In the name of the crow

Most tourists who visit Rottnest Island are unaware of its history. Established as a prison for Aboriginal men around 1840, it was intended as a place for “rehabilitation”. However, accounts of floggings, chainings and hangings flourished on the mainland despite official enquiries and commissions suggesting everything was in order. In this documentary, Robert Bropho takes us to the island and traces the hardship and the suffering of his ancestors that has been omitted from white man’s history.

This work contains First peoples content

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Collection

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Credits

co-director

Marion Benjamin

Mark Bin Bakar

Peter Kordyl

Robert Bropho

co-producer

Heather Williams

Marion Benjamin

Peter Kordyl

production company

Excalibur Nominees

Duration

00:27:00:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1988

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

302985

Language

English

Subject categories

Aboriginal Australia → Aboriginal Australians - Western Australia

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Rottnest Island (W.A.)

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Aboriginal Australian prisoners

History → Aboriginal Australians - History

History → History

Places → Rottnest Island (W.A.)

Short films

Short films → Short films - Australia

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/81859--in-the-name-of-the-crow-a/ |title=In the name of the crow |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=28 April 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}

Australia, 1988

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