© ATOM 2012 A STUDY GUIDE BY ROBERT LEWIS
http://www.metromagazine.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-74295-152-2 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au Australia On Trial (Malcolm McDonald, Lisa Matthews and Ana Kokkinos, 2011) is a 3 x 54-minute drama series recreating three historic trials that throw light on aspects of Australia during colonial times.
The three high-profile and controver- sial court cases raised major issues of national identity in the developing colonial nation. Each of the cases caused a sensation at the time and at- tracted enormous public interest. Each FROM TOP: CROWN PROSECUTORS ROGER THERRY (JOHNNY MCNAMARA, LEFT) AND JOHN PLUNKETT triggered social and political debate (BRETT CLIMO); JOHN PLUNKETT about subjects at the very heart of Australian society: democracy and justice, the identity and behaviour of Curriculum Applicability Australia’s men, and attitudes to- wards women and Indigenous people Australia On Trial is a resource that – themes and concerns that are still can be used in middle- and upper- relevant to modern-day Australia. secondary classrooms in:
Each of the three episodes cov- s ()34/29 ASPECTS OF !USTRALIAN ers a separate trial. Episode 1, The COLONIAL HISTORY FRONTIER CONFLICT Eureka 13, recreates the 1855 trial of GOLD URBANISATION CRITICALLY the Eureka 13 – the case of thirteen evaluating modern representations ‘diggers’ detained six weeks after the about the settlers’ relationship with OF HISTORY Eureka uprising and ordered to stand Aboriginals in general. s 3/#)%49 !.$ %.6)2/.-%.4 trial in Melbourne for treason. The %.',)3( THEMES OF JUSTICE ensuing court case would fuel public Drawing extensively on actual court PUNISHMENT MASCULINITY RACE demand for popular democracy and transcripts and journalism from the national identity perhaps led to major changes in the time, each episode recreates not s ,%'!, 345$)%3 THE NATURE OF THE Victorian constitution. only the trial itself but also the highly criminal trial system charged public and political debate s -%$)! THE DRAMATISED In Episode 2, Outrage at Mount surrounding it. As well as witnessing the DOCUMENTARY FORMAT Rennie, we witness the 1886 trial of drama and intensity of the courtroom, eleven Sydney ‘larrikins’ charged with we see flashbacks of the circumstances 4HIS STUDY GUIDE CAN BE USED TO STUDY the gang rape of a sixteen-year-old of each alleged crime and hear from key INDIVIDUAL EPISODES OR THE WHOLE orphan, Mary Jane Hicks. This horrific characters to see the ‘bigger picture’ SERIES %ACH EPISODE IS EXPLORED USING crime came at a time of changes to surrounding each case. these headings: industrialisation and urbanisation in Sydney, leading to unemployment. The Modern historical observer Michael ! ! SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE court case put Australian youth, mas- Cathcart is the ‘eyes and ears’ of the " 4HE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OR culinity and violence towards women viewer, contextualising events and CONTEXT TO THE EVENTS DEPICTED IN under the spotlight as never before. providing commentary at key junctures the trial to highlight not just what was at stake # 7HAT HAPPENED DURING THE TRIAL In Episode 3, Massacre at Myall Creek, for the defendants, but also for the $ 4HE MESSAGE OR MEANING ABOUT we see the trials in 1838 of a group of colony and the emerging nation state !USTRALIAN IDENTITY THAT CAN BE settlers involved in the killing of about at large. Ultimately, his aim is to show seen in the trial thirty unarmed Aborigines in northern us that whether it is the nineteenth % 4HE EPISODE AS A REPRESENTATION OF SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM NSW. The massacre was sadly indica- century or the twenty-first, Australians history tive of some white people’s aggressive have been asking themselves the & 4HE EPISODE AS A DRAMATISED attitudes towards Indigenous people in same question: What sort of society DOCUMENTARY the region and raised major questions do we wish to live in?
2 BEFORE WATCHING THE FILM
Australia has a criminal justice system that column. Then, after you watch Australia on involves a jury trial for serious offences. Look Trial, you will be able to come back to the table at the table below, and summarise information and complete the ‘Past’ column and see if any about aspects of the system, using the ‘Today’ of these aspects have changed over time.
ASPECT TODAY PAST
What is the purpose of a jury
Who serves on a jury?
How are they selected?
Who is responsible for prosecuting the accused?
What degree or level of proof is required?
How is evidence presented?
Who is responsible for defending the accused?
How is evidence presented?
What is the role of the judge?
What conditions are trials held under?
What is the role of the media? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM
Conclusion: Is it a fair and good system?
3 EPISODE 1
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B: The historical background or context to the events depicted in the trial
Sydney of the 1880s included a sub- stantial ring of industrialised suburbs. These were often older and decaying slum areas, where large numbers of people lived in poor conditions and in great numbers. 3 Groups of youths often formed groups, or ‘pushes’.
!e Mount Rennie Outrage Before the 1886 case there had been two other widely publicised cases A: A summary of the episode of gang rape – both had occurred in 1883, and the women had been bru- It’s 1886 and in Darlinghurst Courthouse Presided over by Justice Windeyer, tally attacked, raped and killed. nine young men glare down from the the trial attracts unprecedented press dock as an apprehensive but determined coverage. As it plays out, colonies all People in colonial Australia, and par- young woman is called to the witness over Australia erupt into a whirl of pas- ticularly Sydney, were conscious of the box. !is is sixteen-year-old orphan Mary sionate debate and fevered accusation. approaching centenary of the landing Jane Hicks, and these ‘larrikins’ stand Mary Jane Hicks is either a strumpet of the First Fleet in 1788, and many accused of serially raping and possibly or an innocent girl; the young men are were concerned to dissociate them- torturing her in a crime that has obsessed savages or they’re virile Australian-born selves from the ‘convict stain’. They Sydney since the story broke. men; the judge is incompetent or his were keen to show that they were a verdict will stamp out the plague of civilised people, and had not been Miss Hicks, a stranger to Sydney, was sexual violence once and for all. corrupted by the convict stock. looking for work when a cab driver stopped and offered to take her to the By the time the judge brings down his Economically Sydney was prosper- registry office. !e driver then took her verdict and four young men climb to ous, and work was available for all to Waterloo where he tried to assault the gallows for a grisly mass hanging, who would take it, though it was often her. When she screamed, some youths the question on everyone’s lips is: ‘What short-term and unskilled work. – who she believed to be her rescuers – is to become of Australia? Can we ever came to the cab. !is gang, members of be civilised?’ Australian masculinity it- a group known as the ‘Waterloo Push’, self was on trial. 120 years on, the issues SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM then led her to nearby bushland on raised by the Mount Rennie case remain 1: RAPE VICTIM MARY JANE HICKS (MELISSA KAHRAMAN) TAKES THE STAND 2: CROWN Mount Rennie (now Moore Park) and part of our national debate. PROSECUTOR MR TEECE (STEPHEN PHILLIPS, repeatedly raped her. CENTRE) WITH HIS LEGAL COLLEAGUES 3: THE MEN ACCUSED OF THE MT RENNIE RAPE
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1: ACCUSED RAPIST WILLIAM HILL (JACK NAYLOR) 2: MARY JANE HICKS SWEARS ON THE BIBLE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE COURT ASSOCIATE (RAY TIERNAN) 3: THE MT RENNIE RAPE TRIAL COURTROOM 4: MT RENNIE ACCUSED MICHAEL DONNELLAN (SAM HOWARD) IS JUST SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD. 5: A PACKED COURTROOM WATCHES THE TRIAL.
