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Theo Clark Media records the extraordinary things that ordinary people do. Here is a collection of previews and clips from some of my recent documentaries and shows recorded on video.
Alan Cardy's Rugby Story
Alan Cardy passed away before Christmas 2021. He was a champion sprinter, who converted his talents to rugby union, becoming Wallaby No. #496, and later played Rugby League with The Roosters. The crowd would “lean forward” when Alan got the ball and unleash his lightning pace. In this interview from 2017, he recalls the joy he felt at representing Australia, and has the last word on some of the highs and lows of his career, including the infamous 1968 Bledisloe series that saw the Colin Meads altercation with Ken Catchpole and the "Penalty Try Test". I recorded this interview for "Sometimes the Best Ever: The Story of the 1966/7 Wallabies". Order a copy of the full documentary here.
"We Had to Bloody Win": Kokoda Remembered by Fred Westphal.
Before Christmas 2018, Kokoda veteran Fred Westphal died in Sydney, aged 99. Nearly 80 years before, he had been in the jungles of New Guinea, fighting back the Japanese invasion force along the Kokoda Track. Not long before Fred passed away, I was invited to record his amazing story of growing up in Depression era Sydney, and going off to war, facing the Germans and Vichy French in the Middle East, then returning to take on the invading Japanese in New Guinea. In this excerpt of the film, Fred remembers Kokoda.
Sometimes the Best Ever: The Story of the 1966/7 Wallabies
The epic story of the 5th Wallaby tour of the British Isles, France and Canada, featuring rare footage and interviews with the men who built Australian rugby, including the last interview with the late great Ken Catchpole. This three part documenary shows all the drama and excitement of a Wallaby tour in rugby’s amateur heyday, and tells how a generation of players lit up the world stage with their football, forged life-long friendships, and then helped mastermind Australian rugby success for decades to come. Includes interviews with Rob Heming, Dick Marks, Johnny Brass and the 5th Wallabies, as well as commentary by Alan Jones, Bob Dwyer, Gerald Davies, Walter Spanghero and more.
Purchase full documentary here
Purchase full documentary here
Elvira Cuschieri: Coming to Australia
A migrant story. Elvira Cuschieri was a Greek-Italian Egyptian who migrated to Australia with her Maltese-Egyptian husband in the 1950s. Here she remembers her youth in cosmopolitan Port Said, the voyage to Australia on the SS Himalaya - all captured on her husband's home movie camera - and the early challenges of living in a city with only Coon Cheese and plain bread!
Rob Heming Wallaby Story
An interview with Classic Wallaby #466 Rob Heming, conducted by Gordon Bray and produced by Theo Clark Media. Rob Heming was the greatest lineout jumper of the amateur era. His journey to Wallaby gold began as a refugee fleeing New Guinea in WW2. I recorded this for the Classic Wallabies.
Sydney Uni Wallabies Remember Australian Rugby of the 50s and 60s
This video screened at the Sydney University Football Club's Wallaby Legends Lunch on Saturday 19 June 2021. Includes commentary from SUFC Wallabies Saxon White, Peter Crittle, John O'Gorman, Jim Boyce and Stewart Boyce with narration by Gordon Bray.
Vale John Thornett
A tribute to John Thornett and the "Thornett Era" of Australian rugby (1962-1967), when the Wallabies "arrived" as a force in the global game. This is an extended version of the tribute video by Theo Clark Media produced for Thornett's memorial service at the SCG on 17 January, 2019. The memorial service video and eulogies can be purchased here.
The All Blacks play at Warren Oval in 1957
In 1957, the famous New Zealand All Blacks went to play at Warren, a sheep farming centre in western NSW. This special scene from the 2014 DVD "From an Ace to a Puma: 60 Years of Warren Rugby" features commentary by Gordon Bray and legendary Wallaby Jon White.
Purchase full documentary here.
Purchase full documentary here.
Gondoliers Dream Getaway: Duke & Duchess Scene
A scene I recorded for The Pacific Opera's 2015 production of Gondoliers Dream Getaway, performed at the Parramatta Riverside Theatre.
Greg Storer Sings "Get the Gong"
The 2014 documentary From an Ace to a Puma was a social history of the Warren Rugby Club and featured an original song by country music singer Greg Storer.
From an Ace to a Puma: 60 Years of Warren Rugby
In 2014, I followed the Warren Pumas on their quest to win the Western Plains Rugby Comp for the 60th anniversary of their club and interviewed the club's old stalwarts, Wallabies and Waratahs.
Skiing Kiandra
A few years ago, a call went out for memorabilia about skiing Kiandra, the famous ghost town in the Snowy Mountains of NSW, where skiing in Australia began during the 1860s gold rush. I took the opportunity to record playwright Justin Fleming's recollections of learning to ski at Kiandra in the 1960s. This mini-doco was made for the Kiandra Project and was shown as part of the Kiandra exhibitions for Easter 2013 and featured on smh.tv
Riverview Cadets in the Vietnam War era.
In 2012, I recorded a social history of St Ignatius' Riverview told by its Class of 1962. Called, The View from '62, the film captured the folklore of a Sydney boarding school of a bygone era - with its larrikins and scholars, bushies and day-boys, rugby and regattas, vanished Latin Masses and cadet parades, and full complement of colourful Jesuits.
In the excerpt shown here, the Class of 62 recall the experience of school cadets in the Vietnam War era. One year they were "playing soldiers" in a school parade and the next, if their marble came up in the national draft, they would be off to war. This excerpt includes the story of Vietnam veteran Mark Maloney of 7 RAR.
In the excerpt shown here, the Class of 62 recall the experience of school cadets in the Vietnam War era. One year they were "playing soldiers" in a school parade and the next, if their marble came up in the national draft, they would be off to war. This excerpt includes the story of Vietnam veteran Mark Maloney of 7 RAR.
Lane Cove Rugby Documentary
A social history of the Lane Cove Rugby Club with a foreword by Gordon Bray, including interviews with Wallaby greats Ken Yanz and Saxon White and Kangaroo Greg Florimo. From the 1950s, Lane Cove rose to produce Kentwell Cup winning sides, along the way collecting everything from garbos to doctors and forging them together as lifelong friends.
The film was a showpiece for the rich social history of Australian rugby – from the 1953 Wallaby tour of Apartheid South Africa; to a diplomatic incident at Buckingham Palace in 1958; and an examination of the down-the-pub training regime of John “Singo” Singleton’s 1977 Judd Cup winning side (dubbed by Rugby League Week “The team that set rugby union back 30 years”).
Purchase the full DVD here.
The film was a showpiece for the rich social history of Australian rugby – from the 1953 Wallaby tour of Apartheid South Africa; to a diplomatic incident at Buckingham Palace in 1958; and an examination of the down-the-pub training regime of John “Singo” Singleton’s 1977 Judd Cup winning side (dubbed by Rugby League Week “The team that set rugby union back 30 years”).
Purchase the full DVD here.
Wallaby Tours of the 1950s
My first Wallaby history interview was with Medical Professor Saxon White and Truckie Ken Yanz back in 2012. Here these old Wallaby mates recall touring together on the 1957/8 Wallaby Tour of the British Isles, France and North America.