EVERYDAY BRAVE
Series producer
Rod Freedman
Film Australia Executive Producer
Mark Hamlyn
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM
IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACUMBA MEDIA ENTERPRISES AND CAAMA PRODUCTIONS.
PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE OF
PACIFIC FILM AND TELEVISION COMMISSION, THE NSW FILM AND TELEVISION OFFICE,
SCREENWEST, THE LOTTERIES COMMISSION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, THE NATIONAL COUNCIL
FOR THE CENTENARY OF FEDERATION, THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL AND SBS INDEPENDENT.
© Film Australia
EVERYDAY BRAVE
SERIES EPISODES
FOR WHO I AM – Bonita Mabo
STRANGER IN MY SKIN – Ray Cotti
JETJA NAI MEDICAL MOB – Naomi Mayers
MISTAKE CREEK – Steven Craig
MEDIA NOMADS – The Thaiday Brothers
SALTWATER BLUESMAN – Uncle Kiddo Taylor
SERIES SYNOPSIS
Progress of any kind is hard won. It requires determination and spirit, especially when
trying to break through entrenched attitudes and systems. Everyday Brave profiles
Indigenous Australians who have fought daily battles against discrimination, apathy and
ignorance to make a real difference.
They come from across the country—bush and city, mission and coastal town. Highly
regarded within their own communities, they have remained largely unknown to the
mainstream...until now.
Although their achievements spread across the fields of arts, commerce, education,
health and politics, all these people are defined by their unwavering commitment to
Australia’s Indigenous peoples and the promotion of Indigenous rights, culture and
identity.
In six half-hour episodes, a team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous filmmakers
introduces us to some remarkable individuals. Each has made a significant contribution
to society at large and to their people in particular.
Their stories tell of lives marked by long struggles and hardship, lightened by joy and
humour. In this series, they recall their beginnings, ambitions, frustrations and the
changes they have helped create. They share with us their unique perspectives and their
ideas for the future.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
FOR WHO I AM – Bonita Mabo
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Many people know of Bonita Mabo, wife of the late Eddie Mabo, and the native title claim
they successfully fought on behalf of his Torres Strait Islander people. Little has been
said, however, about the quiet yet strong-willed woman who stood with her husband
throughout the long years of struggle, or about her own sacrifices and causes.
From the 1960s, Bonita and Eddie worked together in various Indigenous organisations
and at the Black Community School in Townsville. Bonita would join Eddie at meetings
around the country as often as she could - the organisations would fly Eddie to the
meeting but Bonita would have a long ride on a bus. All the while, she raised their ten
children, much of the time single-handedly.
The historic High Court decision holds bittersweet memories for Bonita. Tragically, Eddie
had died five months before. Bonita was desperate to be at the Canberra ruling in his
place but couldn’t raise the money for the trip - despite her appeals to various
Indigenous organisations. Although the family triumphed, Bonita was deeply hurt by the
lack of financial support.
The loss of her husband marked a new phase in Bonita’s life. She began a campaign of
her own - to bring recognition to her people, Australia’s South Sea Islanders.
While her children were growing up, Bonita’s heritage was not a part of the family’s
traditions and identity. Her kids were raised as Torres Strait Islanders but now she’s
proudly sharing her culture with her grandchildren and the wider public.
Bonita’s grandmother was from the Aboriginal community on Palm Island. Her
grandfather was a Kanaka from Tanna Island, near Vanuatu - stolen, like thousands of
others, to provide cheap labour for Queensland’s sugar cane farms. Bonita herself grew
up in a tight-knit South Sea Islander community near Townsville.
She remembers an idyllic, gently paced life, centred around the church, and dreams of
the day when she can finally visit her relatives in their South Sea Island home.
In the meantime, Bonita’s schedule is hectic. Even though she suffers from diabetes and
is battling to keep her eyesight, she works with numerous South Sea Islander and
Aboriginal organisations and is co-writing a book. "The white man," she says, "can’t tell
our stories about our people. We black people, we’ve got to get out there and do it
ourselves."
Written and directed by Danielle MacLean. Produced by Priscilla Collins.
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH CAAMA
PRODUCTIONS. PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE
CENTENARY OF FEDERATION AND THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL. PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE PACIFIC FILM AND TELEVISION OFFICE AND SBS INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
FOR WHO I AM
Bonita Mabo
PRODUCTION STORY
Bonita Mabo was never just Eddie Mabo’s wife, as Mary Lopez put it so eloquently in
this film, “She was the power behind the throne”. This may not have been obvious to
many for Bonita is a very reserved person. Even when she talks about being radical, she
does it with subtlety.
Only since Eddie’s death has Bonita truly come out of her shell. Bonita—once happy to
stand beside Eddie in his fight for his land, Murray Island—now has her own crusades.
She is fighting for the recognition of her people, the South Sea Islanders. This fight must
start at home because as Bonita says, “When Eddie was alive I didn’t say anything to my
children. They knew I was South Sea Islander and Aboriginal. But we lost all our
culture…” Bonita felt that Eddie had all the culture and the knowledge to offer her
children, so she let them learn his side.
Bonita is no longer happy to sit back and support other people’s causes as she now has
her own battles to fight. She has a driving ambition to make sure that Australians are
aware that there is a distinct ethnic group called South Sea Islanders who were brought
to this country under some shocking circumstances and they should be recognised.
In this documentary, we explore Bonita’s world from her family history of Kanakas—
stolen from Tanna (a small island off the coast of Vanuatu) and brought to Australia to
work in the canefields of North Queensland.
Once married to Eddie Mabo, her life took a more political turn. While raising their ten
children, Bonita supported Eddie through the land case that would occupy ten years of
his life, but which he would never see finished. Eddie's death was the turning point in
Bonita’s life. At first it stopped her from doing day-to-day things, but then she became
stronger. And with her newfound strength came the determination to fight her own
battles.
The first time I met Bonita, I was a little nervous as I thought that being the wife of the
great Eddie Mabo she was sure to be openly political and I hoped I didn’t say anything
stupid. I knocked at the door and she greeted me with a hug and a kiss and I knew this
was going to be a great documentary to work on. The whole process was a tribute to
Bonita's openness as a person and she took us into her world and made us feel really
welcome.
As part of the initial research, Bonita and I went to a meeting at Mission Beach to
discuss the World Heritage listing of the Daintree Rainforest and how Indigenous people
could finally get joint management after years of promises. We camped overnight in a
bunkhouse and sat around telling stories and sipping cups of tea. I was sitting near
Bonita, talking to CJ Fisher who was telling me about his tourist venture in the Daintree
and surrounding areas.
I wasn’t feeling very well and must have looked terrible because a worried Bonita said
that I looked like a geisha, and that my face was like a white mask and all she could see
were my eyes. She then fussed over me and made sure I was alright. I learnt later that
Bonita had childhood dreams of being a nurse. She told Eddie, who tried to encourage
her to go back to study but, frightened she might be laughed at, remained content to
care for her own children and those of others.
A few days later we drove in convoy to Bonita's birthplace, Halifax, to start the shoot.
Although not much is left, Bonita shared so vividly the way things were that we all felt her
heartache about its present day state. Bonita has very fond memories of old times and
believes that these times taught them how to love, care and share with each other.
Halifax is also where we met Auntie Betty, Bonita’s mother’s youngest sister and the
only one still alive. Auntie Betty introduced us to South Sea Islander hospitality—fresh
prawns on bread rolls by the beach, as well as a cup of tea and a piece of cake
whenever we popped in to see her.
Bonita talked about Eddie quite often and even though he has been gone for ten years,
he is still a big part of her life. Eddie taught Bonita so much and Bonita’s need for his
approval is evident in her dreams, and the fact that he feels proud of her insures that she
can go on.
It has never been smooth sailing for Bonita and now she has another worry to overcome.
Bonita has diabetes, and the disease is slowly robbing her of her eyesight. The laser
treatment is painful and Bonita is saddened by the fact that Eddie is not here to help her
when she really needs him.
There is, however, a downside to being busy; it robs her of the time she wants to spend
with her grandchildren. This seemed to cause her anguish as Bonita's sense of family is
very strong. And the thought of never being able to see her grandchildren, due to her
failing eyesight, seems like torture.
Bonita's busy life made it hard to find the right time to shoot the documentary, but once
started she put everything into it. It was the most enjoyable shoot that I have ever had
the pleasure of working on. Bonita is a wonderful person with an open heart and a great
determination to leave this world a better place.
Danielle MacLean
EVERYDAY BRAVE
FOR WHO I AM - Bonita Mabo
BIOGRAPHIES
CAAMA Productions
CAAMA Productions is the largest Indigenous production house in Australia. It is an
experienced filmmaking company with intimate knowledge of Aboriginal people.
CAAMA Productions Pty Ltd was established by the Central Australia Aboriginal Media
Association in 1988 to perform the function of the commercial production of film and
television for the newly established Imparja Television. It is 100 per cent owned and
operated by the CAAMA group and is not government funded.
CAAMA Productions has produced documentaries for Channel 7, Channel 4 (London),
ABC, SBS and Imparja Television. A one-hour documentary for National Geographic
Channels worldwide is currently in production.
