Top End

From the Film Australia Collection. Made by the Commonwealth Film Unit 1970. Directed by Donald Crombie. In this film four people illustrate the variety of activity in the Top End of Australia's Northern Territory. A great number of people go to the Northern Territory and not all are tourists. Some remain to find jobs in the big mining projects, in general industry or on the land. We look at examples of newcomers and see how some of the old-timers live - in the Top End. In the 1950s and 1960s, "developing the North" was a matter of great governmental rhetoric and concern. Many films were made by the government film units on the Northern Territory and North West Australia.

[@abundantYOUniverse]

Fantastic thanks

[@NFSAFilms]

Our pleasure!

[@thedave7760]

The big question I have is, can VB be classed as an actual Beer?

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Probably yes , before it and most other beers became mass produced swill. 😢

[@Ssshyousounddumb]

I notice no mention of the crocodiles.. Was this film trying to entice people to move to the top end and worried about the crocs scaring them off? They mentioned everything from water buffalo to horses and lizards, even brolgas.. But no crocs...

[@stephanecoffin1799]

They had mostly been hunted to extinction by that time.

[@peternicholson233]

not many left by then. Not like now...

[@sebbrazier5678]

4 years later and it was all gone in one night

[@Robstar2672]

Is that John Meillon narrating?

[@NFSAFilms]

Yes it is. John did a few voice overs for the Commonwealth Film Unit. Especially when a VB style delivery was required ;)

[@Robstar2672]

@@NFSAFilms I as pretty sure it was :)

[@brutechurchill]

Datsun!

[@peterclark6290]

and hand signals.

[@bury_the_elite65294]

Excellent upload, always good to learn a bit about our history. Love seeing all the cars & other machinery from yesteryear! John Meillon's voice-over makes it even better!
Look at the cars we had in 1970 - HT Monaro GTS-350, XW Falcon GT-HO Phase 2, VG Valiant Pacer coupe (with 245 Hemi-6).
Back when AU made some bloody good cars, but the best - the legendary Falcon GT-HO Phase 3 & mighty Charger R/T 49 - were still to come.
All of them truly amazing cars from a time & place long-past - Aussie motoring enthusiasts will never forget...

[@thomaselliott573]

Poor old John Meillon's affinity with beer always made him sound like a VB commercial. However, these people were not really battlers, they had wonderful lives in a way that is almost gone in Australia and many other countries. Lost to the infatuation the ego generates.

[@drunkdunc8738]

Hard days yakka then a VB and a smoke , great times🇦🇺👍 Good onya NFSA FILMS !

[@zedlicious]

Released In 1970. The VB ads went to air in 1969, it’s like they were conceived and filmed together. 😝 I can hear john Mellion, the classic voice over ”Matter of fact I’ve got it now” rousing music and salt of the earth battlers.

[@pollybird7827]

Very good looking healthy young men and no tattoos 🧡

[@zook8506]

11:53.
He saw 2020 coming....

[@brettwilkinson9529]

Filmed 4 years before Cyclone Tracy hit. The life expectancy of the workers would have been low as everyone had a cigarette in their mouths.

[@slatibaadfast]

Think you've been a little brainwashed. I had relatives moved to Darwin in the mid 60's, both him and her smoked. She's in her mid 80's now, he died last year at 89. He was a government valuer until his retirement. Went through Tracy and helped rebuild the town. Just because they and ma y others smoked doesn't mean they all died from cancer.

[@neilmansfield8329]

Yes a lot of things were better than now

[@sue9151]

Great old days when Australia was great .What has happened to it since then .

[@michaelmcdonald3275]

I would love to see something on Tennant Creek is there is. I lived there from 1996-1998 in the last days of the Warrego mining operations. It had scaled down to about 3000 people by the time I got there.

[@dmisso42]

Another wonderful documentary on the destruction of our environment in the pursuit of profit.

[@jmoul59]

A good film with good commentary and quality musical accompaniment. Much better than those terrible Movietone and Cinesound newsreels with their frantic commentary, poor cinematography and inappropriate comments. I remember that their last one was on the Whitlam Dismissal in 1975 and when I saw it in the theatre I thought how good it will be to be finally rid of this rubbish.

[@steve1962]

Wonder what became of the folk in this programme?

[@pacoparigi2163]

9:20 what's with the sprinklers on the roof... ? That's an design idea that didn't stick? LOL

[@geoffbell166]

Wool sheds do it as well when they shearing,heats unbelieveable inside those things...

[@RichardSpeights]

I'm guessing this is the last film made about Darwin before Tracy razed the city. My family moved to Darwin about two or three years after this presentation was shot. We left six months before Tracy.

[@shannongraham3055]

The little aussie battler

[@robertfoster7807]

great days the not so many rulea not a police state then

[@mvnorsel6354]

Another promo for ' Wake in fright '?

[@bennuballbags2]

That experiment, was that Fogg dam? The rice project that failed miserably....

[@barrydawson7548]

There were a few experimental farms down near Katherine back then.

[@samuelgreen2881]

Top end tropical Australia

[@elcasho]

Tough people

[@jackmcfakie2552]

Looks like Rhodesia.