Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘agriculture’

32 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

A

The Argentine Ant documentary – 1956

This short CSIRO documentary explains how to identify and eradicate the Argentine ant, a domestic and agricultural pest.

Australasian Gazette – In and around Hamilton District newsreel – c1920

This newsreel from approximately 1920 shows the orchard districts of Hamilton, Queensland. Workers pick, sort and pack peaches for transportation.

An Australian Invention: Falkiner Cane Harvester in Operation sponsored film – c1925

This film, possibly made by the Queensland Cane Growers Organisation, promotes the use of the mechanical harvester – a real innovation at the time.

B

Bali Hi home movie – c1971

Bali has always been a popular destination with Australians and this film was made at a time when cheaper air travel meant that more Australians travelled overseas.

Bushells Blue Label Tea: Bushells Tea Factory advertisement – c1925

This ad takes the form of an industrial documentary by showing the process of tea making.

C

Conquest advertisement – 1936

This ad for the Rural Bank of New South Wales pitches the story of the ‘man on the land’ as one of industry, courage, determination and progress.

D

Dangerous Immigrant documentary – 1960

This CSIRO documentary alerts the general public to the dangers of the European house borer.

The Digger Carries On: Repatriation Illustrated documentary – 1919

This 1919 film reassured Australians that returned servicemen were being looked after, in part through retraining.

Dipping Sheep historical – 1899

This short clip shows sheep being dipped in arsenic on a Queensland farm in 1899.

F

Factory to Farm: Making Agricultural Implements in Australia sponsored film – c1925

This film provides a visual record of the inner workings of an agricultural implements factory as well as the role of sheet metal workers and fitters and turners.

Four Corners – Aiding or Abetting television program – 1983

How is Australian’s aid to the Philippine Government being spent? This program was broadcast just before the overthrow of Marcos and his extravagant wife.

G

Green Heritage sponsored film – c1948

Green Heritage is a documentary aimed at viewers who care about subterranean clover, methods of pasture irrigation and the preferred grass for livestock.

H

Holmes, Mr WGA: Locals Cool Off at the Weir, Theodore home movie – c1940

Many of the segments in this home movie compilation concern various farming or agricultural activities, including cotton harvesting and beekeeping.

J

Jungle Road sponsored film – c1963

While the film is patronising in its approach, it promotes the army’s work as vitally contributing to preparations for Papua New Guinea’s eventual independence.

Just Peanuts documentary – 1954

Following the warm reception this film about peanuts received, Kingsford Smith became a successful and prolific producer of over 300 sponsored films and commercials.

L

Life on a Sheep Farm documentary – 1965

Life on a sheep farm over one year in 1965, a time when rabbits were sometimes referred to as 'public enemy number one’.

M

Mid-East documentary – 1945

The African continent would have still represented the ‘heart of darkness’ for many Australians viewing this film.

A Morning at the World’s Greatest Agricultural Show documentary – c1926

A straightforward glimpse into the lives of the trainers, handlers and owners of horses and livestock competing at the 1926 Royal Agricultural Show.

N

A Nation is Built documentary – 1938

This sprawling and patriotic documentary uses actuality footage, historical re-enactments, fictionalised scenes and propaganda to chronicle Australia’s development and progress as a nation.

No Worries feature film – 1993

Drought has a terrible social cost, as the 11-year-old girl who has to move from a sheep station to the city in this film, makes clear.

O

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.

Q

The Queen in Australia documentary – 1954

The first colour feature made in Australia, documenting the first visit of a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1954.

R

The Rising Generation documentary – c1925

This incomplete documentary from 1926 promotes the public education system in South Australia from kindergarten through to university.

S

Schools for Farmers sponsored film – c1950

This short film promotes schools for farmers during vacation time at Hawkesbury Agricultural College.

South Sea Islanders Cutting Cane historical – 1899

Photographer Frederick Charles Wills and his assistant, Henry William Mobsby, capture Melanesian labourers cutting cane in Queensland in 1899.

Steamboat Holidays on the Murray River documentary – c1920

This silent documentary shows the landscape and townships along the Murray River and is from a series made in the 1920s called See Australia First.

Sugar Mills, Nambour historical – 1899

In this actuality footage from 1899, a horse drags a load of cane to a sugar mill where it is fed onto a conveyor belt for crushing.

Sydney on Show documentary – c1940

This documentary from about 1940 shows Sydney’s progress as a modern city. It is from the large private film collection of Roger McKenzie and Bernard Kent.

T

Threshing at Allora historical – 1899

This 1899 actuality footage shows workers tossing wheat sheaves into a threshing machine on a Queensland farm.

A Trip Along the River Murray documentary – 1925

This silent black-and-white film from 1925 emphasises the ‘Mighty Murray’ river’s significance in Australia’s agricultural and natural history.

W

The War Against the Rabbit documentary – 1954

This sponsored documentary made by the CSIRO is about a farmer’s campaign to eradicate a wild rabbit infestation.

Wheat Harvesting with Reaper and Binder historical – 1899

The official photographer of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Frederick Charles Wills, films a farmer and his wheat harvest on a property in Jimbour.