''Bush Mechanics'' is a humorous 2001 television

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

series directed by David Batty and Francis Jupurrurla Kelly and produced by the Warlpiri Media Association (now Pintubi Anmatjere Warlpiri (PAW) Media), featuring an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

take on

motor mechanic An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...

s, since described as "iconic". The film starred

Warlpiri people The Warlpiri, sometimes referred to as Yapa, are a group of Aboriginal Australians defined by their Warlpiri language, although not all still speak it. There are 5,000–6,000 Warlpiri, living mostly in a few towns and settlements scattered thr ...

and was filmed in and around

Yuendumu Yuendumu is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia, northwest of Alice Springs on the Tanami Road, within the Central Desert Region local government area. It ranks as one of the larger remote communities in central Australia, and has a t ...

, a large mainly

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

town in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia. A touring exhibition based on the series toured Australian museums from 2018 to 2019, with a book published to accompany it in 2017.

Description

''Bush Mechanics'' is a four-part television series directed by David Batty and Francis Jupurrurla Kelly, and produced by the Warlpiri Media Association, released in 2001. A

bush mechanic A bush mechanic (Australian slang) is somebody who out of necessity and with immediate available materials, is able to solve practical problems using sometimes untraditional and inventive techniques. Generally an inventive technique is required du ...

, in Australian parlance, is someone who uses unorthodox techniques and readily available materials to build or fix mechanical problems. The television show features Aboriginal ( Warlpiri) people from

, in the

, fixing cars as they travel through

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...

. As they traverse the desert in their dilapidated vehicles, the series follows how they solve multiple car problems with inventive, wacky and unpredictable

bush Bush commonly refers to: * Shrub, a small or medium woody plant Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to: People * Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name **Bush family, a prominent American family that includes: *** ...

repair techniques. The characters include Jack Jakamarra, an

Aboriginal elder Australian Aboriginal elders are highly respected people within Australia and their respective Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. An Elder has been defined as "someone who has gained recognition as a custodian of knowledge and l ...

who introduces the episodes by recalling some of his first encounters with white people and their ways, and Jupurrula, the "magic mechanic" who seems to appear out of nowhere to help the Bush Mechanics when they're in real trouble. The television series was made after an initial half-hour documentary, which garnered international recognition. It consisted of four subsequent episodes, first broadcast by

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

(Australia) from 2 October 2001 to December 2001. The episodes were: # Motorcar Ngutju (Good Motorcar) # Payback # The Chase # The Rainmakers The series is notable for being one of the first media to be in an

Aboriginal Australian language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

, as much of the dialogue is in Warlpiri and Kriol.

Episodes

Episode One involved a

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

with the band's equipment on the roof. Since the car was very old, the back half collapsed. They then removed the roof of the car with an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

, turned it upside down, and tied it to the back of the car, loaded the items from the roof onto the same roof and then used it as a trailer behind the car. They continued down the sandy

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

dragging the roof behind them.

Reception

Describe as one of the most original and popular television series produced in Australia, and "iconic", the series afterwards became a bestselling DVD.

Awards

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

Open Craft Award, to Francis Jupurrula Kelly, for the original concept.

Exhibition and book

An exhibition based on the series was developed by the National Motor Museum (a museum of the

History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and publi ...

) and Pintubi Anmatjere Warlpiri (PAW) Media, in 2018. It was mounted at the

Melbourne Museum The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens, Melbourne, Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia. Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of t ...

from 9 to 15 March 2018 before touring the country, finishing at the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

from 6 December 2018 to 24 February 2019. A book entitled ''Bush mechanics: from Yuendumu to the world'', by Mandy Paul, was published in 2017 to accompany the exhibition. (Worldcat entry)

References

External links

* {{Films and television series about Indigenous Australia Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming 2000s Australian documentary television series Australian Aboriginal bushcraft Indigenous Australian television series Television shows set in the Northern Territory 2001 Australian television series debuts 2001 Australian television series endings Warlpiri people Culture of the Northern Territory