Australian Western, also known as meat pie Western or kangaroo Western, is a broad genre of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

-style films or TV series set in the Australian outback or "

the bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this a ...

". Films about

bushrangers Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery unde ...

(sometimes called bushranger films) are included in this genre. Some films categorised as meat-pie or Australian Westerns also fulfil the criteria for other genres, such as

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of th ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

or thriller. A sub-genre of the Australian Western, the Northern, has been coined by the makers of ''

High Ground High ground is an area of elevated terrain, which can be useful in combat. The military importance of the high ground has been recognized for over 2,000 years, citing early examples from China and other early-dynastic cultures who regularly engag ...

'' (2020), to describe a film set in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

that accurately depicts historical events in a fictionalised form, that has aspects of a thriller. The term "

meat pie A meat pie is a pie with a filling of meat and often with other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, fried, or deep fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the Maillard reaction. M ...

Western" is a play on the term Spaghetti Western, used for Italian-made Westerns. Since Westerns are a genre associated with the United States, the food qualifiers indicate the origin of other cultures that play with the characteristics of the genre. Historically some Australian westerns were made specifically with the influence of US westerns in mind. The Ealing Westerns, made in Australia, are particular examples of this, though they depict

Australian history The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. Aboriginal Australians, People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and ...

. One connection has been the parallel between the two

native people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, and their treatment by settlers and the white colonial people. In the case of Australia,

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 Isl ...

, and in the US, the Native Americans. Cattle ranches and vast tracks of land are both similar themes, being borrowed from US westerns and used in Australia, in particular the movie '' The Overlanders'' (1946).

History

Terminology

The definition of what is an Australian Western (i.e. taking its influence from US cinema) and what is simply an Australian historical film set in the era that covers similar themes, is fluid. Cinema about bushrangers, which some regard as Australian westerns, goes back to some of the first Australian feature films. Ned Kelly, as subject of a feature film, was first made in 1906, in ''

The Story of the Kelly Gang ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' is a 1906 Australian bushranger film that traces the exploits of 19th-century bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang. It was directed by Charles Tait and shot in and around the city of Melbourne. The origin ...

''. The British company Ealing Studios, made a number of Westerns in Australian in the 1940s and '50s, including ''The Overlanders'' (1942), about a cattle driver, which was marketed in Australia as a drama, but marketed overseas as an "Australian Western". It starred Australian actor

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

and was successful at the box office. Another British film production house, Rank, made

Robbery Under Arms ''Robbery Under Arms'' is a bushranger novel by Thomas Alexander Browne, published under his pen name Rolf Boldrewood. It was first published in serialised form by ''The Sydney Mail'' between July 1882 and August 1883, then in three volumes i ...

in 1957. One of the prominent post-war productions made in Australia was the technicolour Western,

Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

. This was a big budget (800,000 pounds) film made by 20th Century Fox in 1952, starring imported stars Maureen O'Hara and

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary '' Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and se ...

Mad Dog Morgan ''Mad Dog Morgan'' is a 1976 Australian bushranger film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil. It is based upon the life of Dan Morgan. Plot Dan Morgan witnesses the (fictitious) bloody massa ...

, was made in the 1970s, carrying western themes along with

Ozploitation Ozploitation films are exploitation films – a category of low-budget horror, comedy, sexploitation and action films – made in Australia after the introduction of the R rating in 1971. The year also marked the beginnings of the Australian ...

cinema The term "Kangaroo Western" is used in an article about ''The Man from Snowy River'' (1982) in that year, and

Stuart Cunningham Stuart Cunningham (born 1953) is Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Communication and Media Studies at QUT. Biography He is a Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Queensland University of Technology, and Former ...

refers to Charles Chauvel’s '' Greenhide'' (1926) as a “Kangaroo Western” in 1989. Grayson Cooke attributes the first use of the term "meat-pie Western" to Eric Reade in his ''History and Heartburn'' (1979), referring to Russell Hagg's ''Raw Deal'' (1977). This term is again used in 1981 in an ''

Australian Women's Weekly ''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by th ...

'' column by

John-Michael Howson John-Michael Howson (born 8 August 1936) is an Australian writer, reporter, entertainer and Melbourne radio commentator. His involvement in the Australian entertainment scene as a writer, producer and performer spans more than 50 years. Earl ...

(about a film planned to be made in Australia by

James Komack James Komack (August 3, 1924 – December 24, 1997) was an American television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for producing several hit television series, including ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'', '' Chico and ...

, but apparently never made). Howson compares the term to the "Spaghetti Western". Historian Troy Lennon (2018) says that meat pie Westerns have been around for more than a century. Cooke (2014) posits that the Australian Western genre never developed a "classic" or mature phase. He lists the following as broad categories: "the early bushranger and bush adventure films; Westerns shot in Australia by foreign production studios; contemporary re-makes of bushranger films; and contemporary revisionist Westerns, noting that most fall into the bushranger category (with only '' The Tracker'' and '' The Proposition'' falling into the latter category at that time). Other recent films, such as

Ivan Sen Ivan Sen (born 1972) is an Indigenous Australian filmmaker. He is a director, screenwriter and cinematographer, as well as an editor, composer and sound designer. He is co-founder and director of Bunya Productions. Early life Ivan Sen was bor ...

