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Sons of Matthew: NFSA digital restoration
Title:
Sons of Matthew: NFSA digital restoration
Year
1949
Sons of Matthew is a legendary film in the history of Australian cinema.
It is arguably Charles Chauvel's most personal and ambitious work and took 18 months to complete, with filming in Queensland affected by flooding and heavy rain.
It was a huge success with local audiences when it opened in December 1949, and was also released in the UK and US (as The Rugged O'Riordans).
The film pays tribute to the pioneering farmers of northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland. Chauvel's family had roots in this area and he worked on cattle stations while he was growing up.
In this clip from the NFSA digital restoration completed in 2017, the cattle have broken out of their pens during a cyclonic storm. Cathie (played by Wendy Gibb) is riding after them when a falling tree knocks her from her horse. Shane (Michael Pate) rushes into the forest in search of her.
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.