From production offices based in the centre of Alice Springs, CAAMA offers complete
production services with Indigenous producers, directors, camera crews and editors,
including offline and online post production.
Priscilla Collins
Producer
Priscilla Collins has been a producer at CAAMA Productions in Central Australia for ten
years. After completing her Master of Arts in Producing at the Australian Film, Television
and Radio School, she returned to CAAMA Productions in 2000 as executive producer.
Priscilla was executive producer of Series Four of the National Indigenous Documentary
Fund (NIDF), broadcast on ABC Television and series producer of NIDF Series One to
Three, which were broadcast on ABC and SBS.
Danielle MacLean
Writer/director
Danielle MacLean worked at CAAMA Productions for over six years: first as a
production assistant and then as a writer/director.
She spent considerable time in Central Australia on a documentary series called
Nganampa Anwernekenhe, produced in Aboriginal language and shot in the bush
communities. The series was broadcast on Imparja Television, whose main audience is
people from that language group or tribe.
Danielle has also written and directed a short drama My Colour Your Kind, which
screened at numerous international film festivals, and for which she was nominated for
an AFI Award and a Film Critics of Australia Award.
Since leaving CAAMA Productions in 1999, Danielle has been a freelance
writer/director. She is currently directing a 50-minute drama for SBS and the Australian
Film Commission.
FOR WHO I AM – Bonita Mabo
Credits
Writer, Director
Danielle MacLean
Produced by
Priscilla Collins
Production Manager
Jacqueline Bethel
Director of Photography
Murray Lui
Sound
Alan Andrewartha
Editor
Harriet Clutterbuck
Location Managers
Christine Togo
Michelle Stow
Script Editor
Jackie McKimmie
Stills
Christine Togo
Christabelle Baranay
Second Unit Camera
Andrew Bambach
Chris Clarke
Second Unit Sound
Steve Barry
Offline
In Your Face Productions
Narrator
Nancia Guivarra
Film Australia Production Unit
Business Affairs Manager
Sally Reagan
Production Liaison
Sally Creagh / Karen Skea
Production Accountants
Melanie Weeks
Lisa Calder
Executive Producer’s Assistant
Karinn Cheung
Audio Post
Mike Gissing
Digital City Studios
Online
Lena Balout
Visualeyes
Archival Photographs
Bonita Mabo
Bethel Barrett
Violet Sirriss
John Oxley Museum
Archival Footage
Film Australia
Rolf Harris Productions
ABC News
Australian Bar Association
Original Music
Nicolette Boaz
Vocals - Ora Barlow
Guitar - Steve Berry
Ukelele - Azo Bell
Music Engineer
Mario Who
With Special Thanks To
Mabo Family - Jason Ives
Barrett Family - West Family
Mary Lopez - Laczik Family
Ralph Rigby - Tony Mooney
Mario Mabo - Scott Burrows
Townsville Taxis
Townsville City Council
James Cook University
School of Indigenous Studies
Water Palm Island and Family
South Sea Islanders Committee
Fingal Public School
Fingal Fellowship Church
Series Titles
Janet Merewether
Series Original Music
Jeff Dunn
Series Concept
David Jowsey & John Macumba
Executive Producer
CAAMA Productions
Priscilla Collins
Produced in association with SBS Independent
Commissioning Editors
Courtney Gibson
Ned Lander
Produced in association with Pacific Film and Television Office
This Project has been supported by the National Council for the Centenary of Federation
This Project has been supported by The Australia Council
A Film Australia Production
in association with
CAAMA Productions Pty Ltd
Series Producer
Rod Freedman
Executive Producer
Mark Hamlyn
A National Interest Program
Film Australia Ltd
(c) MMI
www.filmaust.com.au
EVERYDAY BRAVE
STRANGER IN MY SKIN
Ray Cotti
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Ray Cotti was born black but brought up white. He has three mothers: an adoptive
mother, a foster mother and the biological mother he didn’t know. It’s little wonder he’s
felt confused for much of his life. But recently Ray has been on a journey of selfdiscovery, searching for his original family and his cultural heritage.
Ray was born to Aboriginal parents in western New South Wales but adopted at a young
age by a Swiss German family in Sydney. Growing up in a European culture, he thought
of himself as white. Then at the age of eight, Ray was removed from his adoptive family
following a change in social policy regarding Indigenous children in non-Indigenous
families. After living in a series of institutions, he was placed in foster care. His foster
father was Aboriginal, his foster mother Karen is white.
By the time Ray was in his teens, confusion about his identity was taking a devastating
toll. He was rebellious, often in trouble and felt suicidal. It was Karen who helped him
seek out his biological family in the hope that it would ease his inner turmoil.
A series of reunions followed and Ray was welcomed into a large extended family,
where he began exploring his Aboriginal identity.
Filmed over two years, this program joins Ray on his search for belonging as he finds his
mother then his father, and meets other relatives for the first time.
Now twenty-five, Ray has a young family of his own with his partner Rebecca, an
Aboriginal woman he met at Tranby College in Glebe. He works on a local employment
scheme associated with the land council in Port Macquarie and is an active member of
the Indigenous community.
His journey is far from over but Ray Cotti is finally at home in his own skin.
Written and directed by Darlene Johnson
Produced by Rod Freedman
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACUMBA MEDIA
ENTERPRISES. PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE
CENTENARY OF FEDERATION AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH SBS INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
STRANGER IN MY SKIN
Ray Cotti
PRODUCTION STORY
Ray Cotti’s story is different to the other episodes in the Everyday Brave series of six
half-hour documentaries. The others are about older people who have achieved
something tangible in their field – music, health, politics, media, the land.
On the surface, Ray is a young Aboriginal man of 25 who does not seem to have
achieved anything obvious. Yet he epitomises the idea of ‘everyday brave’ because Ray
has struggled daily, for most of his life, with his sense of himself. He has recently begun
to achieve a sense of identity and has journeyed from despair on the streets of Sydney
to building a family and finding his biological family.
Two years ago, director Darlene Johnson was working on her documentary, Stolen
Generations—three stories of Aboriginal people taken from their families. Darlene met
Ray in Sydney at Tranby Aboriginal College and filmed some of his story, but it was
excluded from the final film, partly because Ray was adopted and wasn’t really part of
the Stolen Generation.
In fact, Ray's complex family life has seen him forge relationships with three mothers:
Johanna Cotti from the Swiss-German family who originally adopted him with the best of
intentions in the mid 70s; Karen Shaw, the foster mother who took him in after relations
temporarily broke down with his first adoptive family; and Joyleen Stewart, his Aboriginal
birth mother whom he discovered only recently.
Series producer Rod Freedman had asked Darlene to develop a story about Evelyn
Crawford, an Aboriginal activist in education but sadly, Auntie Evelyn died just two
weeks before filming started.
Darlene then suggested following up Ray’s story to see how he was getting on. She
traced him to Port Macquarie in New South Wales, rekindled their friendship and
returned convinced that there was a good story for the series.
Darlene observed, “Life is not easy for him but he’s a long way from the troubled
teenager who had lived on the streets and contemplated suicide. He’s much more
settled than the last time we met but still struggling with life.”
Producer Rod Freedman was intrigued: “I was fascinated by Darlene’s description of
Ray as identifying strongly with each of his three mothers and of how, until recently, he
regarded himself as white even though he was clearly black. Ray was struggling to
achieve what most of us take for granted—knowing where we come from and who we
are.”
“Having footage from two years ago gave us a fantastic scope for this film. It’s revealing
to see Ray develop from an intense, determined seeker into a family man finding a place
in a community, becoming a father, playing with the local footy team, getting the support
of others who see the pain and hope in his story. Ray's story is unique, but it will
resonate for many black and mainstream people who have lost family connections and
their sense of place,” observes Rod.
Ray grew up in a white culture and didn’t know his true parents. He was also separated
from his culture, with devastating effect. When Darlene first filmed with Ray, he had only
recently found his mother in Whyalla and accepted the fact that he was Aboriginal. He
referred to himself as “a coconut”—black on the outside but white on the inside. As Jack
Beetson, Executive Director of Tranby Aboriginal College, says in the film, "For many of
our young people they know what they are and the distinction needs to be made
between what you are and who you are.”
Ray was living with his partner, Rebecca, her daughter and their baby son, Ray Junior.
He was still on his journey of self-discovery and wanting to meet his father. He was
happy for us to take up where Darlene had left off two years before.
The crew spent about a week with Ray and were privileged to be part of an emotional
reunion with his father, his grandmother and his aunt. Ray’s foster mother, Karen, came
up for the weekend to support him. The family was very open with the crew.
Rod Freedman notes, “It’s an honour to be present at as intimate a moment as a family
meeting for the first time. Ray was very committed to giving us access because he
hopes this film will be of use to Aboriginal people like him who are trying to find their
family and thereby, find themselves.”
Ray’s journey has been tough—a daily struggle in a confronting an often hostile world.
And he knows he must continue to reconcile within himself the often opposing forces
which have shaped him. Stranger in My Skin is an inspiring story because Ray has
developed from a suicidal misfit to becoming a determined member of a community.
