Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip from a black-and-white documentary filmed by Frank Hurley shows the Broken Hill South Mine in 1936. Miners and horses are seen preparing for work, then descending in the lift and entering the mine as a narrator explains the hours of work and emphasises the use of modern technology. As the camera descends further along tunnels in the mine men are shown pushing carts, shovelling and noisily drilling into rock. Close-ups show the lift, winding wheel and fuse making.

Educational value points

• This clip shows mining in Broken Hill at a time when it was undergoing a rapid shift from relying on manual and horsedrawn energy towards the increasing use of mechanisation. The economic collapse of the Great Depression had caused the Broken Hill Proprietary Company to economise through technological modernisation. By the time of filming, a central powerhouse in Broken Hill generated electricity for the lights, wheels, lifts and drills seen in the clip.

• After the mechanical drills and explosives shown in the clip had extracted the ore it was manually shovelled into skips that were manoeuvered by men called ‘wheelers’, then hauled along rails by horses to the cages. Selected for their steady temperament and hardiness, these horses worked long hours underground hauling 1-ton skips full of ore to the shaft base. Electrically powered winders then raised the filled skips in cages to the surface.

• By the 1930s mine safety had improved through the use of new explosives and communication technology. The machines shown being used – one preparing fuses into lengths and another attaching detonators – were introduced to prevent the danger of misfires from detonators. Telephones, such as the one seen in operation, were located on each level of the mine, interconnected and linked to the surface for increased safety.

• The industrial documentary genre exemplified by the clip was used to portray the progress made by Australian industry and to explain industrial processes using the medium of film. Attention is drawn to the ‘most modern electrical winding machinery’ and other new technologies used at the worksite. Filmed sequences and a detailed narration explain the processes of work using the technical language associated with the industry.

• The skill of noted Australian photographer and documentary maker Frank Hurley (1885–1962) is revealed in the well-lit underground shots and creative footage of the winding machinery’s turning wheels and cables. His narration is given in a relaxed style that shares the miners’ experience with the viewer and gives the impression of a well-run and happy mine, although the viewer may question whether the experience of the horses is as enjoyable as he suggests.

• The technical innovations featured in the clip were partly a response to the difficult economic circumstances caused by the Great Depression. In the early 1930s collapsing prices of the ores mined at Broken Hill led to the introduction of electrically powered lighting and winching equipment that improved working efficiency in the South Mine as well as improving safety.