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David Corke

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Peter.corke (talk | contribs) at 00:47, 4 May 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

  • Comment: This reads like a resume profile dump from their website and contains a lot more detailed information. Needs more external news sources. AngusWOOF (bark • sniff) 14:53, 22 January 2020 (UTC)


David G. Corke
Born (1930-02-13) 13 February 1930 (age 94)
Straits Settlements
NationalityAustralian
Employer(s)University of Melbourne
CSIRO
Educational Media Australia
Known forDocumentary films, wildlife films, educational resources
ChildrenFiona Corke, Peter Corke, Richard Corke
AwardsAustralian Film Institute awards, ANZAAS Orbit Award, Creative Excellence Awards US

David Corke (born 13 February 1930) is an Australian documentary film maker, naturalist and educational author. He filmed first-encounter between Europeans and the aboriginal Pintupi people, and was the first person to film the birth of a red kangaroo.[1]

Early life

He was born to British parents living and working in British Malaya: his father managed a rubber plantation near Klang and his mother was a government medical officer. He was born in Singapore (then a city within the British Straits Settlements) and attended school in Malaya and England. He was evacuated to Australia in December 1941, shortly after the Japanese Army invaded Malaya. He boarded at Geelong Grammar School and became interested in art and photography, as well as natural history of Australian wildlife, particularly birds and was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. He was influenced by John Grierson's documentary film ideas and Humphrey Jennings filmmaking style.

Career

In 1948, he joined the staff of a photographic section at University of Melbourne.

In 1952, he began making wildlife and natural history films in his spare time with colleagues Peter Bruce, Graham Pizzey and Gil Brealey. The style of these films was influenced by the work of Arne Sucksdorff and the nature writing of Henry Williamson. For the most part, these films were personally sponsored, but he later received support from the Documentary Film Council of Victoria and the State Film Centre. Films included Raak[2] about Wedge-tailed eagles[3]; Australian Film Award winning[4] Edge of The Deep [5] about the pattern life along the tidelines; Baama[6] about bird life along the edge of the Murray River; and Sunset Country.[7]

From 1959 to 1970 he worked for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Film Unit[8] where he made scientific films on subjects including early computing,[9] radio telescopes,[10] birth of the red kangaroo,[1] bushfires,[11] bird banding[12] and skeleton weed.[13] These films were distributed through the loan of 16 mm film prints and were used in Australian schools, industry and community groups.[8]

In 1963, he was seconded to the University of Melbourne as director/cameraman for an expedition[14][15] into the Great Sandy Desert to film to study Aboriginal Australians living in traditional lifestyle. The expedition, led by Dr. Donald Thomson, studied the Pintupi people living in the area around Lake Mackay. The expedition was sponsored by the Royal Geographic Society and the University of Melbourne while film stock and camera equipment was supplied by the BBC. The BBC made a half-hour documentary called People out of time[16] from the footage gathered during this expedition.[17]

In the 1970s he made films and other AV resources for Educational Media Australia to support the "Web of Life"[18] national biology program for schools – an initiative of John Stewart Turner and the Australian Academy of Science. Films included The Waterhole,[19] an edited, educational version of the award-winning film Late in a Wilderness;[20] Desert Hopping Mouse[21] about the spinifex hopping-mouse (Notomys alexis) of inland Australia; Egg-laying Mammals[22] about Australian monotremes; The Wetlands Problem;[23] Animals of Australia;[24] In Central Australia with Crosbie Morrison; and Yirritidja[25] based on footage taken on the Bindibu expedition.

Corke has made several freelance natural history films including the AFI Jedda award-winning film Late in a Wilderness,[20] Shed Tears for the River;[26] and Eudyptula minor![27].

Corke was commissioned to write several series of books for primary and secondary school history and social studies programs. He has also written about the Burke and Wills expedition including books[28] and journal articles[29] [30] and was the founding president of the Burke and Wills historical society.[31]

Memberships

References

  1. ^ a b "Birth of the red kangaroo (1965)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020., Silver Award, Australian Film Festival (1963); Orbit Award, ANZAAS (1966)
  2. ^ "1956, English, Government publication, Video edition: Raak [motion picture]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., British International Amateur Film Festival, top amateur film prize (1957)
  3. ^ Corke, David (1956). "Photographing the wedge-tailed eagle". Walkabout. 22 (5): 15–18. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Past Awards". AFI, AACTA. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  5. ^ "1959, English, Video edition: Edge of the deep, Boolari Films (Production company); Peter Bruce (Co-director); David Corke (Co-director)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., Australian Film Award (1959)
  6. ^ "1962, English, Video edition: Baama: land of the red gums, Boolari Films (Production company); State Film Centre of Victoria (Production company)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., Commendation Australian Film Institute (1961)
  7. ^ "1963, English, Video edition: Sunset country, State Film Centre of Victoria (Production company); David Corke (Producer/director)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b Hughes, John (2018). "From cold war to hot planet: Australia's CSIRO film unit". Studies in documentary film. 12 (1): 72–96. doi:10.1080/17503280.2017.1420416. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  9. ^ "The computer "CSIRAC" (1965)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Window into space: the Parkes radio telescope (1965)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020. Bronze Award, ISFA Padua (1965)
  11. ^ "Flight Line One: Controlled Burning from Aircraft (1971)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Bird banding in Australia (1964)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  13. ^ "A skeleton in the crop (1969)". CSIRO. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  14. ^ The second Bindibu expedition
  15. ^ "The Bindibus". The Australian Women's Weekly: 10–13. 22 January 1964. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  16. ^ "1968, English, Sound, Other sound, Video edition: People out of Time British Broadcasting Corporation (Production company)". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  17. ^ "Donald Fergusson Thomson". University of Melbourne. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  18. ^ Morgan, David G. (1967). Biological Science: The Web of Life. Australian Academy of Science.
  19. ^ "1973, English, Video edition: The Waterhole". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  20. ^ a b "1973, English, Video edition: The Waterhole". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., AFI Jedda award (1973)
  21. ^ "1982, English, Video edition: Desert hopping mouse [motion picture] / Educational Media International in conjunction with The Australian Academy of Science. School Biology Project". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., Silver Award, Australian Conservation Foundation (1983)
  22. ^ "1984, English, Video, Captioned edition: Egg laying mammals : the echidna and platypus [videorecording]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., Chris Plaque, Columbus Film Festival (1985); Merit Award, Wildlife Film Festival, Monatana, US (1985); Creative Excellence award, US Film Festival, Illinois (1983)
  23. ^ "1900, English, Government publication, Video edition: The wetlands problem [motion picture]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  24. ^ "1979, English, Video edition: Animals of Australia [videorecording] / editing and script by David Corke ; production by Ken Widdowson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020.Creative Excellence Award, US Film Festival (1979); Award of Merit, Information Film Producers, USA (1979); Award of Merit, US Industrial Film Festival (1979)
  25. ^ "Yirrititja [videorecording] : the way of the desert people". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  26. ^ "1973, English, Government publication, Video edition: Shed tears for the river [motion picture]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., sponsored by South Australian Film Corporation
  27. ^ "1971, English, Video edition: Eudyptula minor! [motion picture]". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2020., sponsored by Comalco
  28. ^ Partners in Disaster, the story of Burke and Wills. Thomas Nelson Australia. 1985. ISBN 978-0-17-006496-5.
  29. ^ Corke, David (2016). "Brahe's Cache" (PDF). Victorian Historical Journal. 87/1 (285): 58–75. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  30. ^ Corke, David (June 1994). "Where did they Bury Charlie Gray?". Victorian Historical Journal. 65/1 (24): 45–56.
  31. ^ a b "Burke and Wills Historical Society".
  32. ^ "ACS Accredited Member List". Australian Cinematographers Society. Retrieved 19 January 2020.



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