''Lousy Little Sixpence'' is a 1983 Australian

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about Australian history that details the early years of the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church miss ...

and the struggle of

Aboriginal Australians 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 ...

against the

Aboriginal Protection Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...

in the 1930s. The film's title references the amount of pocket money that Aboriginal children were to be paid for their forced labour, although few ever received it.

Overview

''Lousy Little Sixpence'' begins with the testimonies of survivors of the Stolen Generations who were born in the early 1900s. Later, the film documents the work of

Jack Patten John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist. Biography John Patten was born in 1905 to John James Patten and Christina Mary Patten, née Middleton, at Cummeragunja Res ...

and the

Aborigines Progressive Association The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was an Aboriginal Australian rights organisation in New South Wales that was founded and run by William Ferguson and Jack Patten from 1937 to 1944, and was then revived from 1963 until around 1970 by ...

in the 1930s, and ends with the

Day of Mourning A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...

on 26 January 1938, which marked 150 years of European settlement in Australia.

Production

''Lousy Little Sixpence'' took three years to research and produce. In the early stages of production, the film's producers Alec Morgan and Gerry Bostock travelled through

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

while receiving unemployment benefits, looking for information on the Stolen Generations to include such as newspaper articles, films and photographs. The film screened for six weeks at

Dendy cinemas Dendy Cinema Pty Limited is an Australian cinema chain. Dendy operates in Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. Its main competitors are Hoyts, Village, Event, Wallis Cinemas, Palace Cinemas and Reading. It is a subsidiary of Icon Prod ...

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 ...

Cast

Margaret Tucker Margaret Lilardia Tucker MBE (28 March 1904 – 23 August 1996) was an Aboriginal Australian activist and writer who was among the first Aboriginal authors to publish an autobiography, in 1977. Early life Margaret Tucker was born at War ...

as herself *Bill Reid as himself *Geraldine Briggs as herself *Flo Caldwell as herself *Violet Shea as herself *

Chicka Dixon Charles "Chicka" Dixon (5 May 1928 – 10 March 2010) was an Australian Aboriginal activist and leader. He was active in campaigns around the 1967 referendum and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, dedicating his life to the fight for basic human rig ...

as Narrator

References

External links

*
Lousy Little Sixpence
at Oz Movies {{Films and television series about Aboriginal Australia Films set in New South Wales Films set in Victoria (Australia) 1983 films 1983 documentary films Australian documentary films Documentary films about Aboriginal Australians Stolen Generations 1980s English-language films

Overview

Production

Cast

See also

References

External links