Cathcart usually refers to the Mount 5 Rennie accused as ‘boys’. Do you think this is an accurate description to C: What happened during the C7 What was the attitude of the judge use? Why? trial? during the trial? C16 Having watched the trial, what is C1 What happened at Mount Rennie? C8 Did this influence the trial unfairly? your attitude towards:
C2 Who were charged with the Mount C9 What was the outcome? s the prosecution Rennie crime? What did they have in s the defence common? C10 How do you explain the different s the judge attitude of The Bulletin and the other s the jury? C3 What did the prosecution have newspapers to the trial? to prove against each of the men D: The message or meaning charged? Consider these elements: C11 How strong do you think the about Australian identity that evidence was against the accused? can be seen in the trial s their location s their behaviour C12 Was it a popular verdict? The filmmakers chose this case s their intention. because they believe it tells us C13 The jury wanted mercy shown. something important about Australian C4 What was the main prosecution Why do you think it was not shown to society and national identity. evidence? all those who were convicted of the crime? D1 What does the film help you un- C5 How did the defence challenge derstand about: that evidence? C14 The trial was very rushed. Do SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM you think this was fair? Explain your s the role of newspapers or popular C6 Was it fair to challenge the char- views. media in issues acter of the victim? s the different classes and values in C15 Historical commentator Michael society
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1: DEFENCE COUNSEL MR CANAWAY (STEPHEN BALLANTYNE) 2: CROWN PROSECUTOR MR TEECE 3: THE COURT ASSOCIATE READS MARY JANE HICKS’ STATEMENT 4: DEFENCE COUNSEL MR CANAWAY 5: JUDGE WINDEYER (ROBERT VAN MACKELENBERG)
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rape trial in 1987 had previously also emphasise, how to present informa- s the law and legal system at this raised questions about Australia’s tion, and so on. Every account of time gang culture – the 26-year-old nurse history is a representation of it. Is this s how and why people can commit was abducted and raped by five men representation of history an accurate such brutal acts on others? before being murdered. The men were and fair one? caught, tried and sentenced to life D2 The filmmakers also believe that imprisonment amid a media furore and E1 Look at the set of criteria in the the cases featured in Australia on Trial public disgust. Summary Table: Assessing the ele- have many modern-day parallels and ments of a dramatised documentary resonances. What do you think is needed for peo- as a representation of history on ple accused of a crime that horrifies page 17. Summarise your ideas and The Mount Rennie case has echoes in society to receive a fair trial? comments in that table. the Bilal Skaf gang rape trial of 2000. In this case, a series of gang rape D3 Do you think the Mount Rennie E2 Here is an alternative representa- attacks were committed by a group accused received a fair trial? Justfy tion of the Mount Rennie situation: of fourteen Lebanese Australian men your views. (led by Bilal Skaf) against European Why did the Mt Rennie case, and with Australian women and teenage girls E: The Mount Rennie it larrikinism, become such a controver- in Sydney in 2000. The crimes – de- Outrage as a representation sial issue? Several factors need to be scribed as ethnically motivated hate of history considered: the Mt Rennie case was crimes by officials and commenta- interpreted as one crime in a series; tors – were covered extensively by The episodes in Australia On Trial are it was greeted as a new departure in the news media, and prompted the representations of history – that is, crime; it was unambiguously a crime SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM passing of new laws. The nine men they are somebody’s version of what involving youths; these youths came convicted of the gang rapes were happened. The people responsible for from an industrial neighbourhood and sentenced to a total of ‘more than the films make choices about what committed their crime in one of the 240 years’ in jail. The Anita Cobby to include, what to leave out, what to waste places of the city; the crime and
6 its aftermath coincided with the build up to the centenary in 1888 thereby of each crime mirrors the style and influencing speculation about the nature pace of contemporary cop shows. of colonial society; the multiple death sentence, scheduled to be carried out Naturalistic set design, costumes early in 1887, the Queen’s Jubilee and language of the series all cre- year, was the severest in the history ate an accessible world that a con- of the colony and raised a number of temporary audience can relate to. questions about the adequacy of the The audience must be engrossed trial and the most appropriate punish- in the unfolding story: which of the ment for youthful offenders. In addition accused is guilty, who will triumph New South Wales began the 1880s and who will hang? These are real with a new and controversially secular people whose lives are at stake. education act which critics believed Their stories had a tremendous would lead to deteriorating moral stand- impact on how we viewed ourselves ards. Youthful depravity gave those THE MOUNT RENNIE OUTRAGE and the society we wished to live in. convinced of the moral deterioration of Director Lisa Matthews: Music and sound design play a key colonial society useful confirmation of role in creating this contemporary their position. That this proved to be a What attracted me to Australia On edge to the series. far from unanimous assessment of the Trial were the stories – although state of New South Wales society after more than a century old – they still For the episode I directed, The one hundred years of white settlement, have contemporary relevance. The Mount Rennie Outrage, I wanted a guaranteed a bitter case. Moreover, a trials are significant in showing how strong sense of the court of public case which raised such imponderables we evolved as a colony during the opinion, outside the walls of the as the nature of youth, the purpose 19th century. They also hold a mirror courtroom. What were people of and efficacy of punishment, the role of as to how we deal with issues such the time thinking? Were these boys the family and the meaning of colo- as women’s and indigenous rights just being boys or larrikins? Or had nial history, would not easily be set to and Australian masculinity. gang rape replaced bush ranging rest. There was intense conflict about as the authentic Australian crime? how best to act in the face of a youth It was important to translate the The writer Katherine Thompson and problem enigmatically embedded in the 19th century setting of the series in I came up with the idea of vignettes shifting cultural formation of colonial a contemporary style. Unlike some – snapshots of the 19th century as society. That Mt Rennie was one crime historical interpretations which are stylised vox pops sliding on and off in a series, was a subject of regular often sanitised versions of events screen like iphone touch photos. comment. – we wanted the series to be gritty and real. What makes Australia On Trial daring David Walker, ‘Youth on Trial: The Mt and different is its contemporary Rennie Case’, Labour History, no. 50, Contemporary techniques such style and approach in reinterpreting May 1986, page 29. as handheld cameras, whip pans, our history. These stories are part of smash zooms and fast cutting who we are, what we have become Identify the similarities and differences ensures the court room drama feels and hopefully will resonate with between this version or representation fresh and in sync with our times. today’s audience. of history and that of The Eureka 13. Impressionistic grainy flashbacks
E3 What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of each version? episode. You will also find useful informa- tion and ideas in the Additional F: The Mount Rennie F1 Go to the Summary Table: Reference: Constructing a docu- Outrage as a dramatised Assessing the elements of a drama- mentary on page 19 in which some of documentary tised documentary on page 18 and the filmmakers of the Australia On Trial summarise information and ideas series discuss their approaches. The Mount Rennie Outrage is a about each of the features listed in the dramatised documentary. Is it a good table. F2 Do you think The Mount Rennie SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM and effective one? To decide this you Outrage is a good and effective need to look at the variety of elements The comments from the director dramatised documentary? Justify your that make a dramatised documentary, (above) might help you consider some views. and how well they are realised in the of the features.
