennedy Miller stable, Richard Eastwick, born in a London slum, dreams of establishing a family dynasty.
Edens Lost television program – 1988
A beautiful woman’s obsession with one man damages the lives of all around her.
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.
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.
Vietnam television program – 1988
This classic mini-series tells the epic story of Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War through the history of a middle class family and features an award-winning performance from a young Nicole Kidman.
Come In Spinner television program – 1989
Lisa Harrow, Kerry Armstrong and Rebecca Gibney feature in the story of three very different women in wartime.The series won a slew of AFI awards.
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.
1990s
Blood Oath feature film – 1990
A fictionalised drama about the true-life struggle to successfully convict Japanese military officers responsible for war crimes in Indonesia during the Second World War.
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.
Black Robe feature film – 1991
In 17th century Canada a Jesuit missionary confronts his faith and mortality while travelling up river to reach a settlement of Huron Indians.
Brides of Christ television program – 1991
Brides of Christ take a vow to forsake the secular world and live according to God’s will. An Australian television landmark, recapturing the great changes of the ’60s.
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’.
Blood Brothers – Broken English documentary – 1993
Arrernte man Max Stuart was sentenced to death in 1959 for murder but, nearly 35 years later, he talks about the case on camera.
Blood Brothers – Freedom Ride documentary – 1993
This documentary about Indigenous campaigner Charlie Perkins was made by his daughter Rachel, giving it extra intimacy.
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.
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.
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.
Brisbane Dreaming documentary – 1994
Historical footage and re-enactments help tell stories about the Indigenous people who were displaced by Brisbane.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
2000s
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.
Whispering in Our Hearts documentary – 2001
Remembering those who were murdered in the 1918 massacre of Aboriginal people at Mowla Bluff is very much to do with healing.
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.
Trespass documentary – 2002
Trespass revisits the Mirarr people’s fight against the uranium mines in Jabiluka. Yvonne Margarula is arrested for walking on her own land.
The Dream and the Dreaming documentary – 2003
When Lutheran missionaries arrived in Central Australia, the strength of the existing culture made it challenging to make converts.
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant television program – 2004
An epic period adventure, full of swash and buckle, sweeping landscapes, high seas and romance.
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.
