Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘primary industry’

15 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

A

Australia documentary – 1934

This record of the man on the land in the 1930s, aimed at UK audiences, would have been narrated by the filmmaker when screened.

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.

Australia’s Land of Tomorrow sponsored film – 1962

An Australian Inland Mission patrol witnesses a prospering region where industry and agriculture have grown and the population has greatly increased since the last visit.

C

The City of Geelong sponsored film – 1957

The Shell Film Unit made this promotional travelogue of Geelong; three years earlier, a large Shell oil refinery was built on the city’s outskirts.

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

Hewers of Coal sponsored film – 1957

This union-sponsored documentary dramatises the history of mining in Australia since the early 1900s, including the friction between miners and mine owners.

Holden Car Cinema Advertisement: On a Tour of Australia’s Banana Plantations advertisement – c1955

This travelogue-style Holden advertisement was one of a series of 'on a tour’ films made for cinema audiences between 1953 and 1956.

Holidays in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canton, Java home movie – c1932

These scenes of colonial-era South-East Asia are an early example of actuality footage which captures Australian perspectives of the region.

I

Imperial Tractors: Western Australian Farmers Support an Australian Industry advertisement – 1937

This cinema advertisement introduces Imperial Tractors and uses a similar style to the industrial documentaries produced in the 1920s.

J

Jewel of the Pacific documentary – 1932

In this 1932 travelogue shot and narrated by Frank Hurley, rat tails bring a reward of sixpence each and Lord Howe Island locals join the hunt for the pests.

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.

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.

O

The Origin of Oil sponsored film – c1923

Made for the Shell Company of Australia, this industrial documentary traces the path of oil from its initial extraction to the petroleum relied on by consumers.

P

Power to Win documentary – 1942

Having been determined medically unfit for the army, Charles Chauvel saw his film work as a contribution to the war effort.

S

Silver City sponsored film – 1936

This film is narrated with Frank Hurley’s typical flamboyance and presents mining as instrumental to maintaining the livelihood of over 100,000 Australians.