Osaka, March 1970. Japanese crowds rush to the opening of World Expo and Australia is on show. It’s all bronzed surfers, bikini-clad blondes, sheep shearers and Driza-Bones, projected from 10 giant screens in the Australian pavilion. This footage opens Australia: An Unofficial History, a new three-part documentary starting on SBS on Wednesday night.
Such was the World Expo 70’s success that Australia’s Liberal government decided to recruit a team of film-makers with a tightly controlled remit: to create an official portrait of Australia on celluloid to sell across the globe. Agriculture, immigration, business, leisure, employment: the official footage that came out of the Commonwealth Film Unit showed a carefree, young, white – and invariably masculine, unless a bikini was required – nation.
