Floods Ravage Australia
Series
- Series Name
- British Movietone News
Issue
Story
- Story No. within this Issue
- 6 / 6
- Summary
- MOVIETONE CARD TITLE: Australian Floods. DESCRIPTION: The most catastrophic floods in Australia’s history have caused tragic loss of life, and untold hardship over an enormous area in New South Wales. Dramatic pictures from Maitland are typical of the scene over a wide area of the stricken state. SHOTLIST: GV of the flood waters surging across a vast area of NSW. The camera pans round the town of Maitland. The shots consist of a bus negotiating violent currents of flood water and in the foreground there is what appears to be a water fall. In the centre of the town (obviously a high kerb or other road construction). A GV of the town’s main street under water. Cars partly submerged. A shot of a side street which joins the main street showing the high waters surging down it at incredible velocity. Then a boat (fairly large) with four men attempting to row or at least control it. Two men jump in the water in a effort to effect some sort of exterior control but without success. A very good shot (if slightly out of focus) looking down a side street, showing a CU of an Australian Movietone cameraman. CU of a drinking water fountain just peeping out of the water. Now some excellent shots of the airlift taken from the main street. A view towards the sky of an aircraft flying over, then from the door in the fuselage a crate appears and the camera pans the drop until it reaches the main street where it catches in the telegraph wires. Two repeat shots of this extraordinarily accurate dropping. Then some shots of people being evacuated. Some being carried by hand. Others being transported by lorries. These vehicles having great difficulty negotiating the violent waters. Now a shot of a horse (its back view set against some sort of roof). Then some chickens perched on a very early Austin 7 body which is just above water level. Then a dog swimming round a gate post into a front garden. Some shots from the Maitland Railway Bridge which was still standing. There are all sorts of wild creatures clinging to it including a very frightened looking mouse (all CUs). A shot showing the water rushing towards it carrying all sorts of refuge (old barrels, pieces of wood, cans etc). A final GV of the flood waters (repeat of key scene).
- Keywords
- Accidents and disasters
- Locations
- Australia; New South Wales; Maitland
- Footage sources
- Australia
- Card file number
- 63039
- Credits:
-
- Commentator
- Geoffrey Sumner
- Length of story (in feet)
- 285
-
Film clip
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- AP Archive
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