Descrizione
In the vast cattle country of Australia’s Northern Territory, moving livestock across enormous distances was one of the great challenges of outback life. Before modern transport networks, drovers guided cattle across stock routes stretching hundreds of miles through remote terrain.
This Australian Colour Diary explores the arrival of the road train - a revolutionary new method of transporting cattle across the outback. Featuring a massive Rolls-Royce-built road train hauling three trailers and carrying more than 80 cattle, the film captures a turning point in Australian rural industry and transport history.
Filmed against the dramatic landscapes of the Northern Territory, this short documentary offers a fascinating glimpse into Australia’s cattle trade, remote station life, and the engineering innovations that reshaped the outback.
The Australian Diary Series (1947–1970) records aspects of everyday life, industry and production in mid‑20th‑century Australia. To watch more Australian Diary films visit:
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00:00 Opening - Cattle on the stock route
00:38 Life in the Northern Territory outback
01:04 The search for better cattle transport
01:13 The Rolls-Royce road train arrives
01:32 Australia’s meat industry and exports
01:45 Loading the giant road train
02:17 Crossing the open road
02:24 Travelling “the easy way”
From the Film Australia Collection, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Title: Australian Diary No. 009
NFSA ID: J2ARPVSF
Catalogue ID: 1400
Year: 1959
Credits:
Production Company: Australian News And Information Bureau. Film Division
Producer: Australia. Dept of the Interior
Director: Jack S. Allan
#RoadTrain #AustralianOutback #NorthernTerritory #AustralianHistory #NFSA #FilmAustralia