Beyond the Furthest Fences

Clip 1: The AIM nursing hostel, Birdsville

2 min 5 sec

Taken from the sponsored film Beyond the Furthest Fences (1947)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G

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Availability of the complete title

Please note: this clip is silent

Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.

Curator’s clip description

At the Australian Inland Mission nursing hostel in Birdsville, the AIM sisters alternate between nursing and domestic duties. One of the sisters treats a young girl who has an injured finger. She washes and dresses the girl’s hand. The sister then attends to a young boy by administering eye drops. On the hostel’s grounds another sister milks a goat, which provides the hostel with milk. Smoke tins – used to keep away the flies – are also shown.

Curator’s notes

The children being tended to in this clip probably came from the surrounding areas of Birdsville. When this film was made, Birdsville had a population of only 25 people but the town and its hostel serviced one of the richest cattle districts in the country.

Lauren Williams, curator

australian screen