
This clip from Mystery Road (Ivan Sen, 2013) features First Nations detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen), a stoic and reserved figure somewhat reminiscent of the classic Western hero. Jay is on a mission to solve the case of a murdered First Nations girl found in a culvert under a highway. While investigating the crime scene, he approaches a nearby homestead and questions the coarsely presented, raspy-voiced farmer (Sam Bailey, played by David Field). There ensues an unsavoury exchange that illuminates Bailey's deep-seated racism. Jay responds to the taunts with a mocking comment about the farmer's futile attempts to cultivate the dust and dirt of the outback.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.