Original classification rating: G.
This clip chosen to be G
Clip description
Tony Fountain had to learn all about the bloodline of horses, and even how to set up and decorate sale yards, in order to manage the auctioning of stud horses. This is the top-of-the-line work that that brings in the big commissions for auction houses. However Tony Fountain, as a small-time operator, has to turn his hand to whatever is on offer, and the sheep sales provide the bread and butter of the industry. He’s prepared to do anything and go anywhere to establish his name as one of the most professional agricultural auctioneers in the country.
Curator’s notes
This item about the life and work of an agricultural auctioneer was originally a half-hour Big Country (1992) program made for the rural department of ABC television. Tony Fountain is a man passionate about his job, paying strict attention to each aspect of the presentation of the sale yards for the day of the auction. We learn that this consummate professional, who works tirelessly to offer the very best auction atmosphere to his clients, recalls that his school reports often described him as having no attention to detail.
Jack Thompson warmly introduces each item in this magazine-style program with an on camera opening piece, which is then followed by a narration to accompany each story. Since each is a cut-down of the original documentary, his narration is necessary to keep the story flowing and to fill in the shortened sequences. What is missing from this compilation series, that was a major feature of A Big Country (1992) at its best, is the pace and the drama of the lives of real people who live far away from the big cities. Episodes of the original series were 30 minutes in length and, in its time, A Big Country (1992) was one of the most watched and best-loved programs on television. For many city dwellers in Australia, this was their introduction to life in the bush. It began in 1968 and continued until 1992. As a former Big Country producer himself, Matthew Flanagan knew about the huge amount of remarkable footage available to draw upon for this cut-down series.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Passionate about his work from the television program Jack Thompson Down Under – Episode 3 as a high quality video download.
To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
This clip is available in the following configurations:
File name | Size | Quality | Suitability |
jackep32_pr.mp4
|
Large: 17.3MB |
High |
Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer. |
jackep32_bb.mp4
|
Medium: 8.2MB |
Medium |
Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods. |
Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:
australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.
All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.
When you access australianscreen you agree that:
- You may retrieve materials for information only.
- You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
- You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
- The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.
All other rights reserved.
ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.
Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip: