Cirrus@Austlit

A television documentary series produced and narrated by Charles and Elsa Chauvel, Walkabout follows their travels throughout Australia, largely the outback regions.

The thirteen episodes were 1. Sydney; 2. The Great Divide; 3. Outposts; 4. The Ghan; 5. Droving; 6. Coober Pedy; 7. Rum Jungle; 8. Adelaide River; 9. Homesteads; 10. Picnic Races; 11. Buffalo; 12. Alexandria Downs; and 13. The Last Walkabout.

'On a lonely cattle station in the Northern Territory, a newly born Aboriginal baby is adopted by a white woman in place of her own child who has died. The child is raised as a white child and forbidden any contact with the Aborigines on the station. Years later, Jedda is drawn by the mysteries of the Aboriginal people but restrained by her upbringing. Eventually she is fascinated by a full-blood Aboriginal, Marbuck, who arrives at the station seeking work and is drawn to his campfire by his song. He takes her away as his captive and returns to his tribal lands, but he is rejected by his tribe for having broken their marriage taboos. Pursued by the men from Jedda's station and haunted by the death wish of his own tribe, Marbuck is driven insane and finally falls, with Jedda, over a cliff.'

(Synopsis from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School website, http://library.aftrs.edu.au)

An extravagantly produced publication which explains the background to the making of Charles Chauvel's landmark film, Jedda.

'Filmed against the lush, tropical background of the Lamington Plateau it tells the story of an Australia many have never seen ... of Australians heard about but never met. This is the story of pioneers with adventure in their blood and their incessant battle against nature.

'Matthew O'Riordan had five sons–Shane, Barney, Luke, Terry and Mickey. The sons grew up. The farm in the valley is too small to hold them, so Matthew calls a conference and suggests that the boys take up land is Quensland, [sic] where there is unlimited opportunity and plenty of land.

'Matthew informs them of the hardships they will have to endure but fighting is a thing they understand, so they set off.

'After the decision is made the film goes on to describe their battle against what appears to be overwhelming odds. It depicts their passions, their dreams, their hopes and finally their victory.'

Source:

'Odeon', Goulburn Evening Post, 20 February 1950, p.3.

Australia's only fully war-time feature, The Rats of Tobruk focuses on three friends who are cattle droving in the outback just before the outbreak of World War II. By 1941, restless Bluey Donkin, easy-going Milo Trent, and Shakespeare-quoting Englishman Peter Linton have decided to join the Australian Imperial Forces (A.I.F.) and later find themselves in North Africa fighting Rommel's army.

After early successes against the Italian army, the Australian 9th Division finds itself besieged in Tobruk. When not fighting, the men have comic encounters with a barber, while Peter falls for a nurse, Sister Mary, after being wounded. The other two men are also later wounded, but it is Peter who is eventually killed just before the others are able to repel the enemy. Bluey and Milo are then later transferred to New Guinea, where Bluey is injured and Milo killed by a sniper. Bluey manages to kill the sniper.

A romance subplot occurs between Bluey (who prior to leaving Australia was not prepared to settle down with any woman) and the daughter of a squatter, Kate, who is in love with him. When Bluey finally returns home, he and Kate are united.

An action adventure, Uncivilised sees Beatrice Lynn, a successful novelist, journey into the 'unexplored' reaches of north-west Australia to research a book about an Aboriginal tribe who is believed to be ruled by a white king, Mara. On the way there she is abducted by an Afghan trader, but the strange song of the Mara echoes through the jungle. The white chieftain later buys her from the Afgani, and attempts to win her love. Meanwhile opium smugglers try to buy Mara's collection of fabulous rubies, as war breaks out between Mara and a renegade Aboriginal warrior called Moopil. Beatrice finds she is falling in love with Mara, as a great battle begins.

'It is not devoted entirely to a western setting, but tells the story of how a young girl who has been finishing her education on the Continent is recalled to the station home of her father in an outback Australian settlement, and how her antagonism towards his foreman ultimately develops into love.'

Source:

'Parkside Theatre', Queensland Times, 28 April 1937, p.10.

'In the imperishable story of the colonizing and developing of Australia, a story too vast to be compressed within the compass of the ordinary novel, Mr Chauvel has made no effort to stress the usual glaring themes of brutality, degradation, and misery. At the same time no denial of such conditions is suggested, but shining above the cruel early struggles is the white light of high endeavour, unexampled courage in the face of almost insuperable difficulties, and a steadfast faith in the destiny of this nation.

It is of the qualities of courage, sacrifice, endurance, enterprise, heroism and achievement that Mr Chauvel tells, leaving the leg irons, and the bloodied triangles to fade into a well deserved obscurity, remembering them only when truth shall demand it, but remembering also that such systems, punishments and conditions were then common to the world. Out of tribulation has come triumph, out of misery has come magnificnce, and out of that early heroism has come a mighty heritage.' - Dust jacket flap

'The main thread of the story is made the history of two families. James Morrison is a stalwart teamster of the early days, who is somewhat irresponsible in his romantic adventures. He is engaged to marry Jane Judd. When a cargo of girls arrives in Sydney he meets Biddy, a sweet little Irish girl, whom he decides to marry. He goes back to the country to tell Jane all about it, but circumstances force him into marrying Jane against his inclinations. The foresaken [sic] Biddy also marries. She and her husband are speared by blacks, and Morrison, who has ridden to their rescue; is given custody of the infant son by the dying Biddy. The Morrisons bring up Biddy's son with their own. The two infants establish families, and the picture closes with the grant-grandson [sic] of one marrying the great-granddaughter of the other, and both families are united in the pioneering of Northern Australia.'

Source:

'Pictures of the Week', The Australasian, 1 June 1935, p.17.

A documentary-style book by Chauvel published to coincide with the release of his film, In the Wake of the Bounty.

The first of two docudramas by Charles Chauvel (the other is Heritage), In the Wake of the Bounty retells the story of the mutiny led by Fletcher Christian in 1789 against William Bligh, depicting the fate of the mutineers on Tahiti and Pitcairnis. Presented as part narrative and part travelogue, the film uses introductory enacted scenes showing the mutiny, followed by documentary footage, anthropological style, of the mutineers' descendants on Pitcairn Island (including Polynesian women dancers) and an underwater shipwreck.

'Charles Chauvel's first feature tells the story of a country girl, Dell Ferris (the Moth of Moonbi), drawn to the bright lights of the big city where her inheritance is soon frittered away with high society revelling. A wiser Dell returns to Moonbi Station where she is beset by the cattle rustler Jack Bronson, but finally finds peace and happiness with the faithful head stockman, Tom.

Shot on location in the bush outside Brisbane the film was also made at an improvised studio at the rear of a guest house in the city. Despite cold weather, cast and crew camped out with pack-horses and sheep for fresh meat. This first effort of Chauvel's (he appears in the film in blackface as an Aboriginal stockman) showed signs of the action director's career characteristics. He shot on difficult locations with new acting talent and told an Australian story which gave heroic dimensions to ordinary lives. Scenes of station life are authentic pictures of cattle yards, transportation by train, and the sale yards. The production cost 4400 pounds and was released at the Wintergarden Theatre, Brisbane on 25 January 1926' (National Film and Sound Archive).

A city girl is slowing disabused of her romantic opinions about life on a cattle station.