7 EXPLORING IDEAS AND ISSUES IN THE FILM EPISODE 2
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1 1: EUREKA ACCUSED TIMOTHY HAYES (SCOTT B: The historical background PARMETER) 2: EUREKA ACCUSED RAFFAELO or context to the events CARBONI (ARTHUR ANGEL, LEFT) AND TIMOTHY depicted in the trial HAYES 3: TIMOTHY HAYES IS LED INTO COURT. 4: EUREKA ACCUSED JOHN JOSEPH (TERRY YEBOAH) AWAITS HIS FATE. 3 The discovery of gold in 1851 led to a rush to the Victorian goldfields. Thousands of people came to Victoria from Britain, Europe, America and !e Eureka 13 China to seek their fortunes. Many of these were educated people who were A: A summary of the episode supporters of the more democratic ideas that were developing – espe- In February 1855, the Supreme Court rebels in the dock and the jury of popu- cially the right to have a vote without of Victoria is the scene of the historic lar opinion is repelled by the antiquated owning property. trial of thirteen Eureka rebels. notion of treason. Initially, the hopeful miners searched for !ese ‘diggers’, from a number of differ- As the trials of the thirteen men unfold, gold in streams, and near the surface. ent nationalities, had come to seek their the defence lawyers and the journal- Gradually they realised that most gold fortunes on the goldfields of Victoria ists of !e Age urge the jury to ask the was found deeper in the ground, in old – now they find themselves charged question, who are the real traitors – the stream beds, and this required them to with ‘making a war against her gracious rebels or the inept government which dig down to try and intercept the old majesty, the Queen of England’. It’s a drove proud men to revolt?. And as river beds. This meant that people on charge – treason – that will puzzle the blame for the uprising turns on the gov- goldfields such as Ballarat had to set jurors and galvanise the populace. ernment – with accusations of its heavy- up permanent campsites, and rely on handedness in managing the goldfields credit from storekeepers or financial If the ‘diggers’ are found guilty, they’ll situation – the case against the ‘diggers’ backers while they slowly sunk their be executed – and they’re being pros- falls apart spectacularly. deep mine shafts. They had only a tiny ecuted by one of the most powerful area in which to sink their shafts – four men in the colony of Victoria, Attorney- By the time all thirteen are acquitted, metres by four metres. General William Stawell, the author of the new Victorian constitution, with the new Victorian constitution. Stawell as a key player in its develop- Even when they were not finding any ment, received approval from London gold, they still had to pay their licence When the trial begins, Stawell thinks and elections were soon held on the fees. The government relied on these he’s suppressing an illegal uprising and lines specified by that constitution. !e fees to pay for the policing of the gold- foreign agitators – but to his shock, the parliament, which was elected by this fields. Many of the goldfields police agitation becomes domestic. Stawell process, then embarked on further and were former convicts, and many were is determined to hang these men as an more democratic reforms. !e events brutal and corrupt men. example and cement his newly written that unfolded during the Eureka trials constitution. But he hasn’t bargained on changed our notions about democracy, Reforms to the situation had been put SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM the emergence of ‘radical Melbourne’: our status as a nation and the very no- to the government, and a new con- whipped into a frenzy by the press, the tion of justice in Australia. stitution had been drafted for Victoria mood of the people turns to support the that would give the miners some of the political reforms they wanted, but it
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1: THE COURTROOM ERUPTS IN JUBILATION AS TIMOTHY HAYES IS FOUND NOT GUILTY. 2: TIMOTHY HAYES’ WIFE ANASTASIA HAYES (HEIDI MCDONALD) ANXIOUSLY AWAITS THE VERDICT. 3: THE EUREKA ACCUSED IN THE DOCK 4: EUREKA 5 ACCUSED JOHN JOSEPH IS CHEERED BY 7 OTHER MINERS AFTER HIS ACQUITTAL. 5: DEFENCE COUNSEL BUTLER COLE resist government attempts to impose ASPINALL (KADE GREENLAND) 6: THE COURTROOM AWAITS THE VERDICT. harsh order on them. They built a 7: JUDGE REDMOND BARRY (RHYS rough stockade, armed themselves, MCCONNOCHIE) had been sent to Britain for approval, and raised a flag that was not the and the Governor, Hotham, was British government one. determined to maintain income from at the bar, the charge against you in the goldfields and to maintain effec- The government rushed additional the first count of the information to tive control while the political changes troops to the area and, early on the which you are now called to plead is, were being considered. morning of 3 December, attacked the that you did, on the 3rd December, stockade. After a short but fierce bat- 1854 (being at the time armed in a So, a dangerous situation was develop- tle, thirty diggers and five troops were warlike manner), traitorously assemble ing – large numbers of miners gathered dead, and many more were wounded. together against our Lady the Queen; together, without income, with radical Many were arrested, and in 1855 and that you did, whilst so armed and ideas spreading among them, angry thirteen of them were put on trial in the assembled together, levy and make with sometimes corrupt local officials Supreme Court in Melbourne, which is war against our said Lady the Queen, and the way goldfields police enforced where this episode starts. within that part of her dominions called a tax, and increasingly frustrated with a Victoria, and attempt by force of arms seeming lack of reform. C: What happened during the to destroy the Government constituted SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM trial? there and by law established, and to On 29 November a mass meeting of depose our Lady the Queen from the diggers loudly voiced their discontent, Here is the crime with which the thir- kingly name and her Imperial Crown. burned their licences, and pledged to teen were charged:
9 In the second count you are charged to prove against each of the men challenge laws with having made war, as in the first charged? Consider these elements: s why some people are prepared count mentioned, and with attempting to place themselves in danger for at the same time to compel by force s their location what they believe in? our said Lady the Queen to change her s their behaviour measures and counsels. s their intention. D2 The filmmakers also believe that the cases featured in Australia on Trial In the third count the charge against C3 Why did the prosecution want the have many modern-day parallels and you is, that having devised and intend- men tried in a particular order? resonances. ed to deprive our said Lady the Queen of the kingly name of the Imperial C4 Why did the defence want to In the Eureka case we see people Crown in Victoria, you did express and change that order, and bring John preparing to use violence to oppose evince such treasonable intention by Joseph on first? what they see as unfair laws. History the four following overt acts: now agrees that the Eureka rebels C5 What evidence did the prosecu- were right and justified in doing so. 1st That you raised upon a pole, and