Thomas Johnson Gurr (1904,
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
, New Zealand – 9 August 1995) was an Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker. He worked for
Cinesound Productions
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union, Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film proc ...
writing commentary for newsreels until 1933 when he left to join
Associated Newspapers
DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at 9 Derry Street in ...
. By 1938 he was editor in chief at the ''Sunday Telegraph'' and he later edited the ''Sydney Sun''.
During the war, Tom served as a War Correspondent with Associated Newspapers. He became a member of the Australian Commonwealth Government Editors' Delegation and travelled to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Korea, and watched the D-Day invasion from above, flying over the scene. Tom was decorated with seven service medals for his work as a war correspondent, and marched in every Anzac Day ceremony in Sydney, Australia, until the age of 90.
During World War II he also wrote and directed the classic action documentary film ''
Jungle Patrol'' (1944), and later made a similar film during the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, ''One Man's War'' (1952).
His sister, Nancy Gurr (Thompson), was also a pioneer of the Australian film industry. His brother, Rodney Gurr, worked for MGM in the US before returning to Australia. Their father "Thomas Stuart Gurr" was a novelist and writer.
Filmography
*''
South West Pacific
Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
'' (1943) – writer
*''
Jungle Patrol'' (1944) – writer, director
*''One Man's War'' (1952) – writer, director
Copy of film
at ABC website
References
External links
Tom Gurr
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 ...
*
1904 births
1995 deaths
20th-century Australian journalists
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
{{Australia-journalist-stub