Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘wildlife’

28 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

0-9

250 Million Years Ago documentary – c1940

While very dated stylistically, this documentary about fossils contains clear information.

A 5000 Mile Tour Through Central Australia documentary – 1930

Clearly, exploring Australia’s interior back in the 1930s was very challenging.

A

Ask the Leyland Brothers – Episode 23 television program – 1976

The Leyland Brothers answer viewer requests and visit Broken Hill and Uluru.

B

The Barefoot Bushman: Dancing With Dingoes documentary – 1997

The film includes footage of Bruce Jacobs, who established a dingo sanctuary in Victoria and bred dingoes for domestic sale.

Birth of the Red Kangaroo documentary – 1965

This CSIRO documentary details the reproductive cycle of the red kangaroo, its mating habits and growth in the pouch.

C

Crocodile Dundee feature film – 1985

This is not just the most commercially successful Australian film ever made, but also one of the most successful non-Hollywood films.

D

Dancing Orpheus television program – 1962

This black-and-white nature program from the earliest years of ABC TV features the unique lyrebird. Narrated by John West, it won an AFI Gold Award in 1963.

E

Echidna the Survivor documentary – 1995

Echidnas have no sweat pores and don’t pant, so in hot weather they go swimming to cool down.

F

Follow the Sun documentary – 1938

Pioneer filmmaker Frank Hurley is best known for documenting wartime and adventure but he also made travelogues like this one.

H

Hypsi: the Forest Gardener documentary – 1998

In this natural history of the smallest kangaroo, we learn that during summer, when food is abundant, the testes of the musky rat-kangaroo increase in size.

L

The Last Husky documentary – 1993

Husky dog teams have served on the Mawson Base in the Antarctic for fifty years. The documentary records the last dogs to be used there and their journey to a new home in Minnesota in the USA.

The Last Whale documentary – 1994

Credited as being influential in the IWC’s 1994 decision to create the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, this film is a passionate plea to save whales from extinction.

Lobster Tales documentary – 1998

In creating an 'animal meets people’-style documentary from a lobster’s point of view, director Celia Tait presents an anthropomorphic view of lobsters.

N

Northern Safari documentary – 1956

This six-month journey in a 1948 Buick later inspired the Leyland Brothers and Albert Mangles.

Numbats documentary – 1996

In 1973 the numbat was adopted as an emblem of WA, joining the black swan, the red and green kangaroo paw, and the gogo fish.

O

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.

Orphan of the Wilderness feature film – 1936

Boxing contests between men and kangaroos, as shown in this film, were a frequent ‘attraction’ in travelling tent shows.

P

Petals – A Boot Full of Petals television program – 1997

Petals is an animated series for preschool children which revolves around the adventures of five tiny flower ‘petals’ who live at the bottom of an overgrown garden.

R

Razorback feature film – 1984

The outback town of Gamulla is terrorised by a giant razorback boar.

Rogue feature film – 2007

A US travel writer and a group of tourists on a boat trip in the Northern Territory are menaced by a giant crocodile.

S

Shark Vs Croc television program – 2004

Former shark hunter and Australian spearfishing champion Ben Cropp compares predators.

Siege of the South documentary – 1931

Frank Hurley documents Australia’s rich history of scientific exploration of the Australian Antarctic Territory.

Storm Boy feature film – 1976

Seamlessly woven into this story about one boy’s love of a pelican, are such themes as race relations, ecology, and family breakdown.

T

The Tasmanian Tiger sponsored film – 1960

This documentary – a partly-dramatised look at Tasmania’s animals and birds – is a good example of innovative documentary making in the early 1960s.

W

Wamsley’s War documentary – 2000

Wamsley’s controversial hat made of feral cat skins was instrumental in his campaign to make it legal for operators of wildlife sanctuaries to destroy cats.

Webs of Intrigue documentary – 1992

For this close-up look at the world of Australian spiders, cinematographer Jim Frazier patented a revolutionary lens now used throughout the world.

When the Lights Go Out: Cockroaches, a Domestic History documentary – 1994

A tour of domestic life from a cockroach’s point of view. Humankind are a passing evolutionary novelty compared to their 300 million years on earth.

Y

Yindi: The Last Koala? television program – 1996

A young koala is rescued from danger, but the whole species is still threatened.