Category Archives: South Australia

TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS: #2 – THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE (1919).

03 Monday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, ACTORS, Adelaide, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, BLACK & WHITES, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, LITERATURE, MOVIES, South Australia, Uncategorized

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TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS:
#2 – THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE (1919).

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Raymond Longford’s film version of C. J. Dennis’ SONGS OF THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE (1915) is truly an Australian ‘classic’ film, and deserves to be always in any list of ‘Top Australian films of all time’.

There are a number of things about this film that makes it special. Firstly, there is Raymond Longford (1878-1959) who produced, directed and co-wrote the screenplay. Longford is possibly the greatest of the Australian silent filmmakers. His career and life is a roller-coaster of ‘boom to bust’. His early film career is linked to his partner Lottie Lyell who co-wrote THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE with him, as well as many others, and appears as Doreen in THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE. Longford was already married when began his relationship with Lottie Lyell, but his wife refused to grant a divorce. Lottie Lyell died on T.B in 1925. From then on Longford’s career and life was gradual and humiliating decline. He ended up being a night-watchman on the Sydney wharves, dying, virtually in poverty, in 1959 at the age of 80 and largely forgotten. However, Raymond Longford was true ‘pioneer’ of Australian film, in directing, producing, writing, and fighting for an authentic Australian voice in film. He was highly critical of the influence and dominance of films and film-makers from the UK and the USA. He eventually softened his criticism of the Americans, preferring them due to their technical skill and artistry, as well as their sensitivity and encouragement of establishing an Australian film industry. Whereas the English were less technically skilled and regarded Australians as mere ‘colonials’ and ‘convicts’.

THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE is Raymond Longford’s masterpiece. However, there are many others that are noteworthy, and perhaps more indicative of Longford’s aesthetics and style. THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE, and its sequel, GINGER MICK, were highly successful, but they are not necessarily atypical Longford films. Longford was a bit of a maverick and a rebel, as befitting someone who is basically inventing feature films making in this early period of silent films. A more typical Longford-Lyell film is THE SILENCE OF DEAN MAITLAND (1914), which was highly controversial for its time, and involved a number of legal battles.

Another reason why THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE is special is the naturalistic acting that is unique to ‘world cinema’ of the time. This is most evident in the performances of Arthur Tauchert as ‘The Bloke’ and Lottie Lyell as Doreen. The naturalistic nature of this romantic comedy is enhanced by the given circumstances, which are essentially out-door locations in post-WW1 Darlinghurst, Sydney. Furthermore, perhaps due to the influence and presence of Lottie Lyell, but as he later admitted he was developing a particular aesthetic that was directed towards women as he regarded Australian women as more empathetic than Australian men to human drama.

THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE also has a special place in my affections as it was my father who introduced the poem to me, especially the ‘The Play’. In this poem, ‘The Bloke’ takes Doreen to see a production of Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. It is one of the funniest versions of Shakespeare’s famous play, and it is wonderfully realized in the film. THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE has an Adelaide and South Australian connection. C. J. Dennis was born in Auburn, about 100kms from Adelaide, and the first screening of THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE took place in the Adelaide Wondergraph on 26 November 1918.

For many years it was thought that this film had been lost. However, in 1952 a complete copy was found, restored and screened at the 1955 Sydney Film Festival. Raymond Longford was not invited because the organizers thought he was dead. An original negative print was discovered by accident in the USA in 1973. This American version was a better print than the one found in 1952. It was this version that was the basis for the 2000 restoration of the entire film by the Australian National Film and Sound Archive. This restoration is available as a two-set DVD, with an accompanying booklet about the film and its recovery and restoration. THE SENTIMENTAL BLOKE needs to be reclaimed and rescreened so that it once again can take its place as on the ‘Top Australian Films of All Time’.

Tony’s ‘Top Australian Films of All Time’ – #1 – THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906)