tion bring against Jones? But what if the opposition had been to collected round a certain standard, a law that most people actually agreed and did solemnly swear to defend C6 How did the defence challenge it? with, and the opponents still used each other, with the intention of levying violence to oppose it because of their war against our said Lady the Queen. C7 What was the outcome? minority beliefs? Is that justified that a small group does not accept the laws 2nd That being armed with divers C8 The main accused was Timothy that the majority accepts? Discuss offensive weapons, you collected Hayes. What evidence did the pros- this idea, if possible applying it to a together and formed troops and bands ecution have against him? modern situation. under distinct leaders, and were drilled and trained in military exercise, to pre- C9 How strong do you think this E: The Eureka 13 as a pare for fighting against the soldiers evidence was? representation of history and other loyal subjects of the Queen. C10 Why do you think he was found The episodes in Australia On Trial are 3rd That you collected and provided not guilty? representations of history – that is, arms and ammunition, and erected they are somebody’s version of what divers fences and stockades, in order C11 Was this a popular verdict? happened. The people responsible for to levy war against our said Lady the the films make choices about what Queen. C12 Having watched the trial, what is to include, what to leave out, what to your attitude towards: emphasise, how to present informa- 4th That being armed and arrayed in a tion, and so on. Every account of warlike manner, you fired upon, fought s the prosecution history is a representation of it. Is this with, wounded, and killed divers of the s the defence representation of history an accurate said soldiers and other subjects then s the judge and fair one? fighting in behalf of our said Lady the s the jury? Queen, contrary to duty and alle- E1 Look at the set of criteria in the giance. In the fourth count the charge D: The message or meaning Summary Table: Assessing the ele- against you is, that having devised and about Australian identity that ments of a dramatised documentary levied war against the Queen, in order can be seen in the trial as a representation of history on to compel her by force and constraint page 17. Summarise your ideas and her measures and counsels, you did The filmmakers chose this case comments in that table. express and evince such treasonable because they believe it tells us and diverse acts, which overt acts are something important about Australian Here is an alternative representation of four in number, and the same as those society and national identity. the Eureka trials. described in the third count. D1 What does the film help you un- The trials had achieved their objec- http://prov.vic.gov.au/whats- derstand about: tive, but in a totally opposite sense to on/exhibitions/eureka-on-trial/ that intended by Hotham and his chief the-state-trials s the establishment of democracy in advisor, Attorney General Stawell. In SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM Australia some measure it was recognised that C1 Why is this a serious charge? s the law and legal system at this at the heart of the whole goldfields’ time administration stood the person of C2 What did the Prosecution have s why some people are prepared to William Stawell. To him, the diggers
10 were ‘wandering vagabonds’ and mere ‘vagrants’ who threatened the procession of witnesses, so cast- fabric of society as seen by a man ing was really key to make sure they trained at Trinity College, Dublin. all had a different look and sound. At Bendigo, to the waving of the The actors who played these roles Southern Cross, he was burnt in had to stoke the imagination of effigy, and in the pages of The Age the audience as well as guide the his behaviour as a chief architect of narrative of the battle between the the whole ‘sad’ affair was deplored attorneys. We used very quick im- as revolting’. Yet, without Stawell’s pressionistic flashbacks to help this active involvement, and his determina- balancing act along. tion to prosecute, Hotham may never have summoned up the courage to The fun – watching this all unfold! reject all the pleas for an amnesty, Seeing a full courtroom in 1855 was and the events of 3 December would very exciting. The attorneys and thus never have been made public in THE EUREKA 13 judge in full regalia, complete with all their stark venality and with all their Director Malcolm McDonald: mutton chops – the gallery and jury accompanying butchery. in costume and hairstyles – with Ever since watching [the 1959 film] all those wonderful hats! And the The trials revealed the system of es- Anatomy of a Murder I’ve wanted wretched prisoners who had been pionage, the acts of revenge, the clear to do a courtroom drama. Finally rotting in cells for months. provocation and the deliberate attempts my wish came true in the genre of to turn the diggers into insurgents historical drama. We ended up using The best fun was watching and bent on independence. They made it two trials in the film. It was important working with the actors – the two plain that the Camp had embarked on to be able to show the strategies of main attorneys were so intrigued a concerted effort of destruction with Stawell and the defence attorneys as by their characters – it was great to premeditated plans to destroy even the they battled to win the sway of the go through the process with them – physical possessions of the diggers, jury. This is where the challenge and finding the core elements and giving while the atrocities against human life the fun was to be had. meaning to all those lines! There abounded. Perjury was repeatedly are so many words being said in a manifest in the evidence of several The challenge – using court reports courtroom drama that finding the witnesses called by the Crown, and of the day we had to tell the story way to clarity is an interesting path the bumbling incoherencies of others of what happened at the Eureka to all walk down together. showed publicly the level of bureaucrat- Stockade in a way that the viewing ic ineptitude under which the diggers audience would see or imagine, all I was just very happy to be in that suffered. Finally, the manner in which the action prompted by the accounts courtroom. Stawell manipulated the jury system of the witnesses. In my film I had a proved that the leading law officer was not above perverting justice to obtain his own ends. In that, the effects were otherwise than intended. While it was F: The Eureka 13 as a (above) might help you consider some still possible to point to the involvement dramatised documentary of the features. of the Irish in the Stockade, it was not possible to say that the Irish had any The Eureka 13 is a dramatised docu- You will also find useful informa- hand in the verdicts of the juries for mentary. Is it a good and effective tion and ideas in the Additional there were no Irish among them. one? To decide this you need to look Reference: Constructing a docu- at the variety of elements that make mentary on page 19 in which some of John Moloney, Eureka, a dramatised documentary, and how the filmmakers of the Australia On Trial Penguin Books, 1984, pages 199–200. well they are realised in the episode. series discuss their approaches.
E2 Identify the similarities and differ- F1 Go to the Summary Table: F2 Do you think The Eureka 13 is a ences between this version or repre- Assessing the elements of a drama- good and effective dramatised docu- sentation of history and that of The tised documentary on page 18 and mentary? Justify your views. Eureka 13. summarise information and ideas SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM about each of the features listed in the E3 What do you think are the table. strengths and weaknesses of each version? The comments from the director
11 EPISODE 3 Massacre at Myall Creek
A: A summary of the episode
In Sydney in December 1838, seven men !is time, a key witness, George stand accused of the mass killing of a Anderson, whose testimony in the first group of unarmed Aboriginals. !e mas- trial had been half-hearted in fear of sacre of about thirty Wirrayaraay people retribution, tells his story in graphic at Myall Creek was the culmination detail. !e second trial delivers a new 1 of a series of conflicts between settlers verdict – guilty. and Aboriginal people in the Liverpool Plains region. !e men responsible for !e Judge sentences all seven men B: The historical background the massacre included freed and assigned to death. After legal objections are or context to the events convicts who had spent a day unsuccess- exhausted and the Executive Council depicted in the trial fully pursuing Aboriginal people. When rejects petitions for clemency, the they came to Henry Dangar’s Myall sentences are carried out. !e hanging In 1838 the British colony of New Creek Station, they discovered a group of of the seven European settlers for their South Wales was expanding rapidly – Wirrayaraay whom they rounded up and part in the Myall Creek massacre causes so rapidly, in fact, that squatters were tied together. !e Aborigines were then controversy throughout the colony. setting up cattle and sheep stations led off and massacred. Two days later, It leads to heightened racial tensions beyond the ‘limits of location’ which the men responsible for the massacre and hardened settler attitudes towards were the official boundaries of the returned to the scene of the crime to Aboriginal people. But NSW Governor colony. To set up these sheep and burn the bodies. George Gipps is unrepentant – for him, cattle stations the squatters used their the British Empire is a force for civilisa- convict labour who were ‘assigned’ to Twelve men are charged with murder, tion and this trial has again highlighted them by the government. including convict stockman Charles the need for Australia to look closely Kilmeister. To most people in Sydney, at its social and moral attitudes as an For the convicts, generally, being the killings are simply the price of emerging nation. ‘assigned’ was infinitely preferable to colonisation – the Sydney Herald refers being in government service working on to ‘black animals’ unworthy of attention. road gangs or building public buildings. !e first trial finds eleven out of the As assigned workers on these remote twelve not guilty. But there are dissent- stations they generally had a great deal ing voices and leading citizens attend more freedom and some had minimal an inaugural meeting of the Aborigines supervision. Very few of the squatters to Protection Society to discuss indigenous whom they were assigned actually lived rights and Aboriginal claims of land on these stations in remote areas, pre- ownership. As the public debate be- ferring to live in places such as Sydney, comes more heated, seven of the acquit- the Hunter Valley or the Hawkesbury. ted men are re-arrested to face a retrial. The supervision of the convicts was 2 therefore left to free men employed as station superintendents or former convicts or ‘ticket of leave’ convicts. On some stations the convicts were left to ‘supervise’ themselves for long periods. A convict’s master nevertheless had ultimate control over them and on many levels the convicts were little better than slaves. They could not leave their stations without permission and they had to obey their masters at all times otherwise their masters could have them flogged. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM
1: STOCKMAN DAVEY (HEATH BERGERSEN) 2: JUDGE BURTON (KEN RADLEY) 3 3: THE MYALL CREEK ACCUSED
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1: ABORIGINAL FAMILIES ARE LED TO THEIR DEATH AT MYALL CREEK 2: GEORGE ANDERSON (BEN GEURENS) IS HORRIFIED BY THE MASSACRE 3: ONE OF THE VICTIMS 4: DAVEY (LEFT) AND WILLIAM HOBBS (ALEX PAPPS) 5: RUSSELL (RICHARD CAWTHORNE) LEADS THE CAPTIVE FAMILIES TO THEIR DEATH 6: CHARLES 1 KILMEISTER (JAMIE KRISTIAN, RIGHT) THREATENS GEORGE ANDERSON
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The squatters were wealthy landhold- ers who were able to expand their land resources of their land, (‘ari’) the animal 6 holdings by using the convict labour nurseries, the bird hatcheries etc was assigned to them. Their workers drove treated as special and handed down their sheep or cattle into new areas from generation to generation. Animals www.myallcreekmassacre.com/Myall_ and staked out an area as ‘theirs’. which were on their land were theirs to Creek_Massacre/Background.html Within the limits of location a fee per hunt. As they travelled around their ‘ari’ acre was paid to the government but they also visited various sites which C: What happened during the outside the land was ‘free’. There was were sacred to them. trial? therefore ample motivation for the rapid ‘occupation’ of this land outside Conflict: It is not surprising then given C1 What was the crime committed? the boundaries of the colony. the combination of these different groups that there was conflict. It had C2 Who committed the crime? The Aborigines had, of course, lived in fact occurred all over the colony on this land for tens of thousands from the start of British settlement / C3 What evidence did the prosecu- of years and had a very clear and occupation in 1788. As the white men, tion call at the first trial? definite understanding of which areas with their sheep and cattle, occupied were ‘theirs’ and which belonged to Aboriginal land, they drove off the C4 How did the defence challenge it? the neighbouring tribes or clans. The native animals and damaged the re- Aborigines in the Liverpool Plains sources of the land that the Aborigines C5 What was the attitude of the district were mainly Kamilaroi. They lived on. The Aborigines speared some judge? had a very close knowledge of their of the sheep and cattle to eat instead. land and their culture required them to The whites regarded this as theft and C6 What was the outcome? use the land in a sustainable manner, attacked the Aborigines. Another issue hence their nomadic lifestyle. As they that caused conflict was the fact that C7 Do you think this was a fair used the resources of one area during a in these remote districts there were decision? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM particular time of year, they then moved virtually no white women whatever. on to another area, allowing time for the The abuse and rape of Aboriginal C8 Who was charged at the second resources of the first area to regenerate. women became quite common, which trial? The knowledge of how to look after the led the Aboriginal men to retaliate.
