Charles Mountford

Namatjira the Painter

Ralph Foster, Lee Robinson

Albert Namatjira, Rex Battarbee

Traces the life and artistic development of the Aboriginal painter, the late Albert Namatjira. His environment, his introduction to painting, his subsequent success with beautifully original landscapes and his influence on fellow Aborigines are recorded.

Walkabout 1974

Charles Mountford

Charles Mountford

Well-known Australian anthropologist CP Mountford narrates his experiences on a journey through central Australia with a group of Aboriginal people. Mountford's films are an irreplaceable ethnographic record of the life of the Pitjantjatjara people of this area, before extended contact with European culture. It records food gathering and preparation, hunting, fire making and family life as well as scenes near and on the sacred rock formation, Uluru. This film was made from unrestricted footage shot by Mountford in 1940 and 1942 for his two 1946 films, Walkabout and Tjurunga.

Aborigines of the Sea Coast

Charles Mountford

The coast of Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory has been the home of Aboriginal people for many many centuries. Some still live a traditional lifestyle. This film is a record of a 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land led by anthropologist Charles Mountford. It depicts the ancestral fishing, hunting, building and boatmaking techniques used by the communities of the region.

Birds and Billabongs

Charles Mountford

A record from the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition lead by anthropologist Charles P Mountford that explores the abundant birdlife and waterways of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Thousands of birds, both native to Australia and from around the world, find sanctuary in the billabongs of Arnhem Land, feeding on the fish, insects and flowers that flourish there. Apart from their beauty, the birds serve the useful purpose of helping to keep the balance of nature in the wilderness areas of Australia’s far north. Close photography makes it possible for some of the more interesting birds to be carefully studied. The film’s soundtrack is perhaps the most unique ever recorded, bringing us the thrilling sound of the voices of thousands of birds breaking the quiet of the virgin bush.