1996 VHS • Great Train Journeys of Australia: The Indian Pacific 60 FPS

About

Great Train Journeys of Australia: The Indian Pacific is a documentary following a complete crossing of Australia aboard the Indian Pacific, the passenger train that links Sydney on the Pacific Ocean to Perth on the Indian Ocean, a distance of 2,715 miles completed in approximately 65 hours. The film was produced by Ryans National and is structured as an experiential journey rather than a conventional travel documentary, weaving passenger interviews, crew perspectives, and landscape narration throughout.

The program begins at Central Station in Sydney, describing the logistics of servicing and re-crewing the Indian Pacific's approximately 20 cars and 1,000 tons of stainless steel and aluminum. Passenger interviews establish a range of motivations for traveling by train rather than by air: the desire to see the country at ground level, the value of train time as part of the journey rather than transit to it, and the social experience of shared dining in the Queen Adelaide restaurant. Crew members including conductor Glenn, train manager Ralph Hazard, and kitchen staff are interviewed about working life on the train. The documentary notes that the Indian Pacific carries cultural significance for Australians as a physical link between the two coasts.

The train climbs through Sydney's suburbs into the Blue Mountains, described geologically and historically. The Great Zigzag, an 1860s engineering feat that allowed early trains to descend into the Lithgow Valley through a Z-shaped track cut into the cliff face, is described by a retired railway worker who began as a cleaner in the steam era. The current route uses ten tunnels. The highest point on the line at 3,582 feet above sea level is noted, along with the 1813 crossing by Wentworth, Blaxland, and Lawson. The Katoomba Skyway, originally an ore carrier and now a tourist attraction, and the Scenic Railway, built in the 1880s to haul coal and now operated for tourism, are described. Passenger anecdotes cover the experience of sleeping on the train, the social dynamics of assigned dining seats, and the communal effect of the journey on conversation.

After nightfall, the train passes Orange, birthplace of poet Banjo Paterson who wrote Waltzing Matilda, and the program narrates the ballad's story. By morning the landscape has flattened into the beginning of the outback. The train passes through Menindee, described in the Barkindji language as meaning many waters, and the program discusses the Menindee Lakes, the Darling River, and the wedge-tailed eagle as a species that was hunted as vermin until recently and is now protected. A segment covers the Aboriginal heritage of the region at Mutawintji, a ceremonial site with hand-stencil rock art described by an Indigenous guide, along with the use of native medicinal plants. The train stops at Broken Hill, designated Silver City, built on the largest lead-zinc deposit ever found, requiring a time zone adjustment. The town of Silverton, used as a film location for the Mad Max series, and local artist Pro Hart are profiled.

Human-made No record of this work says a model made it. What this means.

Archive

Internet Archive, in The VHS Vault

Licence or status

The Internet Archive states none for this item.

Credit

The Vista Group®

Language

English

Subtitles

English (automatic)

Who can watch

The archive gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from its collection and subjects. How films are placed