Ray’s journey is the epitome of Everyday Brave.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
STRANGER IN MY SKIN–Ray Cotti
BIOGRAPHIES
Macumba Media Enterprises
Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd is one of Australia's leading producers of
communications on Indigenous issues and is the only one controlled by an Aboriginal
person with traditional knowledge. Established in Adelaide in 1986, it has become one of
the oldest and most successful Aboriginal video producers in the private sector with a
broad range of corporate productions to its credit.
The company was the first Indigenous production house to be established in South
Australia—and the only one to be accepted onto the South Australian Film Corporation’s
list of approved Government contractors.
Macumba's creative philosophy is education through entertainment, focusing on positive
images and the promotion of cross-cultural understanding. Although Indigenous
Australians are employed wherever possible, each project has its own needs, and crew
members from the wider community are also engaged as required.
Macumba Media's most recent television program is Wrap Me Up in Paperbark,
screened in November 1999 and June 2000 as part of the second National Indigenous
Documentary Series. It also produced the pilot for the Everyday Brave series, Saltwater
Bluesman.
John Macumba
Executive Producer, Macumba Media Enterprises
John Macumba is one of the pioneers of Indigenous media in Australia. As a radio
broadcaster in Alice Springs in the late 1970s, he was one of the first Aboriginal voices
on the public airwaves. He was the prime mover behind the establishment of CAAMA in
1981–82, and then—as a consultant under contract to the ABC—he went on to set up
Umeewarra Media in Port Augusta in 1989.
John was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Remote Broadcasting in 1982 and
a consultant to the Dix Committee's Review of Public Broadcasting in the same year. He
was the Founding Chairman of the National Aboriginal and Islander Broadcasting
Association (NAIBA), which was the forerunner to National Indigenous Media
Association (NIMAA).
John set up Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1986, as a private venture. His
efforts in developing and promoting Indigenous media were recognised by NIMAA in
1995 when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award (one of the few occasions that
this award has been made). He received another NIMAA award in 1999 in recognition of
his services to Indigenous media.
Rod Freedman
Series producer and producer
Rod Freedman has over 20 years' film and television experience as a multi-skilled
producer, director, production manager, researcher and writer. After starting his career
at Film Australia, he has worked for the past 15 years in the independent sector. As both
producer and director, he has won numerous Australian and international awards.
In 1998 Rod formed his own company, Change Focus Media. As well as directing and
producing corporate videos, he has produced a half-hour documentary, Wrap Me Up In
Paperbark for Macumba Media Enterprises for the ABC and was the producer, director
and writer of Uncle Chatzkel, an award-winning one-hour Film Australia documentary.
He has recently produced and directed One Last Chance - War Criminal, which has won
three awards in the United States.
Rod is currently producing and directing the ninth series in Film Australia’s Australian
Biography project.
Darlene Johnson
Writer/director
Darlene Johnson is a filmmaker from the Dunghutti tribe of the east coast of New South
Wales, who graduated with BA (Hons), specialising in Indigenous and post-colonial
cinema, from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Her first drama Two-Bob Mermaid was part of an Aboriginal anthology, From Sand to
Celluloid, which involved first-time Indigenous filmmakers. The film won the Australian
Film Critics Circle Award for Best Australian Short Film (1996). It was nominated at the
Venice Film Festival for the Baby Lion Award and won the Best Dramatic Short Film at
the 41st Asia-Pacific Film Festival.
In 2000 Johnson wrote and directed Stolen Generations, her first hour-long television
documentary. The film was nominated for an International Emmy (2000) and for Best
Documentary at the 2000 AFI awards. It screened at the 2000 Margaret Mead Film
Festival and was a finalist in the Hollywood Black Film Festival. Stolen Generations won
the journalist award for Best Documentary at Film De Femmes International Women’s
Film Festival in France and the Golden Gate Award in the History section of the 2001
San Francisco Film Festival.
Darlene recently directed a documentary about the making of Phillip Noyce’s feature,
Rabbit Proof Fence. She is currently writing and directing another documentary about
the life of Aboriginal actor David Gulpilil and her first feature film, Obelia, which will be
produced by Phillip Noyce.
STRANGER IN MY SKIN - Ray Cotti
Credits
Writer, Director
DARLENE JOHNSON
Series Title Music
JEFF DUNN
Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
With Special Thanks To
RAY COTTI
Line Producer/Production Manager
ISABEL PEREZ
Thanks To
KAREN SHAW
JOHANNA COTTI
JOYLEEN STEWART
REBECCA WIDDERS
KIERAN STEWART & STEWART FAMILY
ISOBEL BENNETT
GERRY BENNETT
MARIE BENNETT JACK BEETSON
PERCY BISHOP
Directors of Photography
ROMAN BASKA
ROBERT HUMPHREYS
PAUL WARREN
Sound
GRAHAM WYSE
CHRIS BOLLARD
Editor and Graphics
LAURA ZUSTERS
Additional Camera
ROD FREEDMAN
TOM ZUBRYCKI
Film Australia Production Unit
Business Affairs Manager
SALLY REGAN
Production Liaison
SALLY CREAGH/KAREN SKEA
Production Accountant
LISA CALDER
Executive Producer’s Assistant
GENEVIEVE DERWENT
Audio Post
MIKE GISSING
MARK KEATING
DIGITAL CITY STUDIOS
Online
ROEN DAVIS
LENA BALOUT
VISUALEYES
Original Footage of Ray
PRODUCER - TOM ZUBRYCKI
JOTZ PRODUCTIONS
SIR JOSEPH BANKS HOTEL
SOUTH SYDNEY CITY COUNCIL
STATE RAIL AUTHORITY OF NSW
STAFF & STUDENTS AT
TRANBY ABORIGINAL CO-OPERATIVE
COLLEGE
HASTINGS MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
Series Titles
JANET MEREWETHER
Series Concept
DAVID JOWSEY & JOHN MACUMBA
Executive Producer
Macumba Media Enterprises
JOHN MACUMBA
Produced in association with
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editor
Courtney Gibson
This Project has been supported by
The National Council for the Centenary of
Federation
A Film Australia Production
in association with
Macumba Media Enterprises
Series Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
Executive Producer
MARK HAMLYN
Original Music
FELICITY FOX
A National Interest Program
Film Australia © MMI
www.filmaust.com.au
EVERYDAY BRAVE
JETJA NAI MEDICAL MOB
Naomi Mayers
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Naomi Mayers is an expert in Aboriginal health services and a political activist. She
joined the Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) in Sydney’s Redfern in 1972, soon after it
was formed. Starting out as secretary, she has been its Chief Executive Officer for many
years.
The AMS began as a small shopfront service run mainly by volunteers and developed
into a nationwide network of kindred services. It is recognised internationally as a model
for community-based health services and Naomi’s office in Redfern is visited by people
from all over the world who come to learn from her experience.
Highly respected in Australia and overseas for her dedication to improving Aboriginal
health, Naomi’s contributions were officially recognised with an Order of Australia Medal
in 1984.
She has been the driving force behind many inner-city community development projects,
including the establishment of the Murawina preschool program in 1973 and the
Aboriginal Housing Company in 1976. She's also an active member of the Royal Flying
Doctor Service, the World Health Organisation and the National Aboriginal Health
Organisation.
Naomi’s political focus and spiritual strength come from her roots on the old
Cummeragunja mission, near Shepparton on the NSW-Victorian border. Six generations
of Naomi’s matriarchs are buried here. Cummeragunja is where she returns to refresh
her spirit and renew her ties with the land.
In this program, we travel with Naomi and some of her family back to Cummeragunja, to
the East Shepparton School reunion and then to boarding schools she attended in
Bendigo and Melbourne. These are places charged with emotional memories. Never
afraid of standing up for herself, Naomi’s strength of character emerges from her stories
of fighting racism and harsh discipline.
The film gives us insight into Naomi's packed professional life, her involvement in
Aboriginal politics, her more focused efforts to set up the AMS and how she overcame
difficult early years to achieve what she has today.
The closeness of Naomi’s family has clearly sustained her in the years of struggle to
develop adequate health standards for Aboriginal people. As Naomi says, ‘it’s a constant
fight.’ Her determination over decades of work has earned Naomi the respect of her
professional colleagues worldwide and the deep appreciation of her own community.
Written and directed by Catriona McKenzie
Produced by Rod Freedman
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACUMBA MEDIA
ENTERPRISES. PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE
CENTENARY OF FEDERATION AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NSW FILM AND TELEVISION
OFFICE AND SBS INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
JETJA NAI MEDICAL MOB
Naomi Mayers
PRODUCTION STORY
Naomi Mayers is a very determined woman. She has a generous laugh and a strong
spirit which comes from her deep family ties to the old Cummeragunja mission.
She’s been the CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) in Sydney’s Redfern for
many years. One of the volunteer doctors in the mid 1970s was the current Deputy
Premier of New South Wales, Dr Andrew Refshauge, who says admiringly, “She’s an
impressive woman who sees through people who talk bullshit!”
Episode director Catriona McKenzie recently graduated from the Australian Film,
Television and Radio School with an MA (Hons) in Directing and has some awardwinning films to her credit.
