image of person or book cover 4387055093699284034.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
form y separately published work icon Coniston Muster single work   film/TV  
Issue Details: First known date: 1972... 1972 Coniston Muster
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The many films that Roger Sandall made for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies in the 1960s and early 70s were primarily for archival purposes, and not for wide public release. Coniston Muster is one of the few intended for a general audience.'

'Superbly photographed over a relatively short period of six weeks, the film introduces us to Coniston Station – an 840 square mile property, northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. It is an arid area of red semi-desert, and can sustain only about four head of cattle per square mile.'

'At the time of making the film, Bryan Bowman held the lease for Coniston and for a couple of other properties. He had been living in the Northern Territory since the 1920s when he started work as a jackeroo.'

'The Head Stockman at the station was Coniston Johnny, who had spent his working life with cattle, on many stations. He provides a commentary for much of the film, responding spontaneously to images as they appear on-screen.'

'The film documents episodes in Coniston’s annual cattle muster, and Johnny talks about the skills that Aboriginal stockmen bring to the work, compared with white men.'

Notes

  • Ronin Films wishes to advise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that this film may contain images and voices of deceased persons.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Language: English
Notes:
English dialogue and narration (with subtitles)
      1972 .
      image of person or book cover 4387055093699284034.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 28 minsp.
      Series: AIATSIS Collection Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies , collection

      'The Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (later AIATSIS – the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) was established as a statutory authority in 1964. The Institute quickly established a film unit to act as an archive of filmed material and also to record material of ethnographic and historic significance. Part of this work also involved the preparation of films for public release, and until the early 1990s, the AIAS Film Unit became responsible for some of the most significant works of ethnographic film then produced in Australia. This collection of some thirty significant documentary works will be progressively released by Ronin Films in association with AIATSIS, where possible in re-mastered form and with associated interviews with filmmakers.' (Source: Ronin Films website)

Last amended 17 Nov 2015 12:25:24
X