The Back Of Beyond
''The Back of Beyond'' (1954) is a feature-length award-winning Australian documentary film produced and directed by John Heyer for the Shell Film Unit. In terms of breadth of distribution, awards garnered, and critical response, it is Heyer's most successful film. It is also, arguably, Australia's most successful documentary: in 2006 it was included in a book titled ''100 Greatest Films of Australian Cinema'', with Bill Caske writing that it is "perhaps our ustralia'snational cinema's most well known best kept secret". The aim of the film, as requested by the Shell Company, was to associate Shell with the essence of Australia, with Australianism.Glenn, Gordon and Stocks, Ian (1976) 'John Heyer: Documentary Filmmaker' nterviewin ''Cinema Papers'' Sept 1976 pp120-122, 190 Heyer took as his central motif the fortnightly journey made by mailman Tom Kruse, along the remote Birdsville Track from Marree, in South Australia, to Birdsville, in southwest Queensland. In 1957, Heyer w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Heyer
John Whitefoord Heyer (14 September 1916 – 19 June 2001) was an Australian documentary filmmaker, who is often described as the father of Australian documentary film.''Oxford companion to Australian film'' (1999) John Heyer spent the majority of his career producing and/or directing sponsored documentaries, and was active from the 1930s until his death. His most successful film was '' The Back of Beyond'' (1954), but many of his films garnered awards at festivals around the world. He was committed to the whole process of filmmaking from the initial research phase to distribution and exhibition. While he was grounded in the British documentary tradition, particularly during his years at the Australian National Film Board working under Ralph Foster and Stanley Hawes, he developed his own style noted for its lyrical quality. Heyer was an active participant in the documentary film movement in Australia in the 1940s and 1950s: he was among the first producers employed by the A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Flaherty
Robert Joseph Flaherty, (; February 16, 1884 – July 23, 1951) was an American filmmaker who directed and produced the first commercially successful feature-length documentary film, '' Nanook of the North'' (1922). The film made his reputation and nothing in his later life fully equaled its success, although he continued the development of this new genre of narrative documentary with '' Moana'' (1926), set in the South Seas, and ''Man of Aran'' (1934), filmed in Ireland's Aran Islands. Flaherty is considered the father of both the documentary and the ethnographic film. Flaherty was married to writer Frances H. Flaherty from 1914 until his death in 1951. Frances worked on several of her husband's films, and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Story for '' Louisiana Story'' (1948). Early life Flaherty was one of seven children born to prospector Robert Henry Flaherty (an Irish Protestant) and Susan Klockner (a German Catholic). Due to exposure from his fa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pare Lorentz
Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon-Upshur High School#History, Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College, and West Virginia University. As a young film critic in both New York City and Hollywood, Lorentz spoke out against censorship in the film industry. As the most influential documentary filmmaker of the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depression, Lorentz was the leading American advocate for government-sponsored documentary films. His service as a filmmaker for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II was formidable, including technical films, documentation of bombing raids, and synthesizing raw footage of Nazi Party, Nazi atrocities for an educational film on the Nuremberg Trials. Nonetheless, Lorentz perennially will be known best as "Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR′s fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Commonwealth Film Unit
Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia in 1973. Its predecessors were the Cinema and Photographic Branch (1913–38), the Australian National Film Board (1939–1955, under different departments), and the Commonwealth Film Unit (1956–72). Film Australia became Film Australia Limited in 1988 and was consolidated into Screen Australia in 2008. Administration of the Film Australia Collection was transferred from Screen Australia to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia on 1 July 2011. The mission of the organisation changed through its earlier incarnations, but from 1973 its aim was to create an audio-visual record of Australian culture, through the commissioning, distribution and management of programs that deal with matters of national interest or illustrate and interpret aspects of Australian life. History In 1913 the Cinema and Photographic Branch (also known as the Cinema Branch) was created in Me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birdsville Track 110216
Birdsville is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Diamantina, Queensland, Australia. The locality is on the Queensland border with both the Northern Territory and South Australia. The town is situated north of the South Australian border. In the , the locality of Birdsville had a population of 110 people. It is a popular tourist destination with many people using it as a starting point across the Simpson Desert. Betoota is a ghost town to the east of the town of Birdsville within the bounds of the locality.(). Geography Birdsville is west of the state capital, Brisbane, from Charleville and south of the city of Mount Isa. Birdsville is on the edge of the Simpson Desert, approximately east of Poeppel Corner. Birdsville is located about north-east of the Diamantina River in the Channel Country in the Lake Eyre drainage basin. Thundahpurty Waterhole is on the river in the east of the locality (). The Birdsville Track extends from Marree in South Australia b ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billycart