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1: WITNESSES FOR THE PROSECUTION GEORGE ANDERSON (LEFT) AND WILLIAM HOBBS 2: TROOPER (XAVIER GOUAULT) 3: ACCUSED MURDERER CHARLES 5 KILMEISTER 4: A JURYMAN 5: DEFENCE COUNSEL WILLIAM A’BECKETT (RICHARD PIPER) 6: THE MYALL CREEK JURY
understand about: the island and a legal, political and me- C9 Why were fewer men charged? dia sensation that continued for three s attitudes to race years, culminating in the first trial of C10 What crime were they charged s frontier conditions and contacts an Australian police officer for a death with at this trial? s classes in society in custody. The officer was acquitted s conflicting attitudes, interests and by a Townsville jury in June 2007. In C11 How was the evidence different values in society 2004, the death of seventeen-year-old at this trial? s the law and legal system Aboriginal Thomas Hickey while being s how and why people can commit chased by police in Redfern evoked C12 How was the jury different? such brutal acts against others? similar public feelings of outrage and injustice regarding the treatment of C13 What was the outcome? D2 The filmmakers also believe that Indigenous people. the cases featured in Australia on Trial C14 Do you think this was a fair have many modern-day parallels and D3 Do you agree that attitudes and decision? resonances. values in 1830s Australia help us understand contemporary situations D: The message or meaning The Myall Creek case has modern par- involving Aboriginal people and the about Australian identity that allels, in terms of the emotional impact law? Explain your views. can be seen in the trial and issues of justice for Aborigines, in the Palm Island/death of Mulrunji trial E: Massacre at Myall Creek The filmmakers chose this case of 2007. as a representation of because they believe it tells us history SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM something important about Australian Mulrunji was a 36-year-old Indigenous society and national identity. Australian who died while in police The episodes in Australia On Trial are custody on Palm Island, Queensland. representations of history – that is, D1 What does the film help you His death led to civic disturbances on they are somebody’s version of what
14 happened. The people responsible for First Trial – November 15th, of murder unless a body was found. the films make choices about what 1838 Therefore the jury had to determine to include, what to leave out, what whether ‘Daddy’ was the ‘unfortu- to emphasise, how to present infor- Chief justice James Dowling presided nate man’ whose remains Hobbs has mation and so on. Every account of in the Supreme Court, with the pros- seen. The jury filed out at 9.30 p.m. history is a representation of it. Is this ecution led by the Attorney-General, and were back within 15 minutes. representation of history an accurate John Hubert Plunkett. Seated with the To the cheering in the court, all the and fair one? three defence lawyers was Mr. Robert accused were pronounced not guilty. Scott, who had retained them from However, Plunkett immediately asked E1 Look at the set of criteria in the the 300 subscribed by holders of the that the prisoners be remanded, as Summary Table: Assessing the ele- livestock in the ‘disturbed’ North West he wished to prepare another indict- ments of a dramatised documentary district.The charges against the eleven ment. To hissing, Dowling granted as a representation of history on accused dealt with the killing of one the application. Two days later, the page 17. Summarise your ideas and Aboriginal male, ‘Daddy’ and one oth- date of the second trial was set for comments in that table. er. In Milliss’ words, the charges were Monday, November the 26th. Much couched in ‘legal gobbledygook gone of the publicity following the first trial E2 Here is an alternative representa- utterly mad’. But they could not con- expressed revulsion at the facts that tion of the Myall Creek trials: ceal the fact that the whole accusa- had been revealed. For once, attacks tion was based on extremely tenuous on Aboriginals in sections of the press The Lead Up to the Trials circumstantial evidence. There was briefly abated. Instead, there were at- no observer of the crime and nobody tacks on Governor Gipps, who, it was In the Hunter, Day’s investigation and had been recovered. The accused said, contributed to public ill feeling the arrival of the prisoners attracted pleaded not guilty. Thomas Foster, the against Aboriginals by not ordering wide interest. A fund was set up to first crown witness, was circumspect. stronger measure against them. New defend the prisoners and landhold- Hobbs was more forthcoming, but had waves of ‘attacks by lawless savages’ ers met to lobby the Governor. Soon, to concede that he could not positively were reported from the Gwydir area. a vociferous campaign erupted over identify the body of Daddy. In es- the trial of the Myall Creek men. It is sence, Edward Denny Day’s evidence The Second Trial thought that a clandestine organiza- amounted to him having come across tion of Hunter Valley landlords, many the traces of an old fire and picking Judge William Westbrooke Burton of whom also had holdings in the up a few fragments of bones. He was presided in the second trial. Only 7 North Western Districts, were the not cross-examined. The defence of the original group were accused – driving force in this campaign. In tried to destroy Anderson’s credibil- Kilmeister, Oates, Foley, Parry, Russell, September of 1838, Mr. Robert Scott, ity, firstly by reference to Anderson’s Hawkins and Johnstone. Plunkett a prominent landholder on the Hunter request that Ipeta be left for him. His hoped that the defence would put the and on the Gwydir (an area close to reluctance to provide information was others, Lamb, Palliser, Telluse and Myall Creek), visited the prisoners in raised with the suggestion that he was Blake on the stand for cross-examina- the Sydney gaol and told of his plans seeking his liberty by giving evidence tion. The charges now centred on the to finance their defence. He said that favourable to the prosecution. When killing of an Aboriginal child. A total the one witness against them was his contract in the colony and reason of 20 counts were alleged, including insane and they should hold together for deportation were raised, howev- 5 that nominated a precise victim, and not inform on each other. In early er, he stood up for himself and had the ‘Charley’. A jury was sworn and asked October, Henry Dangar visited Myall better of the exchange. Further wit- to decide whether the prisoners had Creek Station and dismissed William nesses included a dentist, who agreed previously been tried for the murder Hobbs. However, Dangar insisted that the bone fragment consisted of a of an Aboriginal child. When the jury Hobbs complete his contract by jawbone with two teeth, several other decided in the negative, the trial rec- mustering some 500 cattle. But when burned teeth and a rib bone, appar- ommended on November 29th, before Hobbs received a subpoena to appear ently from a child. The defence case another jury. Thomas Foster was again as a witness in the coming trial, he first sought, unsuccessfully, to have the first witness. He firmly believed responded to that duty above other the prosecution disallowed on the that none of the skulls he saw were concerns. Meanwhile, in Sydney, grounds of circumstantial evidence. those of children. Hobbs, as a sec- controversy raged in the press and in Then, surprisingly, instead of calling ond witness, gave definitive evidence public meetings. An attempt to form in their 30 witnesses the defence only concerning the presence of children. an Aboriginal Protection Society was called for testimony as to the good He said that the children’s skulls SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM short-lived. By early November, public character of their clients. Dangar were in the centre of the mess and opinion was running in favour of the supported Kilmeister and attacked Foster had not examined as closely accused. Anderson. In his summing up, Dowling as he. On leaving the witness box, said that no-one could be convicted Hobbs was arrested for failing to settle