“I’m really lucky that producer Rod Freedman asked me to work with him on the film,"
says Catriona. “When I met Naomi I knew it was going to be a lot of fun. She’s from
Cummeragunja on the border of NSW and Victoria and my mob’s from Victoria too. It felt
like hanging out with my family. Naomi decided she was going to a school reunion in
Shepparton. Her sisters, Geraldine and Beverley came along as well as her cousins,
Lois and Thelma. It was like a road trip.”
Naomi comes from a strong family. Two brothers married two cousins so the families are
very close. As a child, she recalls everyone fruit picking in the orchards on the fruit
picking and her early memories are all very positive.
But things took a turn for the worse when her parents split up and Naomi and her sister
Beverley were sent to an orphanage. They spent many years away from their family, first
at St Aidan’s Orphanage in Bendigo then at Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne. Despite
the trauma of these experiences, both women look back on those times as character
building.
Catriona recalls, “During the shoot, we wandered around both schools, now derelict.
They brought back powerful memories for Naomi and she was clearly affected by the
experience.”
Producer Rod Freedman says, “In the film, Naomi relates some very personal memories.
They reveal a lot about Naomi’s qualities, like her instinct to oppose racism in every
form—if necessary by confrontation! We hadn’t scripted any of this, so it really affected
the development of the film away from being just a history of the Aboriginal Medical
Service. The film now interweaves her personal and professional life in a powerful
portrait of a proud woman.”
Catriona adds, “There were so many great moments while we were making this
documentary, but we couldn’t fit them all into 26 minutes. It’s been a privilege spending
time with Naomi and her family. She’s been a big boss for 30 years, but she put up with
me telling her what to do.”
Something that emerged in the filming was the love of singing in Naomi’s family – “The
whole family always sang. It was part of growing up with our family.” Some of these
songs feature in the film, along with original music by Indigenous composer Jeff Dunn
from Sydney.
Rod Freedman comments, “Archival footage was particularly important in this film as
Catriona filmed the main interview with a bluescreen background and we needed stills
and footage to illustrate important times in Naomi’s life. Both Catriona and line producer,
Isabel Perez, did some great research in finding relevant footage, including the opening
of the Aboriginal Medical Service with characteristic commentary that would be
unthinkable these days.
“We discovered a fantastic bit of footage through Screensound Australia which shows a
very young Naomi singing in a group with Pastor Doug Nicholls in Melbourne.
Amazingly, we also found footage of Naomi’s mum when she managed a hostel with the
late Pastor Doug who, like Naomi, came from Cummeragunja and was a strong political
activist.”
Naomi has never differentiated between the political and the personal. As she firmly
states, “Aboriginals have always been the biggest political footballs in this country.”
Aboriginal health issues are at the forefront of political wrangling and Naomi’s work over
the years has seen a humble community-based service rise to being an organisation
respected not just in Australia but internationally. Naomi is frequently asked to address
conferences overseas and receives international visitors who come to see why the
Redfern service works so well for inner-city Aboriginal people.
Despite the recognition of her services with an Order of Australia medal, you’d be wrong
to think that Naomi feels she’s been successful. Ever a realist, she faces an everyday
struggle for funding and recognition of the health issues facing Aboriginal people in
Australia. As Naomi says, “It’s a constant fight.”
EVERYDAY BRAVE
JETJA NAI MEDICAL MOB - Naomi Mayers
BIOGRAPHIES
Macumba Media Enterprises
Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd is one of Australia's leading producers of
communications on Indigenous issues and is the only one controlled by an Aboriginal
person with traditional knowledge. Established in Adelaide in 1986, it has become one of
the oldest and most successful Aboriginal video producers in the private sector with a
broad range of corporate productions to its credit.
The company was the first Indigenous production house to be established in South
Australia—and the only one to be accepted onto the South Australian Film Corporation’s
list of approved Government contractors.
Macumba's creative philosophy is education through entertainment, focusing on positive
images and the promotion of cross-cultural understanding. Although Indigenous
Australians are employed wherever possible, each project has its own needs, and crew
members from the wider community are also engaged as required.
Macumba Media's most recent television program is Wrap Me Up in Paperbark,
screened in November 1999 and June 2000 as part of the second National Indigenous
Documentary Series. It also produced the pilot for the Everyday Brave series, Saltwater
Bluesman.
John Macumba
Executive Producer, Macumba Media Enterprises
John Macumba is one of the pioneers of Indigenous media in Australia. As a radio
broadcaster in Alice Springs in the late 1970s, he was one of the first Aboriginal voices
on the public airwaves. He was the prime mover behind the establishment of CAAMA in
1981–82, and then—as a consultant under contract to the ABC—he went on to set up
Umeewarra Media in Port Augusta in 1989.
John was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Remote Broadcasting in 1982 and
a consultant to the Dix Committee's Review of Public Broadcasting in the same year. He
was the Founding Chairman of the National Aboriginal and Islander Broadcasting
Association (NAIBA), which was the forerunner to National Indigenous Media
Association (NIMAA).
John set up Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1986, as a private venture. His
efforts in developing and promoting Indigenous media were recognised by NIMAA in
1995 when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award (one of the few occasions that
this award has been made). He received another NIMAA award in 1999 in recognition of
his services to Indigenous media.
Rod Freedman
Series producer and producer
Rod Freedman has over 20 years' film and television experience as a multi-skilled
producer, director, production manager, researcher and writer. After starting his career
at Film Australia, he has worked for the past 15 years in the independent sector. As both
producer and director, he has won numerous Australian and international awards.
In 1998 Rod formed his own company, Change Focus Media. As well as directing and
producing corporate videos, he has produced a half-hour documentary, Wrap Me Up In
Paperbark for Macumba Media Enterprises for the ABC and was the producer, director
and writer of Uncle Chatzkel, an award-winning one-hour Film Australia documentary.
He has recently produced and directed One Last Chance - War Criminal, which has won
three awards in the United States.
Rod is currently producing and directing the ninth series in Film Australia’s Australian
Biography project.
Catriona McKenzie
Writer/director
Catriona McKenzie recently graduated from the Australian Film, Television and Radio
School with an MA (Hons) in Directing. She attended the New York Film School (TISCH)
in 1996 and has a BA (Hons) from the University of New South Wales. Catriona has over
eight years' experience in the film industry and has directed the documentaries Rites of
Passage and Bunje for ABC-TV. Her drama work includes The Third Note, awarded
Best Short Drama at the 2001 Torino Film Festival, and Road, which won the award for
Best Direction, Australian Drama at Flickerfest 2000.
JETJA NAI MEDICAL MOB - Naomi Mayers
Credits
Written and Directed by
CATRIONA MCKENZIE
Produced by
ROD FREEDMAN
Line Producer/Production Manager
ISABEL PEREZ
Director of Photography
MURRAY LUI
Sound
DAREN CLARK
Editor
JAMES BRADLEY
Research
BECK COLE
Script Editor
JEFFREY BRUER
Additional Camera
HIMMAN DHAMIJA
CATRIONA MCKENZIE
Additional Sound
GRAHAM WYSE
Archival Photographs
NAOMI MAYERS
LOIS PEELER
SHEPPARTON EAST PRIMARY SCHOOL
GOOD SHEPHERD PROVINCIALATE
Archival Footage
FILM AUSTRALIA
SCREENSOUND AUSTRALIA – THE
NATIONAL COLLECTION
OF SCREEN & SOUND
FILM WORLD
AUSTRALIAN FILM INSTITUTE
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING
CORPORATION
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
NINGLA-A-NA Alessandro Cavadini/Carolyn
Strachan
Original Music
JEFF DUNN
Music
"Lonely Little Robin"
Written by Cy Coban
Sung by Thelma Andrew
Published by Delmore Music Company
Film Australia Production Unit
"Billy Go Bangalee"
Sung by Naomi Mayers, Geraldine Ives,
Thelma Andrew, Beverly Briggs
Written By Margaret Tucker
Business Affairs Manager
SALLY REGAN
"He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands"
Traditional
Production Liaison
SALLY CREAGH/KAREN SKEA
"The Lord Is My Shepherd"
Traditional (Crimond Tune)
Production Accountant
MELANIE WEEKS
"Moses Song"
Traditional
Sung by Naomi Mayers, Beverly Briggs &
Laurel Robinson
Executive Producer’s Assistant
KARINN CHEUNG
Audio Post
MIKE GISSING
MARK KEATING
DIGITAL CITY STUDIOS
Online
ROEN DAVIS
LENA BALOUT
VISUALEYES
"Morning Star"
The Stiff Gins
Written & Sung by Nardi Simpson, Karleena
Smith
& Emma Councillor
With Special Thanks To
NAOMI MAYERS
THELMA ANDREW
BEVERLY BRIGGS
LOIS PEELER
GERALDINE IVES
ROCHELLE PATTEN
THE BRIGGS FAMILY
DR ANDREW REFSHAUGE
YORTA YORTA NATION
ABORIGINAL MEDICAL SERVICE
SHEPPARTON EAST PRIMARY
MAURICE SHIPP
GERRY LETTS ASCOT CAR RENTAL
LEMAC
ST VINCENTS HOSPITAL
LA TROBE UNIVERSITY
SOUTH SYDNEY CITY COUNCIL
MARY MORRIS & MUSEUM OF VICTORIA
BUNJILAKA
BECK COLE WALDA BLOA
MERLE JACKOMOS
MITCH TORRES
ALEC MORGAN
STANLEY NANGALA PUGGY HUNTER
SYDNEY GAY + LESBIAN MARDI GRAS
Series Titles
JANET MEREWETHER
Series Original Music
JEFF DUNN
Series Concept
DAVID JOWSEY & JOHN MACUMBA
Executive Producer
Macumba Media Enterprises
JOHN MACUMBA
Produced in association with
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editor
Courtney Gibson
Produced in association with the New South
Wales
Film & Television Office
This Project has been supported by
The National Council for the Centenary of
Federation
A Film Australia Production
in association with
Macumba Media Enterprises
Series Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
Executive Producer
MARK HAMLYN
A National Interest Program
Film Australia © MMI
www.filmaust.com.au
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MISTAKE CREEK - Steven Craig
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Steven Craig runs a highly successful cattle station for its traditional owners, the Mistake
Creek community. Situated on the border of Western Australia and the Northern
Territory, the property has earned a reputation for its cattle and is proudly self-sufficient.