02 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in 20TH CENTURY ART, ACTING, Australia, AUSTRALIAN ACTORS, Australian Art, AUSTRALIAN FILM, AUSTRALIAN HISTORY, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, BLACK & WHITES, DIRECTORS, DRAMA, FILM, HISTORY, MOVIES, PEOPLE, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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TONY’S TOP AUSTRALIAN FILMS OF ALL TIME:
#1 – THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906)
The_Story_of_the_Kelly_Gang_-_Poster
Emboldened by the recent excellent list of ‘Top Aussie Films of All Time’ put out by the Adelaide Film Festival, I am going to present my Top Australian Films of All Time’. This is not to denigrate the AFF’s list, which was based on popular votes. Subsequently, however, it omitted a number of extremely important and influential films. The oldest film on the list is Charles Chauvel’s JEDDA (1955), which scraped in at #100. There is no other Australian film from the previous 50 years. This is my attempt to address this, beginning with Charles Tait’s THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG (1906),
This is not a great film, but it is an extremely important and influential one. At the time of its first screening and release in Melbourne’s Athenaeum Hall on 26 December 1906, with a running time of approximately 60 minutes, it was the longest running film narrative in world cinema. Subsequently, it claims to be the first feature film as we known them today. It paved the way for what followed. Even the French, who regard themselves as the founders of film, acknowledge the importance of THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG.
Its influence can be seen in a number of ways. This includes being the first of what can be called the genre of ‘bushranger’ films, particularly those about Ned Kelly, of which there are numerous films from 1906 to today. Also, with its locations ranging from the Victorian countryside to the streets of Melbourne, it offers an insight into an early era of Australian history and identity.
To be frank, I am a bit ambivalent about Ned Kelly – mainly because he did kill in cold blood. There is a psychopathic element that I find disturbing. Others see him as an Australian patriot. Whatever the case, he is an Australian icon, holding a mythic status of our own making, which makes him important and unique.
A couple of years I was in ‘Kelly country’ and went to Glenrowan where Ned Kelly and his gang met their fate, and where the final sequence of the film was shot. We were the only ‘white’ Australians visiting the respective sites. Others were ‘new Australians’, including a large Indian family, a couple of whom who were instructing their younger members about Ned Kelly. Why? I don’t really know – but the fact remains that Ned Kelly still has this fascination and compelling force, that is also evident in this film – the first Australian film that deservedly should be in the ‘Top Aussie films of all time’.
The National Film and Sound Archive a number of years ago published a beautifully restored print of what remains of THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG, with an accompanying booklet about the making and reception of the film. This is still available.
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DANCING TREES

26 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by in 21st CENTURY ART, Adelaide, ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, South Australia, TREES, Uncategorized

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I have been neglectful of my WordPress website. I have recently had a very successful exhibition of my photography for this year’s South Australian Living Artists festival, a number of which have been sold. Thank you.

I have started a new series called DANCING TREES. This is an attempt to capture the movement and character of trees. I will post a few of them – the story so far. This one from Brown Hill Creek, Mitcham, Adelaide, has already been sold. My photos are available for sale on the BlueThumb web site.

dancing trees

Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales – South Australian Maritime Museum

24 Thursday May 2018

Posted by in 19TH CENTURY ART, Adelaide, ANIMALS, ART, ART GALLERIES, Australia, AUSTRALIAN THEATRE, ENGLISH HISTORY, HISTORY, PEOPLE, South Australia, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized

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As part of the South Australian History Festival that has been running throughout May, there is a truly fascinating exhibition at the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide – Leviathan: An Astonishing History of Whales. This a celebration of the compelling majestic power and beauty of whales.

Part of this exhibition is devoted to the history of ‘whaling’, past and present. Hunting whales, despite its current ‘politically incorrect’ status, was and still is part of human history. Why hunt whales? Many people today, including myself, would find such a thing truly repulsive – and it is! Nonetheless, whilst acknowledging the brutality of ‘whaling’, this exhibition captures the fascination, dependence upon and respect for whales by a number of human groups and tribes, some of which continue to hunt whales today. This includes a few modern indigenous tribes in places such as Indonesia and Greenland, as well as past ‘western’ commercial whaling that inspired artists and writers, including Herman Melville’s Moby Dick.

I am most certainly not defending the hunting of whales and ‘whaling’, nonetheless, there is a fascinating mystery, a kind of ‘romanticism’ about ‘whaling’ that is part of past and modern human history. Why? Neither I nor this exhibition has an answer, yet it does exist and is a conundrum – which is partly why this exhibition is so fascinating and well worth a visit. Furthermore, it is a part of South Australian history as Port Adelaide once was a trading centre for commercial whaling in the now distant past. This may be uncomfortable for many who think it should be buried beneath the veneer of the niceness of modern ‘political correctness’ – nonetheless, it remains an historical fact. This exhibition challenges as well as informs without being gory and horrific, adding to its overall impressive value.

Furthermore, there are many other reasons why a visit to the South Australian Maritime Museum is worthwhile. There are numerous artefacts from the past that are fascinating. This includes a series of ‘figureheads’ that once stood proudly at the prow of sailing ships – a lost art form in itself.

 

Tony Knight

 

 

TONY’S TOURS: The Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

30 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in Adelaide, ART, ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, Australia, BEACHES, HISTORY, PARKS & GARDENS, PHOTOGRAPHY, PUBLIC ART, South Australia, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ART GALLERY, STREET ART, TONY'S TOURS - Travel Journal, TRAVEL, TRAVEL JOURNEY, TRAVELING IN AUSTRALIA, Uncategorized, VINEYARDS

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INTRODUCTION

The Fleurieu Peninsular extends to the immediate south-east of Adelaide. It was named in honour of Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu who was French explorer, by Nicholas Baudin when he was exploring the region in 1802. The name ‘Claret’ seems rather prophetic as this region that encompassed ‘The McClaren Vale’, one of the top wine regions in Australia. This is a short photographic record of a recent trip down to the Fleurieu Peninsula, particularly to the spectacular and rugged coastline, and the magnificent pristine beaches.