15 an outstanding debt. This appeared the Gwydir were never investigated. to be an attempt to hinder justice and Henry Dangar’s pastoral holdings the over zealous bailiff was fined two grew. William Hobbs was unemployed pounds for contempt of court. Next, for several years before becoming a Day repeated his evidence and sug- constable at Wollombi in 1846. gested that Kilmeister had perhaps been coerced by other members of http://www.myallcreek.info/ the group to join them in the atroc- massacre/article/the-story-of-the ity. Anderson weakened the crown -myall-creek-massacre/ case as he was unable to swear that Anderson had been taken away. The E2 Identify the similarities and differ- defence began by stating that it was ences between this version or repre- not even certain that the boy had sentation of history and that of The been killed, but Burton ordered that Eureka 13. the trial should proceed. The defence MASSACRE AT MYALL CREEK went straight to character witnesses, Director Ana Kokkinos: E3 What do you think are the Dangar being first. As before, he strengths and weaknesses of each supported Kilmeister and attacked Myall Creek is the story about a version? Anderson. Plunkett sought to under- massacre that occurred in 1838 mine Dangar’s credibility by draw- that triggered two pivotal court F: Massacre at Myall ing attention to his suspension from cases. These cases sharply Creek as a dramatised a public office. He was questioned divided public opinion at the time. documentary about his dismissal of Hobbs, about It was the first time whites were Hobbs’ arrest and about Dangar’s tried for killing blacks. I was drawn Massacre at Myall Creek is a drama- contribution to the prisoners’ defence to this powerful story, and felt it tised documentary. Is it a good and fund. The following witness, Thomas needed to be told. effective one? To decide this you need Hall, was discredited when he had to to look at the variety of elements that admit that he visited the northern sta- Our challenge was to bring this make a dramatised documentary, tions only twice a year. There were no story alive for a contemporary and how well they are realised in the further witnesses. In his summing up, audience. My approach was to episode. Burton directed that the jury should dramatise the story as if we were first consider the question of Charley creating a feature film. At the F1 Go to the Summary Table: separately. He was scathing in his same time, the format of the se- Assessing the elements of a drama- assessment of Dangar and noted that ries was a dramatised documenta- tised documentary on page 18 and the murdered Aboriginals had given no ry. I wanted to link the drama and summarise information and ideas provocation. Masters should ensure documentary elements together about each of the features listed in the that their stockmen used arms only in seamlessly to create an engaging table. extreme provocation The jury filed out and emotional experience for the and returned after three quarters of audience. The comments (left) from the director an hour, the foreman pronounced the might help you consider some of the defendants ‘not guilty’ on all counts. We created strong character arcs, features. However, when he sat down, another and heightened the overt and juror rose and announced an error. underlying conflicts between each You will also find useful informa- He said the men had been found character. We gathered a terrific tion and ideas in the Additional guilty of the murder of an Aboriginal ensemble cast and worked to cre- Reference: Constructing a docu- child whose name was unknown. ate screen performances that are mentary on page 19 in which some of This agreed, the judge complimented layered and truthful. My approach the filmmakers of the Australia On Trial Hobbs on the part he had taken to to shooting the episode was to series discuss their approaches. report the murder. take an audience in to this world and hold them there. F2 Do you think Massacre at Myall Epilogue Creek is a good and effective drama- tised documentary? Justify your The 7 convicted were executed at views. 9 a.m. on December 18th, 1838. SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM Governor Gipps fought a losing bat- tle with the squatters and his com- mitment to justice for Aboriginals waned. Major Nunn’s activities on
16 SUMMARY ASSESSING THE ELEMENTS OF A DRAMATISED DOCUMENTARY AS A REPRESENTATION OF HISTORY TABLE
ASPECT COMMENTS
Does it explain the historical context well?
Does it clearly identify When, Where, What, How, Who?
Does it present the main facts accurately?
Does it contribute to your understanding of why events happened as they did?
Does it help you empathise with people of the past – to really understand their attitudes and values, and not just apply our attitudes and values today?
Does the film provide a variety of perspectives on the events?
Does the film explain if there are aspects where facts or interpretations are disputed or where there is not agreement?
Does the film present a particular message?
Does the film use evidence in a fair, accurate and balanced way?
Does the film explain the outcomes of the events?
Does the film explain the significance of the issue?
Are any judgements made by the film fair and supported by the evidence? SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM
At the end do you feel that you know and understand what happened and why?
17 SUMMARY ASSESSING THE ELEMENTS OF A DRAMATISED DOCUMENTARY TABLE
ASPECT COMMENTS
Narration
Music
Structure of the film
Still and moving historical images
Contemporary (modern) images and locations
Historical reconstructions or re-enactments
Special visual effects
Editing
Sound
Cinematography/ filming style
Use of real participants in the events
Use of expert commentators or authorities SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM
Use of modern locations
18 Additional reference trials in 1855 of the Eureka Stockade was too brutal for the citizens and the rebels. In the aftermath of the Eureka officials. Sydneysiders were plunged Constructing a rebellion, the attorney general of into a storm of meetings, petitions documentary Victoria, William Stawell, was deter- and editorials as they argued about mined to hang the rebels for treason. the appropriate fate for the rapists. In HISTORIAN DR MICHAEL After all, he said, these men had taken the end, four were hanged. Along the CATHCART – The University up arms against Her Majesty’s govern- way, the court of public opinion sided of Melbourne ment. On the face of it, Stawell was on resolutely with the victim. At a time strong ground. The miners had indeed when the rights of women were a mat- Australia on Trial is the story of three raised a ‘rebel flag’. They had drilled ter for public debate, the case of Mary violent struggles for power and au- with weapons and they had denounced Jane Hicks became the third mass trial thority in Australia during the second the governor. Twelve men were to stand which turned on the question: What half of the nineteenth century. Each trial, one by one. The first was a black does it mean to be Australian? episode turns on a court hearing – a American, probably an escaped slave, mass trial which laid bare the conflicts named John Joseph. The population PRODUCER and debates which were shaping this of Melbourne was in no mood to hang GEORGE ADAMS emerging society. a man who had been driven to desper- ate lengths by an inept and militaristic The idea from the start was to produce In each of these trials, the fate of a government – a government which was a thought provoking and challenging group of accused men was decided by on the very eve of being abolished to docu-drama series that chronicled a jury of ordinary citizens. All three trials make way for a new system of popular three pivotal historical court cases that occurred before the coming of demo- elections. In the end, all of the rebels helped shape our legal and indeed cratically elected parliaments – at a time walked free. social systems. when the colonial courts themselves were the testing ground for the values As in Myall Creek, the verdict was It was very important that the drama and principles of the society which was really determined by the newspapers. and storytelling of these historical