Eureka Stockade (1949 film)

Plot

An introductory montage establishes Australia of a hundred years ago – a place of both wealth and poverty, transformed by the discovery of gold in 1851. This causes a massive drain in manpower which puts a strain on the country. The Victorian governor appoints an army officer, Reid, commissioner of the goldfields and orders him to tax the miners via licences, and to keep law and order.

In 1854 Ballarat, civil engineer Peter Lalor arrives to prospect for gold with his Italian friend Rafaello Carboni. They discover the license fee system is strictly enforced. The miners are upset at the conditions under which they work. Lalor and Carboni befriend a Scottish sailor, Tom, and Lalor meets a school teacher, Alicia, and the two begin a romance.

Governor La Trobe resigns and Governor Hotham arrives, ordering Reid to force people off the gold fields in order to encourage them back to other jobs. Things get militant on the goldfields after the murder of miner James Scobie by James Bentley goes unpunished. The miners riot, despite Lalor's efforts and burn down Bentley's hotel. Governor Hotham sends in the military to keep the peace.

The miners form the Ballarat Reform League and Lalor emerges as their leader. They rally under the Eureka Flag.

Lalor and the miners arm themselves and make camp at the Eureka Stockade. The rebellion is overpowered by the English army. Many of the miners are killed and Lalor is injured, ultimately having to have his arm amputated. However the reforms wanted by the miners are ultimately pushed through and Lalor is elected to Parliament.

Production

Following the success of The Overlanders, Ealing announced plans to make one film in Australia a year, the first one to be Eureka Stockade starring Chips Rafferty. It was intended that production of the film would be on a more expensive, organised basis than The Overlanders.

Leslie Norman later claimed Watt wanted to make the film because he "was a great socialist".

Script

The script was derived from an original research document prepared by Australian writer Rex Rienits, who was later given the credit "research". Watt said this in itself was too long to make a film script and that Australians were not good film script writers, as they were too influenced by radio. Accordingly, Watt brought Walter Greenwood, author of Love on the Dole, out to Australia to work on the script.

Production of the movie triggered inevitable historical controversies. Various historical societies claimed ownership of the original Eureka flag. The design of the flag used in the film differs from the original Eureka flag. Peter Lalor's great-grandson complained about Chips Rafferty's casting, claiming he was nothing like Lalor.

Shooting

Production was threatened when Actor's Equity placed a black ban on film contracts issued by Ealing Studios, Columbia Pictures Ltd. and Charles Chavel.

Interiors were shot at Pagewood and Cinesound studios, which were completely refurbished to make the film. A great deal of work in particular had to be done on Pagewood, which had fallen into disrepair during the war. Because the country around Ballarat was no longer suitable, an alternative location was found in a valley near Singleton, New South Wales. A complete township was constructed, including buildings and mineshafts.

Shooting was scheduled to begin in September 1947 but was delayed for two months due to uncertainty about the film's classification as a "British" film. The British government had introduced a tax on film hire revenue earned by foreign films and for a time it was feared that Eureka Stockade would fall under this ambit. Ealing had to import a large number of British cast and crew to ensure its classification as a British film, which caused the budget to increase. It is estimated £20,000 of equipment was imported from England, and over 1,500 people worked on the film.

Shooting began on 19 November 1947. The unit had encountered a great deal of unfavourable weather, particularly rain and intense heat, forcing them to quickly get behind schedule. A member of the crew was involved in a car accident with a retired policeman in which the latter was killed. From 19 December to 4 January the unit moved to Cinesound studios, then returning to Singleton.

During filming Watt was dissatisfied with Chips Rafferty's performance; Leslie Norman suggested they replace him with Peter Finch who had a small support role. Watt ultimately decided not to do this and always regretted it.

Two crew members were married on the location, with Watt giving the bride away. Cast member Cecil Perry was arrested for getting drunk and taking off all his clothes in a public street. Female star Jane Barrett was hospitalised for a few days after an insect bite. A wardrobe assistant on the film, Richard Mason went on to have a successful career in Australian film as a producer.

Exterior shooting was completed in May 1948 with interiors done by August. The budget eventually blew out from £160,000 to £200,000

The final budget of £200,000 was the same amount Ealing had intended to spend on six films shot over two years in Australia. There were rumours that this would be Ealing's swan song. However the studio initially said they were happy with the footage and bought Pagewood Studios off Cinesound Productions with a view of making it a base for their future Australian operations.

Reception

The movie was given a gala premiere in Sydney. However it was not as well received as The Overlanders, either critically or with the public.

Ealing wound back its Australian production plans, including a proposed version of Robbery Under Arms. However, they did make three more movies in the country: Bitter Springs (1950), The Shiralee (1957) and The Siege of Pinchgut (1959).

Alternate title

An abridged version of the film was released in the United States of America under the title, Massacre Hill.