DAY 1 – GOOLWA to MASLIN BEACH

GOOLWA

P1080403Goolwa – Paddle-Steamer and Hindmarsh Bridge

First ‘port of call’ was GOOLWA, at the mouth of the Murray River. Goolwa was once considered as the capital of South Australia due to it being a major port. This included the old paddle-steamers that travelled up and down the Murray River. It was also once known as ‘theNew Orleans of South Australia’, which conjures up all kinds of hedonistic possibilities. Now, however, Goolwa is a relatively quiet country town, a popular place for tourists to visit and perhaps catch a glimpse of the by-gone time.

PORT ELIOT – VICTOR HARBOUR – ENCOUNTER BAY

IMG_3609Encounter Bay – South Australia

From GOOLWA we drove west to PORT ELIOT and to the headland, granting a spectacular view of the coastline, including Victor Harbour and Encounter Bay. In the late-nineteenth century, the connection between Goolwa, Port Eliot and Victor Harbour was quite significant. There are remnants of this by-gone ear, old sandstone houses and hotels, and even an old steam train that still runs between the three towns. The rest is very much tourists and retirees townhouses, that are not particularly attractive. The best part is the beaches and coastal walks.

KINGS BEACH

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The headland is the remains of an old glacier, thousands of years old, which accounts for the unique rock formation.

P1080425.JPGP1080426.JPGP1080428.JPGP1080430.JPGP1080431.JPGKings Beach

P1080433.JPGGranite Island – Encounter Bay

Just beyond Victor Harbour, at the western promontory, there is this wonderful coastal walk. The coastline is rugged with some startling, almost pre-historic rock shapes, and there are tales of shipwrecks and drownings that are marked along the path. It kept reminding us of parts of Cornwall in the UK, with one lonely sandstone house set amongst the hillside that runs down the coast.

DEEP CREEK

P1080435.JPGP1080437Deep Creek – Walk

We drove further west along the coast and started the walk to Deep Creek Beach, which marks the beginning of the ‘Heysen Trail’ that goes all the way to Cape Jervis. We only did part of this walk, which as you can see was rather steep, uphill and downhill. Nonetheless, the view was fantastic – and as you gazed south all you could think was ‘next stop Antartica’.

MASLIN BEACH

MALSIN BEACH in the Gulf St. Vincent was recently named amongst the ‘Top 10’ beaches in Australia. It easy to see why as it is quite unique with its impressive cliff face. We arrived at sunset and walked along the beach to the ‘Unclad’ section. Maslin Beach was the first official ‘nudist’ beach in Australia – we did not venture into that

P1080441.JPGP1080440.JPGMaslin Beach

P1080442.JPGMaslin Beach – Wedding

P1080445.JPGP1080443.JPGP1080447.JPGP1080450.JPGMaslin Beach – ‘Unclad’

P1080454.JPGOnkaparinga River –  Maslin Beach

P1080455.JPGMaslin Beach

DAY 2 – PORT WILLUNGA to ADELAIDE

We started the next part of our journey through the Fleurieu Peninsula by visiting PORT WILLUNGA. This was another old sea-port that serviced Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula. The only remnants left of that ear are the weathered posts of the old jetty and the man-made caves in the cliff-face. There is also the ship-wreck 200m of the coast of the ‘Star of Greece, which went down in 1888.

PORT WILLUNGA

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P1080465.JPGP1080466.JPGP1080461.JPGP1080468.JPGP1080470.JPGPort Willunga

From Port Willunga, we drove inland to the PRIMO ESTATE VINEYARD.

Primo Estate

And then to PORT NOARLUNGA, which is a beach suburb of the City of Onkaparinga; very popular with families and tourists. We bought a couple of delicious hamburgers from a local (Thai) restaurant and devoured them on the beach.

PORT NOARLUNGA

P1080474P1080475.JPGP1080478.JPGP1080480.JPGP1080479.JPGPort Noarlunga

Like anywhere in Australia there are always fantastic and fantastical ‘street art’, which includes advertisements, murals, and shop window displays.

We returned to Adelaide and went to the South Australian Art Gallery, then walked through the Botanic Gardens before returning to the Rose Park apartment for another beautiful sunset.

ADELAIDE

Biennale – Art Gallery of South Australia

P1080490.JPGAdelaide Botanic Gardens

P1080494.JPGRose Park – Adelaide

TONY KNIGHT