Movies: Australian Commonwealth Film Unit

An anthology of Australian short films by directors Brian Hannant ("Judy"), Oliver Howes ("Toula") and Peter Weir ("Michael"), each presenting a young Australian at a moment of decision about their future....

Two Aboriginal families live like their ancestors have for centuries in this anthropological documentary. The gathering of food is the main focus as women harvest grass seeds to make a primitive flour for bread. Grubs, lizards, and fruit are also on ...

Part 1 of the History of Australian Cinema series. Australian cinema from the very beginning, from the newsreels, ethnographic and actuality films, to the controversy of "The Story of the Kelly Gang" and the success of "The Sentimental Bloke"....

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s....

Canberra, the National Capital of Australia, is a city which has been planned; a place where modern living is enriched by a lovely setting. But the hustling young city of today is expanding and developing, and there is emerging the pattern of the pro...

A road safety lesson using puppets and animation kindergarten age children....

Shows new methods in treating those afflicted with mental health issues. Contrasts past treatment regimes where people were locked away out of sight with the new, 1960s, psychiatric ideas of "group therapy" and talking therapy. Also shows practical b...

‘Bring Out a Briton’ was a short appeal for Australians to help the Immigration Department in its plan to form and assist a ‘Bring Out a Briton’ Committee in each district. It featured popular Australian actor Chips Rafferty as the spokesman for the ...

Made by The National Film Board 1947. Directed by Catherine Duncan. Christmas in Australia is a mid summer festival, with temperatures rising high. Over the years many of the traditional northern hemisphere Christmas customs have been modified to f...

A short documentary film by Peter Weir featuring the music of Wendy Saddington and Teardrop, the Indelible Murtceps and The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band....

A road safety film for pedestrians in city traffic. Demonstrates typical unsafe practices....

A picture of life in the West Australian capital of Perth in the mid 1960s. The social, business, sporting and other activities of an average Australian family in Perth are told through the eyes of the local newspapers....

A documentary about industrial design....

Bored during the summer holidays and escaping the heat, a group of kids (and their joey!) from Cook, on the Nullarbor Plain, discover a limestone cave with a huge underground lake. Meanwhile in town, a detective is called in from Port Augusta to inve...

A picture of life in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in the mid 1960s, social, commercial and recreational....

This film takes the form of a psychiatric session, using the metaphor as a way to explore the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef....

Life in Australia: Hobart shows scenes illustrating daily life, industry, recreation and the tourist features of Hobart, Tasmania....

A series of Public Information Films eventually compiled and released as a single feature....

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the Western Australian regional town of Geraldton in the mid 1960s....

Part 2 of the History of Australian Cinema series. Covering the 1920s and 30s. From an origin that promised so much, the Australian film production industry faced new challenges from abroad which ultimately proved to be more than they could cope with...