Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History (ATOM Study Guide)

Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History is a 2004 film suitable for secondary students of the story of Australian photographer Frank Hurley. One of the last great imperial adventurers, Frank Hurley captured some of the earliest images of the world's most remote places. His pictures are amongst the most valuable ever taken, though some of them have now been challenged – are they 'fakes', or are they acceptable composites, often combining elements from several negatives for dramatic effect?

Hurley is best known as the cinematographer on Ernest Shackleton's doomed Endurance expedition to the Antarctic. He also photographed both World Wars, explored New Guinea and enjoyed a long career as the visual chronicler of his homeland, Australia. He was an early pioneer of colour photography, helped invent the documentary film, and risked his life to bring back images from some of the great events of the twentieth century. During Hurley's expeditions to Papua he took not only film and photographs, but cultural artefacts as well. The central questions posed by the film focus on the composites and this issue as well, in the historical and social context of the standards of the era Hurley lived in.

The study guide provides an exploration of the themes and issues of the film including war time photography, the elements of biography and whether composite images are acceptable as history, or are they 'fakes'? The film has particular relevance in an age where digital manipulation of images is common and often unchallenged. Many of Hurley's most famous photographs are include in the guide for students to analyse.

Curriculum Links:
Teachers will find this a very useful and challenging resource in exploring some significant questions and issues with secondary students in:

• English – Creating a biography, Creating a narrative story
• Media Studies – Creating representations, Constructing narrative
• Australian History – Representations of the past 
• Photography and Design – famous Australian photographers