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History - Australian (10/11)
Australian social, political and cultural history, including Indigenous history, stories of Australians involved in both World Wars and in other events in Asia and the Pacific region, personal domestic stories through to studies of Australian political leaders.
SYDNEY AT WAR
2005 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
At midnight on Sun May 31, 1942, three Japanese midget submarines broke through Sydney Harbour's defences and launched a surprise attack on an ill-prepared city. During that night of confusion and violence, 21 Australian and 6 Japanese service personnel lost their lives. Sydney At War recounts the events of that fateful... more
![TAKEOVER [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7833.jpg)
TAKEOVER [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1979 (PG) 87 min
The story of an Aboriginal community under threat from a distant bureaucracy. A film by David and Judith MacDougall. DIGITALLY RE-MASTERED FROM ORIGINAL FILM MATERIALS! more
TALKING BROKEN
1991 (G) 76 min
'Broken' is the creole spoken by the Torres Strait Islanders in far north Australia. Although they appear to keep up with 'the system', the hidden language of the authorities will always remain a mystery. With humour and intelligence, various Islanders talk openly about subjects as wide-ranging as independence, culture,... more
![TALKING LANGUAGE with Ernie Dingo [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/10154.jpg)
TALKING LANGUAGE with Ernie Dingo [from the CAAMA Collection]
2014 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 132 min
There are around 250 languages with 600 dialects spoken on this land. Today it is estimated around 30 of those languages are still strong and spoken daily, while over a hundred are critically endangered. more
![THREE HORSEMEN [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7834.jpg)
THREE HORSEMEN [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1982 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 51 min
Three generations of Aboriginal stockmen on a cattle station in far north Queensland. more
TIME TO DRAW THE LINE
2016 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
East Timor was born as a new nation in 2002 after 25 years of turmoil and war. Australia's peace-keeping force, INTERFET, helped with the peaceful transition to nationhood. Now, a darker story of Australia's relationship with this new nation is emerging. more
![TO GET THAT COUNTRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/7349.jpg)
TO GET THAT COUNTRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1977 (G) 66 min
A record of an historic event: the inaugural meeting of the Northern Land Council, representing traditional owners of the northern part of the Northern Territory. more
TOMBSTONE OPENING, THE
2012 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 29 min
Releasing the spirit of Ephraim Bani, a great cultural custodian, in Torres Strait's unique ritual. more
TOO MANY CAPTAIN COOKS
1988 (G) 18 min
In this film, Paddy Wainburranga of the Rembarrnga tribe from the centre of Arnhem Land in Northern Australia relates and paints the Rembarrnga history of Captain Cook. more
TOTEM & ORE
2019 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 98 min
In Australia, British atomic bomb testing ran from 1953 to 1963 at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia. Indigenous communities had to live with the impact of these tests – testing that infected many with radioactive fallout. more
TRIAL, THE
2009 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
In February 2008 twelve Muslim men went on trial in Melbourne on terrorism charges. The trial ran for nine months, heard hundreds of hours of secretly taped conversations and presented 66,000 pages of evidence. THE TRIAL takes us inside one of the biggest court cases in Australia's history. more
TROBRIAND CRICKET
1979 (G) 52 min
"Trobriand cricket" refers to a unique version of the ball-and-bat sport cricket played by the Trobriand Islanders. They were first exposed to the game by Christian missionaries, who thought the game would discourage war among the natives. However, the game was quickly adapted to Trobriand culture by expanding the number... more
TWELVE CANOES
2008 (PG) 66 min
In the wake of the international success of TEN CANOES, Rolf de Heer has collaborated again with the Ramingining community of north Arnhem Land in making this series of twelve short documentaries that together paint a visual and audio portrait of the people, history, culture and place of the Yolngu people. more
TWO HOMELANDS
2024 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
Fifty years after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, TWO HOMELANDS is both a commemoration of war and a celebration of community as six senior Australian Greek Cypriots - aged 70 to 102 - give emotional eyewitness accounts of the cost of war and their migration to Australia. more
UNDERCURRENTS: meditations on power
2023 (M) 19 min
A poetic essay documentary by Margot Nash, about the undercurrents of history playing out in the present: a 'song' for the dark times about repression and resistance. more
VOTE YES FOR ABORIGINES - The Story of the 1967 Referendum
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
A documentary about the 1967 Referendum and the fight for citizenship rights for Aborigines. It marks the 40th anniversary of the occasion, celebrating its historical significance and contemporary relevance. more
VOYAGE OF BOUNTY'S CHILD, THE
1983 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 90 min
The year is 1789. In the central Pacific Ocean the crew of Her Majesty's Ship Bounty mutinied against their captain, William Bligh, and cast him adrift with 18 other men in an open boat, 150 kilometres from Tonga. This epic voyage is re-created in this remarkable documentary classic from 1983. more
![WAITING FOR HARRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]](/images/small/10159.jpg)
WAITING FOR HARRY [from the AIATSIS Collection]
1980 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 56 min
Tensions behind the scenes of a ritual event in central Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. more
WE DON'T NEED A MAP
2017 (M) 85 min
A bold and provocative essay film by Warwick Thornton about the deeply spiritual meaning of the Southern Cross constellation for Aboriginal people. The film challenges us to consider the place of the Southern Cross in the psyche of all Australians. WINNER! Digital History Prize, NSW Premier's History Awards, 2018. more
WHEN THE NATIVES GET RESTLESS
2007 (M) 28 min
A film about racism and inequality in a small country town. It is about life, family and the disadvantage of not having opportunities because of the colour of your skin. more