''Desperate Measures'' is an Australian television documentary series of historical and political matters relating to

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

, with three series that aired on

National Indigenous Television National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

(NITV) between 2013 and 2018.

Overview

''Desperate measures'' tells the stories of Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...

people who have been part of political movements and/or who have made an impact on

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

policies. Three series went to air on NITV: Series 1 in 2013; Series 2 in 2014; and Series 3 in 2017–18. The series is used as a reference in academic papers and on websites, such as Redfern Oral History, as well as being kept as video resources in academic libraries.

Episodes

Series 1

Series 1 consisted of the following episodes: * "

Coming of the Light All Saints Anglican Church is a heritage-listed church at Darnley Island, Torres Strait Island Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1919 to 1938. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. History Comi ...

", about the

people's celebration of the coming of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to their islands * "Through the Eyes of Lens with Merv Bishop" (photographer) * "

NAISDA The NAISDA Dance College (usually referred to as simply NAISDA) is a performing arts training college based in Kariong, New South Wales for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. It was established as the Aboriginal Islander S ...

with Monica Stevens" * "Gadigal" (interview with Lily Shearer about the Gadigal Information Service, owner of Koori Radio in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) * "1988 March for Justice, Freedom and Hope" (about the protest march against the

Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. History The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships ...

, organised by

Linda Burney Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...

and others) * "

Redfern All Blacks The Redfern All Blacks, also known as RABs or Redfern, are an Indigenous Australian semi-professional rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, They are a part of the South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League. History Redfe ...

", about the Indigenous Australian semi-professional rugby league club based in Redfern, Sydney * "Glanville Station with Glen Ellis" * " Kevin Gilbert" * "Black Tuesday with Janet Cox" * "Through the Lens with Barbara McGrady" (photographer) * "Payne St Life on the Fringe" * "Living with Two Laws" * "Opal Days" * "Faith, the Len Colbung Story" * "Black Panthers" * "

Kaurareg Kaurareg (alt. Kauraraiga, plural Kauraraigalai, Kauraregale) is the name for one of the Indigenous Australian groups collectively known as Torres Strait Islander peoples, although many or most identify as Aboriginal Australians. They are the ...

with Milton Savage" * "

Donald Thomson Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson, OBE (26 June 1901 – 12 May 1970) was an Australian anthropologist and ornithologist who was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a "decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-Europea ...

with Agnes Waramba" * "A Rare Gem: Coloured Stone" (about the band

Coloured Stone Coloured Stone is an Aboriginal Australian band whose members originate from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong st ...

) * "Malaytown" (about

Malay Town Malay Town was the unofficial name for an area of Cairns in Australia. It was built around Alligator Creek by Malay workers in the early 1900s, but by the 1920s was mainly populated by Torres Strait Islanders, with many immigrant communities als ...

, a shanty town on the outskirts of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

in the 1930s and 1940s) * "Jambi with Elaine Terrick"

References

External links

''Desperate Measures''
on

SBS on Demand SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...

{{authority control 2013 Australian television series debuts 2013 Australian television series endings 2010s Australian documentary television series Indigenous peoples of Australia