Film Collection

Scope and Contents

Australian ornithologist R. T. Littlejohns spent four years in the bush filming the beautiful lyrebird, resulting in this rare footage of the bird's behavior. A female lyrebird and her chick are the initial focus of the film; the mother bird is seen gathering food for the chick; later the young bird leaves the nest. The focus then shifts to the male lyrebird and his spectacular display behavior. A complete bird song, comprised of many imitative calls, is featured on the film's soundtrack.

Scope and Contents In an effort to promote tourism to the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian government produced this film. Atolls, Keppel and Duke Islands, beaches, and tourists sailing, waterskiing, fishing, swimming, and shelling introduce this vast reef along the coast of Queensland to the viewer. The wide variety of aquatic animals and plants shown include a cormorant rookery, newly hatched turtles scurrying to the sea, skimmers on shore, and underwater footage of puffers, rays, angelfish, sea horses, and...

Scope and Contents This introduction to Adelaide, South Australia, and its environs was produced by the Australian government to entice travelers to the area. The film begins with a survey of this beautiful modern city including government buildings, wide boulevards, war memorials, the North Terrace (a cultural center with a museum, a college and a conservatory of music), a railroad station, churches, parks and botanical gardens. View of the surrounding areas follows: landscapes of hilly terrain, waterfalls,...

Scope and Contents When the Australian government made this promotional film, Australia's sheep industry was supplying 25% of the world's wool. The activities on a large sheep ranch are presented in detail: merino sheep, herded in from the grazing land, are moved in single file into large dipping vats containing a chemical solution to kill parasites, and oral medication is administered with a squirt gun. At shearing time, the sheep are taken to a shed, where shearers using electric clippers shear 120 to 150...

Scope and Contents

Animals of the Canberra Reserve, located in the Australian Capital Territory in southeastern New South Wales, are featured in this film: kangaroos, tree kangaroos, bandicoots, pademelons, kangaroo rats, wallabies, opossums, albino opossums, flying opossums, wombats, koalas, Tasmanian devils, tiger cats, spotted native cats, echidnas and platypuses.