's '' Mystery Road'' (2013), a crime film, also uses some of the Western themes. Emma Hamilton, of the University of Newcastle, refers to the Australian Western, kangaroo Western and meat-pie Western as alternative terms, in her exploration of the development of the Western genre in Australia comparing film representations of Ned Kelly. She refers to the work of Cooke and other writers, paraphrasing Peter Limbrick's view that the Western is basically "about societies making sense of imperial-colonial relationships", and considers the parallels between American and Australian histories. Hamilton lists a number of films which can be termed Australian Westerns by virtue of being set in Australia but maintaining elements of American Western conventions. The list includes, amongst many others, ''

'' (1920), ''

Captain Fury ''Captain Fury'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Hal Roach. It is set in colonial Australia as one of Hollywood's few attempts to depict Australian history.' Plot In the 1840s, Captain Michael Fury (Brian Aherne) is an Irish patri ...

'' (1939), ''

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

'' (1949) and '' The Shiralee'' (1957). Director Stephen Johnson and his team of filmmakers dubbed their creation, ''

'', set in the

, a "Northern". Johnson said "We really feel it's a film that immerses the audience in a time and place and that perhaps hasn't happened in this way before", and producer Witiyana Marika called it a "northern action thriller". The feature fiction film is based on many stories of the First Nations people of Arnhem Land that are not told in the history books. Johnson also said "There's a thriller aspect to it. It's not a Western, it's a Northern".

Films

'' (1906) could be said to be the first in the genre (and possibly the world's first feature film), with "good guys, bad guys, gunfights ndhorseback chases". In 1911 and 1912, the state governments of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

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 ...

all banned depictions of bushrangers in films, which lasted for about 30 years and at first had a significantly deleterious effect on the Australian film industry. Films in the Western genre continued to be made through the rest of the 20th century, many with Hollywood collaboration (such as ''

Rangle River ''Rangle River'' is a 1936 Australian Western film directed by Clarence G. Badger based on a story by Zane Grey. Synopsis Marion Hastings returns to her father Dan's cattle property in western Queensland after being away in Europe for fifteen ...

'' based on a

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

novel in 1936), and some

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(such as the

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

' ''The Overlanders'' in 1946). ''

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...

'' (1970) and ''

The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...

'' (1982) were the most notable examples of the genre in the second half of the century. Some films in the genre, such as '' Red Hill'', '' The Proposition'', and '' Sweet Country'', re-examine the treatment of

and focus on racism and sexism in

, with the latter two of these being successful with both critics and

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fr ...

. A range of modern westerns have been made since 1990.

, Australia's most famous bank robber, features, with two films, ''Ned Kelly'' made in 2003 and The ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' in 2019., also '' The Legend of Ben Hall'' in 2017 and as well as ''The Tracker'' in 2002. '' The Proposition'', made in 2005, is an anti western, and was influenced by Robert Altman and

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic '' The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institut ...

's anti western work The 2008 film '' Australia'' is an epic western which concocts other genres such as adventure, action, drama, war and romance. Sweet Country, about settlers incursions into the Australian First Nation's people (once again following similar themes to settlers encroaching on Native Americans) was made in 2017.Leigh, S., Morris, H., & Thornton, W. (2017). Warwick Thornton discusses his new film, an Australian western called Sweet Country: A new Australian film that hasn’t even been released let’s already generating Oscar buzz. 7.30, 2017(1206). https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/tvnews.tsm201712060103 (Original work published 6 December 2017)

Examples

*''

'' (1906) *''

'' (1936) *''

'' (1939) *'' The Overlanders'' (1946) *''

'' (1949) *'' Sons of Matthew'' (1949) *'' The Kangaroo Kid'' (1950) *''

'' (1952) *'' The Phantom Stockman'' (1953) *'' The Sundowners'' (1960) *'' Shadow of the Boomerang'' (1960) *''

Whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...

'' (1960–61) – TV series *''

'' (1970) *'' Rush'' (1974–76) – TV series *'' Cash and Company'' (1975) – TV series *''

Inn of the Damned ''Inn of the Damned'' is a 1975 Australian western horror film, directed by Terry Bourke. It has been called Australia's first "horror Western". Plot In 1896, a crazed woman and her husband run an inn in eastern Victoria and take revenge for t ...

'' (1975) *''

'' (1976) *'' Tandarra'' (1976) – TV series *'' Raw Deal'' (1977) *''

Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic action film series and media franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with '' Mad Max'', and was followed by three sequels: ''Mad Max 2'' (1981, released in the Unite ...

'' (1979) *''

'' (1982) *''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gu ...

'' (1983–85) – TV series *'' The Man from Snowy River II'' (1988) *''

Quigley Down Under ''Quigley Down Under'' is a 1990 western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman, and Laura San Giacomo. Plot Matthew Quigley is an American cowboy with a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately ...

'' (1990) *'' The Tracker'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *'' The Proposition'' (2005) *'' Luck Country'' (2009) *''

The Outlaw Michael Howe ''The Outlaw Michael Howe'' is a 2013 Australian historical drama film written and directed by Brendan Cowell. Set in the early 19th century, the film is based on the exploits of Michael Howe, an Englishman who was transported as a convict to ...

'' (2013) – TV film *'' Mystery Road'' (2013) *'' The Rover'' (2014) *'' The Legend of Ben Hall'' (2016) *'' Goldstone'' (2016) *'' Sweet Country'' (2017) *'' The Nightingale'' (2018) *''

True History of the Kelly Gang ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' is a novel by Australian writer Peter Carey, based loosely on the history of the Kelly Gang. It was first published in Brisbane by the University of Queensland Press in 2000. It won the 2001 Booker Prize an ...

'' (2019) *''

'' (2020)

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{Film genres , state=collapsed * Cinema of Australia Film genres Western (genre) films by genre Western (genre) staples and terminology Australian outback