Steven Craig has been manager at the station for over seven years. The responsibility
he now handles so effectively belies his uncertain beginnings. He has progressed in life
the hard way, learning the skills of a ringer and a stockman before finally becoming a
station manager.
Originally from Alice Springs, his father died when Steven was six. At 13, he left home
after dropping out of school: "in the front door and straight out the back - that was the
end of education for me". He was, in his own words, "heading for trouble" until a relative
took him bush and gave some direction to his relentless energy. Then he fell in love and
married a "town girl".
Jo-Anne and their children didn’t feel drawn to the bush like Steven did. She worried
about the isolation and the kids’ education. He tried living in town but just couldn’t do it
for long. As a result, the family was often separated for months at a time. The situation
almost tore them apart and the pair have struggled to keep the marriage and family
together.
Set against the rugged beauty of the Australian outback, Mistake Creek is more than just
an introduction to life on the land and the dusty work of getting cattle to market. It is an
example of how dreams can be fulfilled - with commitment, dedication and sheer hard
work. And it’s an intensely personal story which, at heart, is a moving and inspiring
exploration of the universal truths of family life.
Written by mitch torres
Directed by Allan Collins
Produced by Priscilla Collins
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH CAAMA PRODUCTIONS.
PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE CENTENARY OF
FEDERATION AND THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH SBS INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MISTAKE CREEK - Steven Craig
PRODUCTION STORY
The Mistake Creek story unfolds on a cattle station on the border of Northern Territory
and Western Australia, near Kununurra. Steven Craig is the manager of Mistake Creek
Station—a large pastoral lease fully owned by the Aboriginal traditional owners, who
form the board of directors. Run entirely by Aboriginal people, Mistake Creek is an
example of how commitment, dedication and sheer hard work can fulfil your dreams.
Steven is a bushman to the core, having worked on stations from an early age.
“Went right through Grade 7 - in the front door and out the back. That was the end of the
education for me,” he recalls.
Steven dropped out of school aged 13 and has progressed the hard way, learning the
skills of a ringer and a stockman, before finally becoming a station manager.
His father died when he was very young and Steven was brought up by his cousin,
Ronnie Ogilvie, who appears in the film. “I don’t know if he wanted to be a ringer at the
time, but that’s where I was going, y’know," Ronnie says.
Steven knows the seasons like the back of his hands. He knows the country and every
rugged landmark. This is where he is at home–out on the range in the dust of the
muster.
But Mistake Creek is more than a story of a cattle station. It’s a story about family. In this
film, for the first time, Steven and his wife Jo-Anne tell us about the struggle they had to
keep their marriage and family together through years of separation, when Steven had to
take work wherever he could find it; often being away from his family for months at a
time. There were issues about where they would live, where they could find work and
how best to educate their children: Daniel, Weebie and Lindsie.
“One of the main reasons I didn’t want to live out bush was because of the education. I
always thought that the best education for your kids is at school, but when we shifted out
here I realised your kids get a better education doing School of the Air because it is oneon-one," says Jo-Anne.
It’s not easy living on such a remote property. Although Steven was always drawn to the
bush, Jo-Anne was reluctant to move away from town. Over the years they found a
balance and it’s clear that they are now very close and appreciate each other deeply,
having supported each other and weathered difficulties along the way.
CAAMA Productions executive producer, Cilla Collins went with husband Allan Collins
(director and cinematographer) to Mistake Creek last year. After the trip Cilla was
dedicated to tell their story. Allan returned to spend more research time with Steven and
Jo-Anne. At that stage, the focus was on the running of a successful cattle station, but
Allan began to see the story differently.
Allan says, “Documentaries that interest me are personal stories. I was struggling with
the concept of Steven's ‘achievement’ in relation to other people who have achieved on,
say, a political level. Then I realised it was actually pretty simple–it was a love story
about the achievement of building a strong family.”
In their daily lives, Steven and Jo-Anne wouldn’t normally talk about the issues they
discuss in the film.
Series producer Rod Freedman discussed the change of emphasis with Allan and
supported the idea of making the family the main character in the film.
“This is a very personal story which reflects Allan’s interest in the universal truths of
family life rather than the original focus on the business side of running a cattle station.
This is a stylish, beautifully filmed and paced documentary that reflects a lifestyle that
most of us know nothing about,” says Rod.
Shot on widescreen 16:9 Digital Betacam by Allan, the cinematography brings to life the
beautiful, vast landscape of this special part of Australia as well as the ultimately
rewarding lifestyle of a warm, hard-working family.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MISTAKE CREEK - STEVEN CRAIG
BIOGRAPHIES
CAAMA Productions
CAAMA Productions is the largest Indigenous production house in Australia. It is an
experienced filmmaking company with intimate knowledge of Aboriginal people.
CAAMA Productions Pty Ltd was established by the Central Australia Aboriginal Media
Association in 1988 to perform the function of the commercial production of film and
television for the newly established Imparja Television. It is 100 per cent owned and
operated by the CAAMA group and is not government funded.
CAAMA Productions has produced documentaries for Channel 7, Channel 4 (London),
ABC, SBS and Imparja Television. A one-hour documentary for National Geographic
Channels worldwide is currently in production.
From production offices based in the centre of Alice Springs, CAAMA offers complete
production services with Indigenous producers, directors, camera crews and editors,
including offline and online post production.
Priscilla Collins
Producer
Priscilla Collins has been a producer at CAAMA Productions in Central Australia for ten
years. After completing her Master of Arts in Producing at the Australian Film, Television
and Radio School, she returned to CAAMA Productions in 2000 as executive producer.
Priscilla was executive producer of Series Four of the National Indigenous Documentary
Fund (NIDF), broadcast on ABC Television and series producer of NIDF Series One to
Three, which were broadcast on ABC and SBS.
Allan Collins
Director
Allan Collins is an Indigenous filmmaker from Alice Springs. His career began at Imparja
Television, where he worked his way up from production assistant to cameraman.
Between 1993 and 1998 he worked with CAAMA as senior cameraman, before moving
to Sydney to study cinematography at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
Allan’s credits include Road (directed by Catriona McKenzie) which won the award for
Best Cinematography in an Australian Short at Flickerfest and an Australian
Cinematographers Society (ACS) Gold Award. He won an ACS Silver Award for his work
on Dust and a Gold Award (South Australia/Western Australia) for Mistake Creek. Allan’s
first feature film as cinematogragher, Beneath Clouds, was released in May 2002.
mitch torres
Writer
mitch torres has extensive experience as a director, writer, journalist and radio
broadcaster as well as a thorough knowledge of her hometown, Broome. She recently
completed a half-hour documentary Bungarun Orchestra, which will screen on ABC-TV.
Her film Jijas gotta voice (Sisters got a voice), about the centenary of women's suffrage,
will tour as part of an exhibition.
