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clip 1Clip description
Will Barnes (Tamblyn Lord), Ned (Nathan Croft) and an assortment of boys being sent to Fort Queenscliff, are marched to the train. Scratch (Lachlan Jeffrey) reads from the newspaper giving Government and public opinion about the desire to have young boys join up and train to fight for King and country. Will’s mother (Penne Hackforth-Jones) and father (Bruno Lawrence) are distraught.
Curator’s notes
The technical device of the young boy reading the quotes from the newspaper adds a significant amount of factual background information and a great deal of dramatic tone to this clip, particularly highlighting the emotive language and pervasive propaganda of the time, and the strong public contempt for anyone who refused to fight. Gary Sweet plays a very vindictive, nasty sergeant, relishing the role as he bullies and humiliates the boys.
