Australia, the 1950s. Every two weeks a single mailman travels the remote Birdsville track, linking South Australia and Queensland. The Back of Beyond is a landmark documentary charting this expedition. It was produced by the Shell Film Unit in 1954 as a way of associating the company with quintessential ‘Australian-ness’.

In this episode of Seeing Green we explore how The Back of Beyond represents the environment as an expression of national identity, touching on themes of water scarcity, extreme weather, cultural belonging, and white settler histories.

In this episode:

Associate Professor Ruth Morgan,  environmental historian and Director of the Centre for Environmental History the Australian National University. Ruth has published extensively on topics like water and climate history. She also is Vice President of the International Consortium of Environmental History Organizations, and Treasurer of the International Water History Association.

And film expert, and the co-executive producer of this podcast Associate Professor Belinda Smaill from Monash University.