MISTAKE CREEK - Steven Craig
Credits
Director
ALLAN COLLINS
Producer
PRISCILLA COLLINS
Editor
DAVID NIXON
Cinematographer
ALLAN COLLINS
Sound Recordist
DAVID TRANTER
Helicopter Aerials/Stills Photographer
MICHAEL HUTCHINSON
Writer
MITCH TORRES
Production Manager
JACQUELINE BETHEL
Film Australia Production Unit
Business Affairs Manager
SALLY REGAN
Production Liaison
SALLY CREAGH/KAREN SKEA
Production Accountants
MELANIE WEEKS
LISA CALDER
Executive Producer’s Assistant
KARINN CHEUNG
GENEVIEVE DERWENT
Audio Post
MIKE GISSING
MARK KEATING
DIGITAL CITY STUDIOS
Online
ROEN DAVIS
LENA BALOUT
VISUALEYES
Original Music Composed & Performed by
WARREN WILLIAMS
CAAMA MUSIC
Engineer
STAN SATOUR
Assistant Engineer
STEVE TRANTER
With Special Thanks To
STEVEN & JO-ANNE CRAIG
Thanks To:
WEEBIE CRAIG
RONNIE OGILVIE
LINDSIE CRAIG
DANIEL CRAIG
BERNARD WEBSTER
PATRICIA BRADSHAW
HENRY RENNIE
JAMES MALAY
CAMERON LINDNER PAUL CALMA
GRAHAM BLOODWORTH
RON & CHRISTINE DONELLAN
CHOOKIE DONELLAN
GILLIAN HARRISON
COLLINS KIDS
MONA RENNIE
DEAN THOMPSON
SHAUN COOTES
WARWICK THORNTON HERMAN MARCIC
THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF
MISTAKE CREEK
ALL THE MISTAKE CREEK WORKERS
KUNUNURRA AGRICULTURAL SHOW
SOCIETY
THE ORGANISERS KUNUNURRA
CATTLEMEN’S DINNER
Series Titles
JANET MEREWETHER
Series Original Music
JEFF DUNN
Series Concept
DAVID JOWSEY & JOHN MACUMBA
Executive Producer
CAAMA PRODUCTIONS
PRISCILLA COLLINS
Produced in association with
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editor
Courtney Gibson
This Project has been supported by
The National Council for the Centenary of Federation
This Project has been supported by
The Australia Council
A Film Australia Production
in association with
CAAMA PRODUCTIONS
Series Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
Executive Producer
MARK HAMLYN
A National Interest Program
Film Australia © MMI
www.filmaust
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MEDIA NOMADS
The Thaiday Brothers
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Bill and Mick Thaiday are father figures in Indigenous broadcasting. They've travelled about like
a couple of nomads for almost two decades, developing Aboriginal radio stations in remote
areas of Australia and sharing their knowledge.
Both Bill and Mick have a passionate belief in the importance of Aboriginal culture being
reflected in the media, and how this can reinforce the Aboriginal sense of identity and
strengthen the process of self-determination.
The brothers grew up on Palm Island in the 1950s under the Aboriginal Protection Act, with the
sound of curfew bells a part of their daily life. The place was run like a prison but Bill remembers
how the radio could take their minds away from the harsh restrictions and injustice of everyday
life. After a strike in 1957, the family was moved off the island when their father was branded a
troublemaker. Bill worked on the railways for several years in his teens but, as the years
passed, the two brothers drifted into alcoholism, sharing bottles of cheap wine in a Townsville
park.
Then, in early 1980, someone asked a newly sober Bill to go to an Indigenous media
conference in Alice Springs...and to bring a friend. Bill picked up Mick from the park and they
flew to Alice, not knowing that their lives would change forever.
Media Nomads is the story of two brothers who have overcome many obstacles and who, with
their families, have made more than a few personal sacrifices to bring an invaluable gift to
Indigenous communities. They have created their own opportunities and followed their own
vision to fulfil a goal. Their aim is to give a voice to Aboriginal people where their parents and
grandparents had none.
Written and directed by Donna Ives
Produced by Rod Freedman
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACUMBA MEDIA
ENTERPRISES. PRODUCED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR THE CENTENARY OF
FEDERATION AND IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PACIFIC FILM AND TELEVISION COMMISSION AND SBS
INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MEDIA NOMADS
The Thaiday Brothers
PRODUCTION STORY
Writer/director Donna Ives wanted to make a film about brothers Bill and Mick Thaiday, who
have worked for 20 years in the development of Indigenous broadcasting, because she was so
impressed by their passionate belief of the importance of Aboriginal culture being reflected in
the media.
Donna first heard of the Thaiday brothers over a decade ago while training at Townsville
Aboriginal and Islander Media Association (TAIMA), the first Indigenous video production house
in Queensland, conceived by the brothers in the early 80s. The three subsequently met four
years ago when the brothers returned to Townsville from working in the Broadcasting in Remote
Communities (BRACS) system.
The older brother Bill, aged 58, is a deep thinker who delivers powerful messages when he
speaks. Younger brother Mick, aged 49, is a big man with a deep, beautiful voice. He’s the
entertainer and singer, with a fun-loving spirit.
Bill runs the Wooribinda BRACS from a small community radio station called Radio Broadarrow,
two hours inland from Rockhampton. After 20 years of living a nomadic existence, he has now
returned to where he feels at home. Mick manages Radio Station 4UM (Us Mob Radio) in
Cherbourg, three hours north-west of Brisbane, and for the past three years has lived nearby in
the mission at Murgon with his family. He trains local people in radio and he broadcasts daily.
“We have so few Indigenous male role models portrayed in mainstream communities, that I feel
proud to take this opportunity to promote their achievements,” remarks Donna. “I had a great
need to acknowledge them personally and to tell their story of overcoming alcoholism, finding a
direction in life and maintaining grass roots level contacts through teaching media.”
To tell their story, the filmmakers had to go back to the brothers’ beginnings: their mother is from
an Aboriginal tribe near Cardwell, Queensland and their father is a Torres Strait Islander,
originally from Badu Island.
In 1957, when the brothers were children, their father was involved in a strike on the infamous
Palm Island off Townsville. Bill remembers “seeing power” for the first time in his life when he
saw Aboriginal people standing together and speaking up about the atrocities that affected their
daily lives.
Donna explains, “In my heart I realised that it would be hard to provide a balance between these
two personalities, who both have big individual stories to tell. Bill was 10 years older and did
things well ahead of Mick...[and] he reached out to Mick when an opportunity came along. So
the story starts with Bill and tends to follow him.
“I began by focusing on the Palm Island strike in 1957 and their father’s inspiration, which they
both identified as important influences in their lives. That and the shared radio dream gave us
the starting point to move through their years of achievements.”
Ives continues, “Fortunately, Mick had lots of personal archival footage from his years of work—
we accessed quite a bit of it to include in the story. Bill talked mainly about the people.
“I was also able to access footage from a number of other sources, in particular the films
Protected, the story of the strike on Palm Island, and Waiting for Bill, a story about Bill’s wife,
Rose Thaiday, filmed at Bachelor College in the Northern Territory in the late 80s.”
Both men have suffered the growing pains of black radio, overcoming health issues, constant
separation from their families and lack of financial support. They worked in under-funded
organisations which directly affected their incomes, to maintain the focus of their original dream,
while many of their offsiders have moved into better paying jobs. Bill and Mick chose not to,
realising that the role they played was important to the people they were training.
To many communities struggling to recover from the impact of colonisation, Bill and Mick are
unsung heroes who opened the doors to technology.
As Bill says, “Life is a one way street: you got to get out there and give it your best shot. Nobody
is going to do these things for you—you got to do it yourself.”
EVERYDAY BRAVE
MEDIA NOMADS – The Thaiday Brothers
BIOGRAPHIES
Macumba Media Enterprises
Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd is one of Australia's leading producers of communications
on Indigenous issues and is the only one controlled by an Aboriginal person with traditional
knowledge. Established in Adelaide in 1986, it has become one of the oldest and most
successful Aboriginal video producers in the private sector with a broad range of corporate
productions to its credit.
The company was the first Indigenous production house to be established in South Australia—
and the only one to be accepted onto the South Australian Film Corporation’s list of approved
Government contractors.
Macumba's creative philosophy is education through entertainment, focusing on positive images
and the promotion of cross-cultural understanding. Although Indigenous Australians are
employed wherever possible, each project has its own needs, and crew members from the
wider community are also engaged as required.
Macumba Media's most recent television program is Wrap Me Up in Paperbark, screened in
November 1999 and June 2000 as part of the second National Indigenous Documentary Series.
It also produced the pilot for the Everyday Brave series, Saltwater Bluesman.
John Macumba
Executive Producer, Macumba Media Enterprises
John Macumba is one of the pioneers of Indigenous media in Australia. As a radio broadcaster
in Alice Springs in the late 1970s, he was one of the first Aboriginal voices on the public
airwaves. He was the prime mover behind the establishment of CAAMA in 1981–82, and then—
as a consultant under contract to the ABC—he went on to set up Umeewarra Media in Port
Augusta in 1989.
John was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Remote Broadcasting in 1982 and a
consultant to the Dix Committee's Review of Public Broadcasting in the same year. He was the
Founding Chairman of the National Aboriginal and Islander Broadcasting Association (NAIBA),
which was the forerunner to National Indigenous Media Association (NIMAA).
John set up Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1986, as a private venture. His efforts in
developing and promoting Indigenous media were recognised by NIMAA in 1995 when he
received a Lifetime Achievement Award (one of the few occasions that this award has been
made). He received another NIMAA award in 1999 in recognition of his services to Indigenous
media.
Rod Freedman
Series producer and producer
Rod Freedman has over 20 years' film and television experience as a multi-skilled producer,
director, production manager, researcher and writer. After starting his career at Film Australia,
he has worked for the past 15 years in the independent sector. As both producer and director,
he has won numerous Australian and international awards.
In 1998 Rod formed his own company, Change Focus Media. As well as directing and
producing corporate videos, he has produced a half-hour documentary, Wrap Me Up In
Paperbark for Macumba Media Enterprises for the ABC and was the producer, director and
writer of Uncle Chatzkel, an award-winning one-hour Film Australia documentary. He has
recently produced and directed One Last Chance - War Criminal, which has won three awards
in the United States.
Rod is currently producing and directing the ninth series in Film Australia’s Australian Biography
project.
Donna Ives
Writer/director
Donna Ives has 11 years' experience in video production: ten with the Townsville Aboriginal &
Islander Media Association at Big Eye Productions, and one with her own company, Yarmuk
Enterprises.
