Shop for a film
History - Australian (11/12)
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.
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
WANGANY MALA
2024 (G) 60 min
Hundreds of years before Europeans colonised the Australian continent, Indigenous Australians were part of a trading network that extended to China's Qing Dynasty. Indonesian Makassan fishing fleets harvested sea cucumber for six months of every year with the local First Nations of northern Australia. 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
WHEN THE SNAKE BITES THE SUN
1985 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 57 min
A film by Michael Edols. Available on DVD and Vimeo-on-Demand as part of the ASPECTS OF A LIFE collection. more
WHERE THE WATER STARTS
2021 (PG) 71 min
After seeing the destruction of the fragile alpine ecology of Australia's Snowy Mountains first-hand, Richard Swain decides to speak out. A powerful new film by Amanda King and Fabio Cavadini. more
WHISPERING IN OUR HEARTS
2002 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 52 min
The story of the 1916 massacre of Aboriginal people at Mowla Bluff, Western Australia, told in interviews with surviving Nyikina, Mangala and Karajarri peoples, as well as through dramatised re-enactments of the testimonials of Aboriginal witnesses. more
WHITEYS LIKE US
1999 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 52 min
A group of 15 white strangers come together to participate in an eight-week Aboriginal reconciliation circle. The film follows the impact the process has on the participants' lives as they grapple with these difficult and complex issues. more
WHOOPEE BLUES
2025 (M) 123 min
Brothers Mic and Jim Conway have made music together since their school days, when they formed the Jellybean Jug Band, which later morphed into the wildly popular Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band in the early 1970s. This film is an emotive portrait of the brothers and their timeless contribution to Australian music history. more
![WILLABERTA JACK [from the CAAMA Collection]](/images/small/3327.jpg)
WILLABERTA JACK [from the CAAMA Collection]
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 26 min
He survived an attempted killing. He survived an unjust legal system. But can he survive white "payback"? A true story from the Northern Territory, 1929, which inspired the feature film, SWEET COUNTRY. more
WINNING WORLD WAR I
2008 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: PG) 92 min
A moving adaptation of the landmark book, The Western Front Diaries, written by historian Dr Jonathan King to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the end of World War I. Dr King presents this little-known story of the role of the tough-fighting Australians in the winning of World War I. more
WOLF IN AUSTRALIAN ART, THE
2015 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 42 min
Danila Vassilieff was a pivotal figure in the emergence of Modernism in Australian art. He was also a Russian - a bold cossack from South Russia, and a defender of the czar. His fascinating life and profound humanity are the subject of this compelling and wide-ranging documentary. more
WOMEN OF THE SUN
1981 (PG) 240 min
Comprising of four stand-alone one-hour episodes, this ground-breaking series from 1982 depicts events in the lives of four Aboriginal women over more than 150 years. more
WRAP ME UP IN PAPERBARK
2007 (Classification Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G) 28 min
This provocative documentary portrays the struggle faced by two indigenous Australians, Speedy McGinness, and his sister, Kathy Mills, to return their mother's remains from Darwin to her homelands, 600 kilometres south. more