Frank Hurley

The story of the 1914-1916 Antarctic exploration mission of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

A century after Shackleton's Endurance sank beneath the ice, explorers uncover the legendary shipwreck and an amazing tale of survival.

Englishman Martin South (Eric Bransby Williams) is leading an expedition into the Dutch New Guinea hinterland to search for gold, being joined by George Mardyke (Jameson Thomas), who he thinks is his friend. The expedition is attacked by headhunters and Mardyke leaves Martin for dead so he can pursue the latter's fiancee, Eleanor (Lillian Douglas), the daughter of a plantation manager. Meanwhile, Martin is nursed back to health by native girl, Hurana (Grace Savieri), who falls in love with him and helps him escape from some angry natives. Hurana is bitten by a snake and dies, and Martin arrives back to civilisation in time to rescue Eleanor from Mardyke. Was partially filmed back to back on Thursday Island with 'The Hounds of The Deep'

Filmed over six years, this documentary records the daily life, cultural traditions, wartime impacts, landscape and reconstruction across the Middle East and North Africa during WWII. Some locations include: Cairo markets, the Nile, the pyramids, Khartoum in the Sudan, and the liberation of Cyrenaica.

A detailed historical account of the major campaigns fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. Compiled from the archives of the Australian War Memorial, this film utilizes rare battlefield footage from the Middle East and Europe to trace the journey of the ANZAC troops from their initial departure to the frontline conflicts in Egypt, the Somme, and Cambrai.

Compiled from authentic wartime footage shot by official AIF photographers, this film documents Australia's role in the First World War. The historical footage is edited and narrated by decorated veteran Captain G.D. Mitchell.

To claim his inheritance, John Strong travels to Thursday Island with an ultimatum to locate a valuable pearl within two years. If he fails, his late uncle's pearling station will be forfeited to a rival pearler, "Black" Darley.

Presented by explorer Frank Hurley in his final film appearance, this documentary chronicles Australia's role in the scientific exploration of Antarctica and the hardships the pioneers endured. Using archival footage, this film spans from 1911, following Sir Douglas Mawson's first expedition, to Phillip Law establishing the continent's first permanent research station in 1954.

In a small coastal town, young clergyman Cyril Maitland is involved in a tragedy that could ruin his rising career. After secretly impregnating his lover, Alma Lee, a violent struggle ensues with her enraged father, leaving the older man dead. Maitland denies responsibility and allows his close friend, Dr. Henry Everard, to be found guilty on false evidence and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Two decades later, as Maitland rises to prominence in the church, a bitter Everard is finally released, forcing the church leader to confront his decades of silence and guilt as his old friend seeks ultimate revenge.

This industrial short film provides a visual survey of the local timber industry, documenting the scale, infrastructure, and manufacturing pipelines of the pine plantations across New Zealand's North Island volcanic plateau. It follows the lifecycle of the forest from seedlings to maturity across 170,000 acres, and explores the commercial utilisation of wood pulp, detailing its transition into consumer goods like plastics, textiles, and structural materials for construction.

Directed and filmed by Frank Hurley for Cinesound, this short industrial documentary captures the realities of 1930s mining in Broken Hill. This film opens with dramatised historical re-enactments of Captain Charles Sturt’s 1844 expedition and Charles Rasp’s 1883 silver lode discovery. Utilising extensive cable networks and specialised camera filters to overcome extreme dark and heat, Hurley takes his camera 2,000 ft below the surface. The footage captures miners drilling rock, pit ponies hauling ore cars, and an explosive rock blasting arrangement. Above ground, it documents men operating heavy machinery to extract zinc, lead, and silver deposits, and the refining of the raw minerals.

Commissioned by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria, this four part educational miniseries documents the engineering, mining operations and electrical distribution in Latrobe Valley. This series incorporates footage from Frank Hurley's 1936 standalone film, alongside new, expanded material to follow the formation and mining of brown coal, power generation, factory processing, electrical distribution networks within Victoria and Melbourne, and the manufacturing of briquettes.

A young forestry graduate, Jim Thornton, is involved in a race between timber companies to fill a major contract. Jim has joined the crew of a genial timber baron, Burbridge, and foils attempts by a rival, Blake, to sabotage their work. J. Alan Kenyon's special effects are the highlights of the film with comic relief provided by Joe Valli as a Scottish timber-train driver amorously pursued by a shrill-voiced maid of the Burbridge's country house.

Charles Chauvel's 1940 cinematic tribute to the mounted troops of the Australian Light Horse regiments is a rousing call to arms, giving life to the heroic tales of mateship during the Great War.

‘Mo’ McIsaac and his sidekick Donald try to find work to support a young orphan girl he finds dancing for pennies in the street, Miriam, unaware she is really the missing daughter of rich aristocrat, Major Burnett. Gangster Al Baloney and Mae West impersonator Kate kidnap the girl and Mo is blamed for her disappearance.

A short film documenting the massive Allied overland operation managed by PAIFORCE (Persia and Iraq force) during WWII. This film captures the brutal conditions faced by the convoys as they transport oil and military supplies from the Persian Gulf to Russia, tracking their 1,200 mile journey across the desert heat, snow and mountain passes.

A short wartime propaganda film documenting the initial progress of the AIF 6th Division during the Western Desert Campaign of WWII. The film records the rapid allied advance across the desert before the fall of Bardia. Released as a "newsreel scoop", it was heavily cut down beforehand as the government prioritised fast-paced propaganda over Hurley's cinematic approach. Some of this cut footage was later distributed into global newsreels, such as British Pathé's "Rapid Advance in Libya".

This silent travelogue chronicles Francis Birtles' and Frank Hurley's 6,000-mile motorized expedition through the unmapped Australian wilderness. Filmed over four months in 1914, it serves as a historic natural and ethological study across Central Queensland, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and the Northern Territory. The surviving written records detail outback landscapes, swamps, and water-lily lagoons. In addition to flora, it extensively records fauna including crocodiles, alligators, snakes, wallabies, wild boars, camel teams, lizards, pelicans, and various bird species. This documentary also provides footage of Indigenous people and their practices, capturing ceremonial dances, fish spearing, hunting methods, traditional corroborees and a native tree burial. This film is considered entirely lost.

An industrial short film documenting metallurgical smelting and refining processes at the Port Pirie works in South Australia. Serving as the immediate companion film to 1936's "Silver City" it follows the arrival of raw silver-lead concentrates by rail before moving through automated roasting plants and active blast furnaces. The documentary finishes behind the locked doors of the high-security silver and gold rooms, showcasing the final creation of pure bullion bars.

A silent documentary showing the pilots, mechanics and operations of the Australian Flying Corps. It highlights military aviation activities across France, Palestine and England during and immediately after the First World War.