At Big Eye Productions, she was producer, director and writer from 1993 to 1999 and from 1997
to 1999 also acting executive producer, working on a number of documentaries.
Selected credits include Hey, Look Out Show Me! (writer) for the Australian Library Association,
encouraging Indigenous people to access libraries, and Talkabout (production manager), a oneoff drama for Centrelink, Canberra. She also directed electoral commercials encouraging
Indigenous viewers to vote, which aired on television stations broadcasting to the Torres Strait
Islands.
Her awards include an Encouragement Award from the Women on Women Festival and an
Honorable Mention at DOCO 2000 Awards for her 13-minute documentary A Memory, which
she wrote and directed for SBS-TV on the abuse of children on Aboriginal reserves.
MEDIA NOMADS - The Thaiday Brothers
CREDITS
Written and Directed by
DONNA IVES
Executive Producer’s Assistant
KARINN CHEUNG
Produced by
ROD FREEDMAN
Audio Post
MIKE GISSING
MARK KEATING
DIGITAL CITY STUDIOS
Line Producer/Production Manager
MELANIE GUINEY
Director of Photography
RALPH RIGBY
Sound
TERRY MEEHAN
Editor
DENISE HASLEM
Script Editor
JEFFREY BRUER
Additional Camera
DAN ROBERTS
MELANIE GUINEY
TROY ALBERT
Production Assistant
DAN ROBERTS
Production Stills
MELANIE GUINEY
Production Coordinator
ISABEL PEREZ
Narrator
LYDIA MILLER
Film Australia Production Unit
Business Affairs Manager
SALLY REGAN
Production Liaison
SALLY CREAGH/KAREN SKEA
Production Accountant
MELANIE WEEKS
Online
ROEN DAVIS
LENA BALOUT
VISUALEYES
Archival Photographs
MICK & IRENE THAIDAY
BILL & ROSE THAIDAY
CHARMAENE SCOTT
FLORENCE ONUS
GRAHAME STEEL
JANELLE EVANS
JAMES COOK UNIVERSITY
Archival Footage
FILM AUSTRALIA
SCREENSOUND AUSTRALIA – THE NATIONAL
COLLECTION OF SCREEN & SOUND
FILM WORLD
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING
CORPORATION
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Additional Footage From
Protected Alessandro Cavadini/Carolyn Strachan
Look Listen & Speak Pilbara Kimberley BRACS
Waiting For Bill Irene Fuez
CAAMA Productions
Original Music
MICHAEL WHITICKER &
DENO RANEL
Music
"Follow The Sun"
Sung & Written by Seaman Dan
From the CD "Follow The Sun"
Hot Records 1075
© Seaman Dan, Karl Neuenfeldt & Nelson
Conboy
"Weesug-gerr"
Sung by Bill Thaiday
Written By Willie Thaiday
©Mick Thaiday
"Glenda Maree"
Sung by Mick Thaiday
Written by Mick Thaiday
"The Years Have Flown"
Sung by Mick Thaiday
Written By Bill Thaiday
"Mim’s Song"
Sung & Written by Mick Thaiday
"Smoky Dawson Show"
Sung by Smoky Dawson
©EMI
"Baba Nuka"
© Dow Boyz
With Special Thanks To
THE THAIDAY FAMILY
ROSE THAIDAY
IRENE THAIDAY
WOORABINDA COMMUNITY CAAMA
CHERBOURG COMMUNITY
CHARMAENE SCOTT
MARGARET BIRD
VELMA GARA
FIONA THAIDAY
GRAHAME STEEL
BRIAN SOLLORS
FLORENCE ONUS (NEE SMALLWOOD)
ROD HENSHAW
JEFFREY BRUER
JOHN NUTTING
NEIL TURNER
PETER CAMPBELL
DR DIANE MENGHETTI
NOOLEY PRESTON
DESMOND DERBY
TOWNSVILLE CITY LIBRARY
LIAM & JAD GUINEY
IAN MARCUS JOE LANIGAN
4KIG RADIO
4TTT RADIO
ABC RADIO
Series Titles
JANET MEREWETHER
Series Original Music
JEFF DUNN
Series Concept
DAVID JOWSEY & JOHN MACUMBA
Executive Producer
Macumba Media Enterprises
JOHN MACUMBA
Produced in association with
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editor
Courtney Gibson
Produced in association with
Pacific Film & Television Commission
This Project has been supported by the
The National Council For The Centenary of
Federation
A Film Australia Production
in association with
Macumba Media Enterprises
Series Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
Executive Producer
MARK HAMLYN
A National Interest Program
Film Australia © MMI
www.filmaust.com.au
EVERYDAY BRAVE
SALTWATER BLUESMAN
Uncle Kiddo Taylor
EPISODE SYNOPSIS
Uncle Kiddo Taylor plays chromatic harp. He’s one of the fathers of the "Broome Sound". He’s
an old man now, living in a humble house on the coast and supplementing his pension with
fishing and shell gathering.
Uncle Kiddo’s music reflects life in his West Australian pearling town. There is a history of
exploitation and segregation, but also a vibrant mix of cultures and a strong sense of
community. The sweet-sad sound is known as saltwater blues as it’s likely to bring a tear to
your eye. It’s had a significant impact on the Indigenous music scene and made Uncle Kiddo a
vital and positive force in the lives of younger generations.
Although his has often been a hand-to-mouth existence, Uncle Kiddo has always had an
irrepressible urge to have a good time. It’s this indomitable spirit that makes watching Saltwater
Bluesman like going to a party. It’s a foot-tapping introduction to a delightful character, who is
regarded with affection by those who know him.
Written and directed by mitch torres, this half-hour program reflects on Uncle Kiddo’s long life. It
recalls his days working on the luggers as a 15-year-old, borrowing his first harmonica and
teaming up with his mate Micky. The two friends started to catch on, even performing over the
local taxi company’s two-way radio. As their fame spread, they were invited to Darwin, where
they played for the Prime Minister’s wife.
It’s a vibrant and colourful story, a tribute to a talented musician and respected community elder.
Written and directed by mitch torres
Co-produced by Rod Freedman and Jeffrey Bruer
A FILM AUSTRALIA NATIONAL INTEREST PROGRAM IN ASSOCIATION WITH MACUMBA MEDIA
ENTERPRISES. PRODUCED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF SCREENWEST, THE LOTTERIES COMMISSION OF
WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND THE AUSTRALIA COUNCIL.
PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH SBS INDEPENDENT.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
SALTWATER BLUESMAN
Uncle Kiddo Taylor
PRODUCTION STORY
Saltwater Bluesman was the pilot episode in this series of six half-hour documentaries.
Writer/director mitch torres had already started a treatment for a film about Chris Taylor, known
as "Uncle Kiddo", when producers Rod Freedman and Jeff Bruer first suggested the idea of a
series. The influential Broome musician became an obvious choice, fitting into the theme of a
series on people whose strength and achievements are inspirational.
mitch comes from Broome and counts Uncle Kiddo as one of her family. A journalist,
broadcaster, filmmaker and natural storyteller, she’d always wanted to make a tribute to him and
his contribution to the town’s richly multicultural music scene.
As mitch says in the film’s introduction, "It’s a sad thing to sing praise for our heroes after they’re
gone so I wanted to let Uncle Kiddo know how much he means to the musicians and the people
of our town.”
Rod Freedman explains, "We were looking for Indigenous writers and directors to find these
stories and tell them to a national audience. The philosophy was to develop Indigenous
directors and tell stories that show what Indigenous people are capable of achieving, even
against a background of racism, poverty and the adverse attitudes of society. We wanted to
show positive stories of achievement against the odds. Often people create great change for
their communities through the everyday battles that seem small at the time, but really add up in
the long run. These everyday battles can take as much courage and determination as the big
protest movements we've all heard about. That's what this series is all about really."
Uncle Kiddo's story tells us about a humble man who lives a simple life yet has had a significant
impact on a whole generation of younger musicians. People like the Pigram Brothers—Alan
and Stephen—who are now famous in Broome and are also in the film.
Uncle Kiddo lives on the coast, supplementing his pension with fishing and shell gathering. As
he says, "Once you’re a seaside person, you just can’t forget it." His life story and his music
reflect the wild side of life in this dynamic town—pearling, partying, boozing, gambling, women.
Uncle Kiddo's life takes us back to the days when Broome’s society was segregated along racial
and class lines. Aboriginal people like Kiddo had few choices, yet there was always a strong
sense of community and an irrepressible urge to have a good time. This is what mitch wanted to
portray.
To show what music meant in the old days, the Pigram Brothers helped stage a concert in an
old church hall, recalling the dances of yesteryear when the various nationalities in town would
gather to kick up their heels and have a good time to the music of Uncle Kiddo and his long-time
partner, Uncle Micky—the late Michael Mathews.
The aim was to give the audience an idea of what the atmosphere of the old days was like, so
mitch set about recruiting members of her family and the community to dress up and recreate
the atmosphere in the old hall and everyone pitched in enthusiastically to help.
mitch invited young musicians to play the roles of Uncle Kiddo and his friends in their younger
days in short reenactments. These recall Uncle Kiddo’s delightful memories, including the way
they used to sneak around the old hall and listen to the music and then go home whistling the
tunes, and the time he "borrowed" his dad’s harmonica before he had the money to buy his
own.
