''For Australia'' is a 1915 Australian silent film directed by

Monte Luke Monte Luke born Charles Robert Montague Luke, (1885–1962) was an Australian photographer, actor and director. Biography Born in Geelong he worked as an actor on stage before developing an interest in stills photography. He was appointed offici ...

Plot

A newspaper journalist, Stanley Lane (

Boyd Irwin Boyd Irwin (12 March 1880 – 22 January 1957) was an English stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1915 and 1948, both silent and "talkies", including a starring role in Australian film '' For Australia'' in 1915. ...

), discovers a German spy ring in Sydney led by Carl Hoffman (Charles Villiers). Lane is captured and imprisoned by Germans on an uncharted Pacific Island. With the help of half-caste Samoan girl Kana (Alma Rock Phillips) he escapes and destroys a German wireless station in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. He is re-captured and tied to a tree in a crocodile-infested swamp, but Kana saves him again. Later, invades the island and Hoffman runs into the swamp and is eaten by crocodiles.Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998, p 55

Cast

* Alma Rock Phillips as Kana *

as Stanley Lane *Gwen Burroughs as Mrs De Winter * Charles Villiers as Carl Hoffman *Percy Walshe

Production

The film was made with the co-operation of the Australian government. It was mostly shot in and around Sydney with some scenes at an aboriginal mission at

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced 'bree-warren-ah'; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. The name Brewarrina is derived from 'burru waranha', a Weilwan name for a s ...

in northern New South Wales.Marsden, Ralph. 'The Old Tin Shed in Exhibition Street': The J. C. Williamson Studio, Melbourne's Forgotten Film Factory nline Metro Magazine: Media & Education Magazine, No. 157, 2008: 144-153. Availability: . ited 15 Nov 14

Release

The film was previewed in Melbourne on 18 October 1915. ''The Winner'' stated that:

The picture is a distinctly good example of what can be accomplished in locally-made films. The story is interesting... and has the right grip for picture purposes. Some fine natural scenery has been secured for many of the sections, and the Sydney-Emden fight has been cleverly worked out. On the whole, Mr Monte Luke, the director, and all associated with him in the production, have every reason to be proud of their work.

However the film was not a success at the box office.

''For the Honour of Australia''

The movie was combined with another film, '' How We Beat the Emden'' (1915), and the documentary '' How We Fought the Emden'', to make a new movie for release in Britain called '' For the Honour of Australia'' (1916). A copy of this survives today.Paul Byrnes, ''For the Honour of Australia''
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Australian Screen Online The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0353461
''For Australia''
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...

Clip from film
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Australian black-and-white films 1915 films 1910s war drama films Australian war drama films Australian silent feature films 1915 drama films Films directed by Monte Luke Silent war drama films Australian World War I films 1910s English-language films