From travelling showmen to television : opportunities for film making in Western Australia, 1900-1975

Brian Beaton

Opportunities for film making in Western Australia have always been limited. Some of the reasons for this are inherent in the State 1s relatively small population and its physical isolation from the rest of the world and Australia. The ’tyranny of distance’ from much larger population and commercial centres on the other side of the continent has had a profound effect on the development of the film industry in Western Australia. As well as being removed from the major growth centres of the industry and thus the important face to face contact, communication and business opportunities this entails, local trade and industry also suffered from isolation from national political decision making processes which tended to confirm the centralisation of industry activity in Sydney and Melbourne. External factors relating to technological production, distribution and exhibition advances have also had an effect, relegating most film making until 1947 to the status of a supply outpost. The eventual domination of the United States in the distribution and, to an extent, exhibition domains of the industry further eroded available opportunities. Government intervention in the form of the establishment of production units and later investment in film and television projects provided new and different niches for the local industry as did the introduction of television. The possibility of great expansion promised by television was not forthcoming however, and by the mid seventies the state of the industry was low key compared with its counterparts in the East. The history of the development of the film industry in Western Australia parallels that of the rest of Australia, albeit at a much lower level, with one major exception - the lack of any feature film development. Case studies illustrate how attempts have been made to alter this situation, but they have almost always been the result of isolated individual action rather than the net result of an organised industry promoting opportunities for itself.

From travelling showmen to television : opportunities for film making in Western Australia, 1900-1975

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