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National Film and Sound Archive of AustraliaNational Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive
National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
National Film and Sound Archive

NFSA Restores: The Coolbaroo Club – Celebrities

1996

NFSA Restores: The Coolbaroo Club – Celebrities

1996

  • NFSA ID6QK4MST5
  • TypeFilm
  • MediumMoving Image
  • FormDocumentary
  • GenresDance, Indigenous themes or stories, Indigenous as subject
  • Year1996
  • WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons

An excerpt from the NFSA Restores version of documentary The Coolbaroo Club (1996), which mentions celebrity guests of the club including Nat 'King' Cole and The Harlem Globetrotters.

The Coolbaroo League began in Perth in 1946. It ran the Coolbaroo Club to give Aboriginal people a place of their own to gather.

The Coolbaroo Club’s popular dance nights were attended by Indigenous people from all over the city and from neighbouring camps and towns.

They also attracted Black musicians, performers and celebrities from all over the world, some of whom were barred from performing in other venues.

Read the story behind the award-winning documentary as told by guest contributor Stephen Kinnane, the co-writer and co-producer of The Coolbaroo Club (1996) and a Marda Marda from Miriwoong Country.

The NFSA restoration of The Coolbaroo Club premiered at the 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival.

  • WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following program may contain images and/or audio of deceased persons

An excerpt from the NFSA Restores version of documentary The Coolbaroo Club (1996), which mentions celebrity guests of the club including Nat 'King' Cole and The Harlem Globetrotters.

The Coolbaroo League began in Perth in 1946. It ran the Coolbaroo Club to give Aboriginal people a place of their own to gather.

The Coolbaroo Club’s popular dance nights were attended by Indigenous people from all over the city and from neighbouring camps and towns.

They also attracted Black musicians, performers and celebrities from all over the world, some of whom were barred from performing in other venues.

Read the story behind the award-winning documentary as told by guest contributor Stephen Kinnane, the co-writer and co-producer of The Coolbaroo Club (1996) and a Marda Marda from Miriwoong Country.

The NFSA restoration of The Coolbaroo Club premiered at the 2023 Melbourne International Film Festival.

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