Desperate Measures (2013 Australian TV series)

Desperate Measures is an Australian television documentary series of historical and political matters relating to Indigenous Australians, with three series that aired on National Indigenous Television (NITV) between 2013 and 2018.

Overview

Desperate measures tells the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have been part of political movements and/or who have made an impact on Australian Government policies.^[1]

Three series went to air on NITV: Series 1 in 2013;^[2] Series 2 in 2014;^[3] and Series 3 in 2017–18.^[4][5][6]

The series is used as a reference in academic papers^[7][4] and on websites, such as Redfern Oral History,^[8][9] as well as being kept as video resources in academic libraries.^[10][11][12]

Episodes

Series 1

Series 1 consisted of the following episodes:^[1]

• "Coming of the Light", about the Torres Strait Islander people's celebration of the coming of Christianity to their islands^[13]
• "Through the Eyes of Lens with Merv Bishop" (photographer)
• "NAISDA with Monica Stevens"
• "Gadigal" (interview with Lily Shearer about the Gadigal Information Service, owner of Koori Radio in Sydney^[14])
• "1988 March for Justice, Freedom and Hope" (about the protest march against the Australian Bicentenary, organised by Linda Burney and others^[15])
• "Redfern All Blacks", 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 with Milton Savage"
• "Donald Thomson with Agnes Waramba"
• "A Rare Gem: Coloured Stone" (about the band Coloured Stone^[16])
• "Malaytown" (about Malay Town, a shanty town on the outskirts of Cairns in the 1930s and 1940s^[17])
• "Jambi with Elaine Terrick"

References

1. "Desperate Measures series 1 (2013 - 2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
2. Lewis, Rod (5 December 2013). "Five New Documentaries from Indigenous filmmakers". Glam Adelaide. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
3. "Desperate Measures series 2 (2014 - 2014) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
4. Freire de Carvalho Frey, Aline (2019). Eco-Fourth Cinema: Indigenous Rights and Environmental Crises. UQ eSpace (PhD). University of Queensland. School of Communication and Arts. p. 100. doi:10.14264/uql.2019.172. Retrieved 17 February 2023. By 2017/18 the NITV weekly schedule was giving space to the community to tell their stories in different ways. This included programs such as: Surviving, presented on Mondays and centred on a one-person story and biography; Desperate Measures screened every Tuesday looked at historical moments and political movements...
5. "TV Guide Issue #14: 19 July 2018". ClickView. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
6. "Desperate Measures series 3 (2015 - 2015) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
7. Lindsey, Kiera (1 January 2020). "Indigenous approaches to the past: 'Creative histories' at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney". The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture. 9 (1): 83–102. doi:10.1386/ajpc_00017_1. ISSN 2045-5852. S2CID 226124846. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
8. "More oral histories, and other stories". Redfern Oral History. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
9. "Film". Redfern Oral History. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
10. "Desperate Measures: Portraits with Michael Aird". University of Queensland. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
11. Watson, Sam (2013), Black Panthers: with Sam Watson [catalogue entry], NITV, retrieved 17 February 2023 Held at UQ Library.
12. "Desperate Measures : Monica Stevens - Series 1 - Ep 3". Catalogue, Deakin University Library. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
13. "Coming of the Light (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
14. "Gadigal (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
15. "1988 March for Justice, Freedom and Hope (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
16. "A Rare Gem: Coloured Stone (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
17. "Malaytown (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2023.

External links

• Desperate Measures on SBS on Demand