Arcadia Public Library

Historian Michael Cathcart tells the epic story of how the colourful characters of early colonial Australia transformed a penal settlement into a land with rights and opportunity in a mere 40 years. This sweeping two-part dramatised documentary covers formative events in Australia's history, including the Rum Rebellion and early court cases, which established independence and civil rights for all settlers. Rogue Nation explores how a fledgling colony...

They're schoolgirls - dreaming of the future, wanting to go out and have fun, trying to work out relationships with families, friends and boyfriends - and attempting to finish high school while raising their babies. Plumpton High, in Sydney's outer western suburbs, is one of the few schools in Australia with a program that supports schoolgirl mothers completing their education, integrating them into the general student population. Over 100 girls have...

"The highly anticipated new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Clockmaker's Daughter, a sweeping novel that begins with a shocking crime, the effects of which echo across continents and generations. Adelaide Hills, Christmas Eve, 1959: At the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of a grand country house, a local man makes a terrible discovery. Police are called, and the small town of Tambilla becomes embroiled...

In the Blink of an Eye is award-winning author Jesse Blackadder's deeply emotional drama that explores a family's path to forgiveness and redemption in the aftermath of a tragedy. The Brennans, parents, Finn and Bridget, and their sons, Jarrah and Toby, have made a sea change, from chilly Hobart, Tasmania, to subtropical Murwillumbah, New South Wales. Feeling like foreigners in this land of sun and surf, they're still adjusting to work, school, and...

In the mid-1930s, the Aboriginal people began to organise, and to fight the Aborigines Protection Board. Through old newsreels, archive film, photographs and interviews with Elders, the film weaves a moving account of a hidden history, the early struggle for Aboriginal land rights and self-determination. A meticulous study of how white Australians between the wars consistently broke up Aboriginal families to manufacture a black servant class. "A...

This program looks at communities in Sydney with different Socio economic status and ethnic backgrounds. These are Cabramatta with a predominantly Vietnamese and other Asian background, Baulkham Hills, a high SES LGA of 180000 people ; and Lakemba which has over 40% of the population following the Muslim faith and many with Lebanese backgrounds and culture. --Kanopy.

An observational documentary which looks at Sydney’s first community Aboriginal radio station, 88.9 Radio Redfern. Set against a backdrop of contemporary Aboriginal music, Radio Redfern offers a special and rare exploration of the people, attitudes and philosophies behind the lead up to a different type of celebration of Australia’s Bicentennial Year. Throughout 1988, 88.9 Radio Redfern became an important focal point for communication and solidarity...

Australians have an historic hatred of police and of authority - but for black Australians it is a brutal reality. Some Australians call it a secret war. Others see it as evidence of an on-going penal mentality. But despite the attempt at cultural genocide, Aboriginal juveniles remain defiant and resilient, with a clever humour that gets them into even more trouble with police. They have to contend with over-policing and police harassment, and a criminal...