6 Oct 2012
By The Land
A UNIQUELY Australian documentary titled Tractors, Trains, Headers & Hayis attracting major interest after its grand main street premiere to a crowd of 200 at Burcher, NSW last month.
A West Wyalong Movies production, Tractors, Trains, Headers & Hayis a brief account of the evolution of machinery in the Australian wheat belt, and is the first of its kind.
“Among other things it is a celebration of Australian ingenuity,” said producer and West Wyalong Movies Principal Ross Harmer.
“It is a milestone in rural history to capture how Australia at one stage was the world leader in agricultural machinery technology, and to show through home movies and photos the evolution of that machinery to modern day.
“It’s so important to embrace our heritage and preserve the great living history archive by sharing these stories of how we conquered our environment in rural areas.
“Tractors, Trains, Headers & Hay will be many things to many people, though it promises to appeal to anyone who has lived, worked, or had an association with the land,” said Mr Harmer.
The film was officially launched by Ms Amanda McCormack, Manager of Collection Access at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), who has worked with West Wyalong Movies in providing archival footage and photographs.
“It is fantastic to see the NFSA collection being used in such a great documentary about the agricultural industry,” said Ms McCormack.
“Ross and the team have successfully captured rural stories that will be able to be enjoyed for future generations,” she said.
Reviews from the audience included: “A great record of Australian rural history” along with “The film was great – very informative, especially for future generations,” and “It was fantastic; a lot of research has gone into it.”
Tractors, Trains, Headers & Hayis the third West Wyalong Movies production in four years. West Wyalong Movies brings local history to life through old movies, photographs, interviews and archival footage. More than 4500 copies of their first two documentaries have been sold, with the majority of proceeds (in excess of $70,000) channelled into community projects including improvements to the West Wyalong Showgrounds.
The Tractors, Trains, Headers & Hay DVD is on sale now for $30.00 online or from local stockists in Southwest NSW. Visit www.westwyalongmovies.com for details.