A billy cart is a popular Australian form of gravity powered vehicle, often homemade and constructed for either recreational or competitive use. The name of the cart tends to vary regionally, with synonyms "go cart" and "hill trolley". History 1880s–1890s The first references to billy carts appear in the 1880s, with the term identified as originating from wooden carts pulled by billygoats, with these carts being a commonplace occurrence throughout Australia prior to the emergence of the automobile. These carts were adapted over time to become both a tool and toy for children, featuring a design comprising primarily timber materials with four wheels and a front steering system which utilised a pivoting axle design. Rope was then attached to this pivoting axle to enable the cart to be pulled or steered by hand. This design was advantageous for kids who would scavenge areas for food, scrap materials and more, whilst also becoming a pastime wherein children would challenge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dingo
The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia. Its taxonomy, taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a subspecies of dog or wolf, or a full species in its own right. The dingo is a medium-sized Canis, canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic do ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgent and emergency medical transport for patients in rural and remote areas of Australia who require transfer to a higher level of care (such as a tertiary referral hospital). RFDS also provides primary health care services such as general practice, mental health and allied health to remote communities who would otherwise have limited access. The RFDS comprises six autonomous regional organisations (such as the RFDS Queensland Section) and a federation office in Canberra. History "Mantle of safety" John Flynn had worked in rural and remote areas of Victoria and was commissioned by the Presbyterian Church to look at the needs of people living in the outback. His report to the Presbyterian Assembly in 1912 resulted in the establishment of the Australian Inla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tom Brennan (barge)
''Tom Brennan'' (also known as MV ''Tom Brennan'') was a barge built in the Australian state of South Australia in 1949 for use as a ferry at the crossing of the Birdsville Track over Cooper Creek when the creek was in flood in what is now the state’s Far North region. It was withdrawn from service in either 1960 or 1963 and since 1986, it has served as a monument. One of its operators was the mail contractor, Tom Kruse. Construction ''Tom Brennan'' was built in early 1949 by the South Australian Harbors Board in response to a proposal by the stock agency Dalgety & Co. Ltd for a ferry to move people and goods across Cooper Creek at the Kopperamana Crossing on the Birdsville Track when creek was in flood. It is described as being a "steel punt with airtight tanks, powered by a 4 horse power outboard motor". The vessel was named after Mr T. R. Brennan, the Livestock Manager with Dalgety & Co. Ltd, who is credited with having the idea to provide a ferry service. Career I ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cooper Creek
The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its tributaries and is one of three major Queensland river systems that flow into the Lake Eyre basin. The flow of the creek depends on monsoonal rains falling months earlier and many hundreds of kilometres away in eastern Queensland. It is in length. History Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the area for over 20,000 years, with over 25 tribal groups living in the Channel Country area alone. A vast trade network had been established running from north to south, with goods such as ochre sent north, while shells and pituri moved south. Birdsville was once a major meeting place for conducting ceremonies and trade. Charles Sturt named the river in 1845 after Charles Cooper, the Chief Justice of South Australia. It was along Cooper C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stockman (Australia)
In Australia, a stockman (plural stockmen) is a person who looks after the livestock on a station, traditionally on horse. It has a similar meaning to "cowboy". A stockman may also be employed at an abattoir, feedlot, on a livestock export ship, or with a stock and station agency. Country music singer-songwriter, Slim Dusty, sang about The Ringer from the Top End. Associated terms Stockmen who work with the cattle in the Top End are known as ringers and are often only employed for the dry season which lasts from April to October. A station hand is an employee who is involved in routine duties on a rural property or station, which may also involve caring for livestock. With pastoral properties facing dire recruitment problems as young men are lured into the booming mining industry, young women from the cities are becoming a common sight on outback stations, often attracted by the chance to work with horses. An associated occupation is that of the drover, who, like the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |