In this History Now presentation learn about the history of Australia’s convict past in film and television and explored how they have shaped our perceptions of Australia’s convict past.
From early silent films to contemporary television, stories of convicts have become a powerful lens through which Australians have reimagined the nation’s colonial past. This talk looks at striking productions from Australia and abroad, showing how filmmakers used the convict story to prompt bigger questions about nationalism, colonisation, and Aboriginal dispossession. In tracing these shifting representations, it shows how screen culture has both reflected and reshaped public debates about Australian history, identity, and the enduring legacies of colonisation.
In this History Now presentation Dr James Findlay will speak about research from his new book ‘Caught on Screen: Australia’s Convict history in film and television’.
This presentation is part of the History Council of New South Wales’s 2025 History Now series presented with support of Create NSW.
Dr James Findlay is lecturer in the discipline of history where he teaches Australian history and researches historical film and television studies, convict history, Australian popular culture, and public history. He has held the Australian Film Institute Research Collection Fellowship and prior to his appointment was the Archival Project Manager for the Society of Australian Genealogists.
Before becoming a historian he worked extensively in film and television production, mostly in the field of documentary, for companies including Beyond Television, Screenworld, and Film Australia.
Header image: Wikimedia. Image by David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada - Sudan National Museum
