Australian
Screen

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.