Our melancholy duty

Australia, 1991

Film
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Episode number 1 of Series “When the war came to Australia”.
Although Australians rushed to support Britain in her war with Germany, it was not until Tobruk that Australians at home really cared about the war, and not until Dunkirk that they took Hitler seriously. Mothers and wives left at home take up the traditional supporting roles and the Women’s Services are formed, but soon the daily casualty lists begin to appear and the heartbreak and dread begin. Personal recollections, rare archival footage and the music of the time combine to create an evocative and haunting picture of this unique period in Australia’s history.

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Credits

director

Peter Butt

co-producer

Bee Reynolds

Will Davies

production company

Look Television Productions

Duration

00:55:00:00

Production places
Australia
Production dates
1991

Appears in

When the war came to Australia

Group of items

When the war came to Australia

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Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

303257

Language

English

Audience classification

G

Subject categories

Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Women in war

Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945 - Australia

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

MOV file ProRes4444; Digital Preservation Master - overscan

MPEG-4 Digital File; ACMI Digital Access Copy - overscan

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/82119--our-melancholy-duty/ |title=Our melancholy duty |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=28 September 2022 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}