Some of the film's most entertaining moments come from a wide selection of archival film and
photos unearthed by mitch during research and the way that editor Jeff Bruer has blended these
into Uncle Kiddo’s stories, giving a sense not only of the musical past, but the tough periods
Uncle Kiddo endured.
"We were very lucky getting film of Uncle Kiddo and Uncle Micky from outtakes of Lord of the
Bush, a film made by Tom Zubrycki years ago,” says Rod Freedman. “We’re able to see and
hear the relaxed ‘back porch’ style of music that Uncle Kiddo and Uncle Micky made with just
harmonica and ukulele. An interview with Uncle Micky was a wonderful find as we thought when
we first started that we’d only have still photos of the two of them together.
"It seemed an obvious choice that mitch should narrate the film as this is her home town and
she is so familiar with the people, the history and things that people had to overcome to become
accepted by the broader society. We decided that mitch should guide the audience through the
various historical periods and tell them about the social mores and conventions that held people
so rigidly in their place. Thankfully, these have broken down over the years but that they were in
place so recently may surprise many people.
"For example, Uncle Kiddo recalls having to duck behind the piano when playing because the
police would come in and check that there were no blacks in the pub. As soon as they’d gone,
he’d pop out and take up playing again!”
The filmmakers have succeeded in portraying the wonderful humour and achievements of a
person like Uncle Kiddo, who has what many more rich and famous people may never have—
the love and true respect of his own community.
EVERYDAY BRAVE
SALTWATER BLUESMAN -Uncle Kiddo Taylor
BIOGRAPHIES
Macumba Media Enterprises
Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd is one of Australia's leading producers of communications
on Indigenous issues and is the only one controlled by an Aboriginal person with traditional
knowledge. Established in Adelaide in 1986, it has become one of the oldest and most
successful Aboriginal video producers in the private sector with a broad range of corporate
productions to its credit.
The company was the first Indigenous production house to be established in South Australia—
and the only one to be accepted onto the South Australian Film Corporation’s list of approved
Government contractors.
Macumba's creative philosophy is education through entertainment, focusing on positive images
and the promotion of cross-cultural understanding. Although Indigenous Australians are
employed wherever possible, each project has its own needs, and crew members from the
wider community are also engaged as required.
Macumba Media's most recent television program is Wrap Me Up in Paperbark, screened in
November 1999 and June 2000 as part of the second National Indigenous Documentary Series.
It also produced the pilot for the Everyday Brave series, Saltwater Bluesman.
John Macumba
Executive Producer, Macumba Media Enterprises
John Macumba is one of the pioneers of Indigenous media in Australia. As a radio broadcaster
in Alice Springs in the late 1970s, he was one of the first Aboriginal voices on the public
airwaves. He was the prime mover behind the establishment of CAAMA in 1981–82, and then—
as a consultant under contract to the ABC—he went on to set up Umeewarra Media in Port
Augusta in 1989.
John was a member of the Ministerial Task Force on Remote Broadcasting in 1982 and a
consultant to the Dix Committee's Review of Public Broadcasting in the same year. He was the
Founding Chairman of the National Aboriginal and Islander Broadcasting Association (NAIBA),
which was the forerunner to National Indigenous Media Association (NIMAA).
John set up Macumba Media Enterprises Pty Ltd in 1986, as a private venture. His efforts in
developing and promoting Indigenous media were recognised by NIMAA in 1995 when he
received a Lifetime Achievement Award (one of the few occasions that this award has been
made). He received another NIMAA award in 1999 in recognition of his services to Indigenous
media.
Rod Freedman
Series producer and producer
Rod Freedman has over 20 years' film and television experience as a multi-skilled producer,
director, production manager, researcher and writer. After starting his career at Film Australia,
he has worked for the past 15 years in the independent sector. As both producer and director,
he has won numerous Australian and international awards.
In 1998 Rod formed his own company, Change Focus Media. As well as directing and
producing corporate videos, he has produced a half-hour documentary, Wrap Me Up In
Paperbark for Macumba Media Enterprises for the ABC and was the producer, director and
writer of Uncle Chatzkel, an award-winning one-hour Film Australia documentary. He has
recently produced and directed One Last Chance - War Criminal, which has won three awards
in the United States.
Rod is currently producing and directing the ninth series in Film Australia’s Australian Biography
project.
Jeffrey Bruer
Producer
Jeffrey Bruer is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and editor. He has worked on all Macumba
Media Productions since 1988 and edited most of them. The documentaries he has edited
and/or written have won many awards, including a Gold Mobie for Women Heal Women in
1995, two Human Rights Awards for Maria and The Raid, a Dendy Award for Maria and an AFI
Award for Witch Hunt. He was associate producer/editor on Wrap Me Up in Paperbark for
Macumba Media Enterprises (ABC-TV), and co-producer and editor on Saltwater Bluesman, the
pilot for Everyday Brave.
His recent projects include a documentary on opera singer Yvonne Kenny and the Film
Australia National Interest Program Welcome to the Waks Family.
mitch torres
Writer
mitch torres has extensive experience as a director, writer, journalist and radio broadcaster as
well as a thorough knowledge of her hometown, Broome. She recently completed a half-hour
documentary Bungarun Orchestra, which will screen on ABC-TV. Her film Jijas gotta voice
(Sisters got a voice), about the centenary of women's suffrage, will tour as part of an exhibition.
SALTWATER BLUESMAN - Uncle Kiddo Taylor
Credits
Written and Directed by
MITCH TORRES
Produced by
JEFFREY BRUER
ROD FREEDMAN
Director of Photography
JASON RAMP
Sound & Additional Camera
JEFFREY BRUER
Editor
JEFFREY BRUER
Production Assistant
ANGELA ALBUQUERQUE
Grip and Unit Manager
ARNHEM HUNTER
Production Stills
PAT TORRES
Production Facilities
CHANGE FOCUS MEDIA
Audio Mix
TONY WEBB
PHOENIX AUDIO
Online
BONDI EDIT COMPANY
VISUALEYES
Legals
BRETT OATEN SOLICITORS
Archival Photographs
BROOME HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM
BATTYE LIBRARY
MARIA MANN
PHILLIP DOLBY
Archival Footage
FILM AUSTRALIA
SCREENSOUND AUSTRALIA
BATTYE LIBRARY - STUART GORE
COLLECTION
Additional Footage
Roger Hudson - The Tides of Broome
(DOP - Phil Bull)
Tom Zubrycki - Lord of the Bush
Peter Strain - What Time Low Tide
Des Raymond & Paul Roberts
Buffalo Legends
Original Music
CHRIS TAYLOR & MICHAEL MATHEWS
"It’s A Sin To Tell A Lie"
Composed by BILLY MAYHEW
© 1936 Bregman Vocco & Conn Inc USA
Francis Day & Hunter Ltd London
"Everybody Looking For Kuckles"
Written by KUCKLES
Published by BMG Music
‘Saltwater Bluesman’
Lyrics DAVID & STEPHEN PIGRAM
Music A., D., G., P. & S. PIGRAM / P. MAMID
© 1997 BMG Music Publishing / Control
© 1997 Jigil Records
"Yellow Bird"
"Slamat Tingal" & "No No Mani"
(Traditional) Performed by
C. TAYLOR, S. PIGRAM, E. PIGRAM
"Bran Nue Day"
Written By JIMMY CHI & MICHAEL MANOLIS
Published by BMG Music
"Seeds That You Might Sow"
"Is You My Baby" & "Iwanj Girl"
Composed by JIMMY CHI
Published by BMG Music
Musicians
ALAN PIGRAM .. PATRICK BIN AHMAT
STEPHEN PIGRAM STEPHEN ALBERT
TREVOR JAMIESON GEORGINA DODSON
Re-enactments
BRIAN SAABAN RAMI RAHMAN
ERIC PIGRAM PETRIS TORRES
"PUDDY" BIN AHMAT
ROBERT DANN
PAT TORRES JOSEPH ALBERT
With Special Thanks To
STEPHEN PIGRAM …AHMET FADEL
ERIC PIGRAM… MARGARET ROBINSON
ROBERT LEE…. MARY ANN MARTIN
BEV KINNEY ….DORIS MATHEWS
ALISON TORRES… PEARL HAMAGUCHI
ANSETT AUSTRALIA… MICHAEL MANOLIS
Series Titles
JANET MEREWETHER
Series Concept
DAVID JOWSEY & JOHN MACUMBA
Executive Producer
Macumba Media Enterprises
JOHN MACUMBA
Produced in association with
SBS Independent
Commissioning Editors
Jo-anne McGowan
Courtney Gibson
Produced with the assistance
of ScreenWest
and the Lotteries Commission
of Western Australia
This Project has been assisted by the
Commonwealth Government
through the Australia Council,
its arts funding and advisory body.
Australia Council for the Arts
A Film Australia Production
in association with
Macumba Media Enterprises
Series Producer
ROD FREEDMAN
Executive Producer
MARK HAMLYN
A National Interest Program
Film Australia © MMI
www.filmaust.com.au