“Quorn Mercury”  Sept. 7, 1950

MAKING A FILM

(BY MICHAEL DAVENPORT)

South Australians and particularly the northern people are gratified at the decision to make a Technicolor film of the cattle industry, with a location in the lower Flinders Ranges.

The site on the western side of the ranges was probably chosen owing to the wider open spaces and other amenities. If the early summer be stormy, it is possible that some of the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets to be seen in Australia will be enjoyed. A dust storm, as was quite frequent early in the century would be an awe-inspiring sight.

As  one who knows much of the early settlement of this particular stretch of country, it will be interesting to see how the story is handled. To my knowledge only two properties only two properties are still held by the families who originally selected them in the early 80s  of the last [19^th] century. They are, firstly, Mr M. Fitzgerald, whose property adjoins the large pastoral holdings about 20 miles north of Stirling [North]. Mr Fitzgerald is undoubtedly the man with the longest experience of local conditions.

Mr C. Michael is the other man who carries on the land selected originally by Messrs. C and J. H. Michael when the Hundred of Davenport was opened for closer settlement. These two men – my father and uncle – arrived with bullock drays containing their goods and chattels, to be joined later by my mother, who took up residence in a little lean-to home.

Cattle were run on the land. I well remember the task of drawing water with a whip when the dams had dried up in the summertime. A boy had to lead the horse and a man had to land the 30-gallon bucket. It was notorious how the cattle drank greedily the fresh water from the 100 ft well. With three wells on the property, two teams were necessary.

A very dry winter was in progress and the brothers decided to shoot the calves to give the cows an opportunity to survive the dry time. They shot one calf and put a bullet through a cows leg; after a consultation, it was decided that the job was too cold blooded and the rifles were put away. In a few days copious rains fell and all was well again.

A mild sensation was caused in those early days when a man in his camp at the foothills defied arrest. For days he held the police at bay until finally his tent had been levelled to the ground. The unfortunate man turned the gun upon himself and took his own life.

The seasons changed, the surface of the earth altered, and cattle gave way to other means of production. A series of turbulent seasons with the turn of the century, set much of the plain drifting, then the ingenuity of man got the land under control. The pioneering days had ended. Families were growing up and movies elsewhere.

Nature has been kind in recent years and the land is again covered with its natural covering of shrubs and bushes. Our pioneers are worthy of the best that film producers can depict. Out of a country unknown they built their homes, reared their families, and then passed on.

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