coming to be. These juries were, in ef- The Melbourne Age championed the events was powerful, informative fect, making law. (As the great English Eureka rebels and denounced the gov- and historically accurate, therefore judge, Lord Devlin pointed out in 1956, ernment as the real ‘traitors’, while the the transcripts from the actual tri- ‘Every jury is a little parliament.’) In each more conservative Argus supported als themselves were used to shape case, the jury reached a verdict which the government case. To the astonish- the dramatic narrative of the show. showed that the colonial legal system ment of the government, successive The outcome is three strong dramas was capable of delivering a just – if juries threw the cases out of court supplemented with direct historical sometimes terrible – decision. and public opinion turned against the contextualisation from our historian government. Michael Cathcart. In June 1838, a group of roughneck stockmen led by a squatter rode onto The final case was the trial of eleven The narrative input of Michael Cathcart the newly established Myall Creek youths who had raped a girl named is pivotal to the accessibility and station to ‘teach the blacks a lesson’. Mary Jane Hicks, in broad daylight understanding of the relatively com- They hacked around thirty Aborigines – before several witnesses. The trial plex social and legal issues that run to death. The killers had not counted on took place in late 1886, a little more through all three trials. What Michael two factors. The first was that a stock- than twelve months before Sydney does is give us a very valuable insight man named Anderson, who witnessed was planning to commemorate the into the social and legal machinery the crime, was determined to see his landing of the First Fleet. As the of the 1800s. It was a tremendous countrymen punished. The second was residents of the harbour city worried asset from a storytelling point of view that the governor of New South Wales, about what they should celebrate, the to have him to set out the historical George Gipps, shared Anderson’s brutal rape seemed like a throwback context of the times. horror of such brutality. Anderson was to the shameful days of the convicts. ready to testify. The government was The newspapers unleashed a mighty While Australia on Trial is an historical determined to press the case. But the fury against these ‘larrikins’. Only the drama-documentary it also has ines- prosecutor did not obtain the convic- Sydney Bulletin sided with the rap- capable messages and parallels for us tion easily. The trial was fought out ists. The paper vilified Mary Jane as today. For example, within the context as bitterly in the press as it was in the a slattern who had got the kind of the Mount Rennie rape trial you could courtroom. But in the end, a white jury treatment she was looking for. But the draw parallels with the recent football SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM sent seven men to the gallows for the jury ignored The Bulletin’s nonsense. sex scandals and how some areas murder of tribal Aborigines. It convicted nine of the boys. The of the press and public will back the judge duly sentenced them to death. male protagonists and turn against The second case was the combined But the prospect of hanging nine boys and indeed vilify the female victims of
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1 1: CAMERA ASSISTANT CAITLIN DOOLEY 2: Having made decisions and choices challenges – how to capture the feel of (L–R) EXECUTIVE PRODUCER TONY WRIGHT, about which trials to feature, the the period with a quite minimal budget DIRECTOR ANA KOKKINOS, NARRATOR challenge was to produce scripts that and large cast,’ Louise says. MICHAEL CATHCART AND PRODUCER GEORGE turned each courtroom into a vivid ADAMS 3: THE MYALL CREEK MASSACRE SCENES WERE FILMED IN MELTON, VICTORIA. social microcosm of the day. We had One location – an old church hall in access to extensive newspaper Malvern, inner Melbourne – had to records, articles and historical texts, provide the backdrop for courtroom these crimes. In the Myall Creek case research and historical advice and scenes ranging from 1838 to 1886. you could argue that in relation to the very limited archival materials, and it treatment of Aboriginal peoples very had always been planned that dra- ‘There are fairly dramatic changes in little has moved on since the trial’s matic recreation was the obvious way terms of furnishings and the look so outcome. That outcome should have to tell the stories. a lot of research was involved,’ Paul been a pivotal turning point in the way says. ‘We tried to make it as specific white and Aboriginal Australia lived The job was to create a coherent style as possible, but also generic so it can together. The Eureka trial captured the and approach which allowed us to work for each of the three stories.’ moment that the Australian people, for faithfully recreate the characters and whatever reason, took a stand against courtroom events, and at the same time The earliest court case was the mas- British rule and won. The Australian to point up the contemporary debates sacre at Myall Creek trial in the late people were, of course, for the most and reveal the underlying context for 1830s. ‘The clothing of the time was part immigrants who arrived in boats – each of the decisions – oh yes, and of quite lean and very simple because draw your own parallels there. course to produce incredibly entertain- there wasn’t very much of it,’ Louise ing TV within a limited budget! says. PRODUCER PENNY ROBINS The series narrator Michael Cathcart is ‘There was a real distinction between The trials we chose to feature for both broadcaster and historian and he your working class people who came Australia On Trial were carefully picked was involved from the very beginning from convict stock to the ruling classes from an array of possibilities. We were of the project. As series narrator he or the middle and upper classes. looking for iconic stories from Australia’s was used to provide some strategi- rich lexicon of landmark historical cally placed all-important historical ‘The middle and upper classes still events, which will surprise, entertain interpretation and context, and to had a very strong sense of the 1700s. and resonate with audiences today. punctuate the courtroom drama. They had very high collars and a quite flamboyant way of dressing. They Formation of the nation was the key Background production have these beautiful high collars and overarching thematic link. Historian notes rolled collars on their jackets and a lot Michael Cathcart’s overview of avail- of scarves. It’s quite a fascinating era able historical sources was invaluable Faced with the challenge of recreating in terms of menswear.’ in guiding the initial selection of trials. three distinctive historical periods, pro- duction designer Paul Heath and cos- During the Eureka period of the mid Ultimately the choices we made turned tume designer Louise McCarthy rose 1850s, crinoline was introduced so on cases that dealt with issues still to the occasion, creating an authentic women’s clothing underwent a radical living in the Australian psyche today: look that was enhanced through subtle change. The bowler hat also became the land, Australian masculinity and lighting and attention to detail. common. Louise says she found this SCREEN EDUCATION © ATOM workplace rights. Surrounding each of era the easiest to illustrate because it these events were powerful stories that ‘Each of the periods was quite dif- had so many elements. reflected the big headline topics of race, ferent and had their own distinctive class, gender and democracy. features – that’s been one of the main ‘We had a lot of fun working with
20 our actors in terms of changing their paintings,’ she says. Roberts, ‘“Men of colour”: John neckties. In our research we found the Joseph and the Eureka trea- neckties were many and varied and ‘When I was researching Redmond son trials’, Journal of Australian they had extreme bowties that might Barry in the State Library, trawl- Colonial History, vol. 10, no. 1, have been made out of lovely stiff taf- ing through their archives, the best 2008,
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