14 Films & TV Shows Set In Oceania During The 1900s
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Saving Mr. Banks
California England Queensland The 1960s The 1900sWhere her book ended, their story began. — Author P.L. Travers looks back on her childhood while reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen.
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Tracker
🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1900sNever Stop Running! — An ex-Boer war guerrilla in New Zealand is sent out to bring back a Maori accused of killing a British soldier. Gradually they grow to know and respect one another but a posse, led by the British Commanding officer is close behind and his sole intention is to see the Maori hang. Written by Filmfinders 1903. A guerilla fighter from the South African Boer war called Arjan (Winstone) takes on a manhunt for Maori seaman Kereama (Morrison), who is accused of murdering a British soldier. What follows is a cat and mouse pursuit through the varied landscape of NZ with both hunter and huntee testing their bushcraft and wits against that of the other. Written by Anonymous
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The Call of Cthulhu
Rhode Island Louisiana 🇳🇴 Norway 🇬🇱 Greenland New South Wales 🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1920s The 1900s The 1870sA dying professor leaves his great-nephew a collection of documents pertaining to the Cthulhu Cult. The nephew begins to learn why the study of the cult so fascinated his grandfather. Bit-by-bit he begins piecing together the dread implications of his grandfather's inquiries, and soon he takes on investigating the Cthulhu cult as a crusade of his own.
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Hammers Over the Anvil
🇦🇺 Australia The 1900sAn aristocratic Englishwoman, an Australian horseman and a young boy on a journey towards the exciting but forbidden world of adults. — Set in the summer of 1910 in Australia the film follows the story of 14 year old Alan Marshall (Alexander Outhread) as he stumbles out of childhood towards the exciting yet forbidding world of adulthood. For Alan, despite the effects of polio, there is only one passion in life - to become a great horseman just like his hero, the reclusive horse trainer East Driscoll (Russell Crowe). Alan is one of East's few friends and also one of the few who knows about the affair between East and the aristocratic English woman Grace McAlister (Charlotte Rampling). Things inevitably take a turn towards the tragic when East becomes determined to force Grace to leave her husband and run away with him. Hammers Over The Anvil is an evocative coming of age film from Australian director Ann Turner.
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Young Einstein
Tasmania New South Wales 🇫🇷 France The 1900sE=mc² — Albert Einstein is the son of a Tasmanian apple farmer, who discovers the secret of splitting the beer atom to put the bubbles back into beer. When Albert travels to Sydney to patent his invention he meets beatuiful French scientist Marie Curie, as well as several unscrupulous types who try to take advantage of the naive genius and his invention.
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We of the Never Never
Northern Territory The 1900sThe story of the love and courage of a remarkable woman — Based on the well-loved Australian classic by Mrs. Aeneas Gunn, this is the remarkable true story of Jeannie Gunn, a woman who fought to overcome sexual and racial prejudice amid the harsh beauties of the outback. Leaving her Melbourne existence for a new life on her husband's isolated ranch, Jeannie's feisty, good-natured attitude soon wins over the misogynistic stockmen, but she faces a much tougher challenge in trying to change their racist attitudes towards the indigenous aboriginal population.
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The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
🇦🇺 Australia The 1900s The 19th CenturyThe chant of the underdog — The true story of a part aboriginal man who finds the pressure of adapting to white culture intolerable, and as a result snaps in a violent and horrific manner.
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Picnic at Hanging Rock
Victoria The 1900s The 19th CenturyOn St. Valentine's Day in 1900 a party of schoolgirls set out to picnic at Hanging Rock ... Some were never to return. — In the early 1900s, Miranda attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically strict headmistress treats the girls to a picnic field trip to an unusual but scenic volcanic formation called Hanging Rock. Despite rules against it, Miranda and several other girls venture off. It's not until the end of the day that the faculty realizes the girls and one of the teachers have disappeared mysteriously.
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Journey Out Of Darkness
🇦🇺 Australia The 1900sSet in 1901, the film follows the progress of Constable Peterson (Matthaei) on his quest to bring an Aboriginal man (Kamahl) to justice under the White Man's law. Having heard of a killing that took place under tribal law, Peterson embarks on a mission to arrest the accused man with the help of Black Tracker Jubbal (Devereaux) and bring him back to Melbourne for trial. It is a journey of discovery for both Peterson and Jubbal. Jubbal finds himself caught between black and white society, eventually dying following a curse placed on him during a traditional bone pointing ceremony. Peterson is left to try take the prisoner back to Melbourne alone, but cannot negotiate the pitfalls of the desert without the help of his prisoner. During the latter stages of his return, Peterson begins to understand the folly of his mission, releasing the Aboriginal man to return to his people. Finally, the metaphorical journey out of darkness is the one made by Peterson.
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Kangaroo
New South Wales The 1900sIn turn-of-the-century Australia, two criminals ingratiate themselves with a rancher in order to swindle him. However, the two partners become rivals for the affection of the rancher's beautiful daughter.
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Bitter Springs
South Australia The 1900sA family buy land set around a water hole in a remote location, that is occupied by native Australians. The two groups clash.
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Royal Visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to New Zealand
🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1900sThe Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York travelled to New Zealand in 1901 to thank New Zealanders for their contribution to the Boer War. Only a short fragment remains of a much longer film.
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Inauguration of the Commonwealth
New South Wales The 1900sThis clip shows part of the official parade for the Inauguration of the Commonwealth on 1 January 1901 as it passes through the temporary gate built especially for the occasion in Hyde Park, Sydney.
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The Departure of the Second Contingent for the Boer War
🇳🇿 New Zealand The 1900sNew Zealand's oldest surviving film shows a troop of horsemen from the Boer War Second Contingent in camp at one of the open days held before their departure at Newtown Park, Wellington, likely 13 January 1900. (https://ngataonga.org.nz/)
