Australasian Films

In 1912, West's Pictures merged into Amalgamated Pictures, and then Amalgamated Pictures merged with Spencer's Pictures Ltd to create the General Film Company of Australasia. The following year this company combined with the Greater J. D. Williams Amusement Co, a large exhibition and film supply outfit, to create Union Theatres and Australasian Films.[http://www.greaterunion.com.au/aboutus/history.asp 'A Brief History of the Greater Union Organisation' Greater Union website] The company had a capital of £300,000; its first directors included William Gibson and Cosens Spencer.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15411028 |title=Notes and Comments |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=8 April 1913 |access-date=4 February 2012 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15470478 |title=Greater J. D. Williams |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=24 February 1914 |access-date=4 February 2012 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

Spencer encouraged Australasian to enter feature production with the 1914 silent film The Shepherd of the Southern Cross but the film was not a success at the box office and Spencer was forced out of the company.[http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/spencer-cosens-8604 Cosens Spencer] at Australian Dictionary of Biography Thereafter Australasian only produced movies sporadically until the mid-1920s when the company came under the stewardship of Stuart F. Doyle. In 1925 they purchased the Centennial Roller Skating Rink site at 65 Ebley St, Bondi Junction and converted it into a £60,000 film studio.{{cite news| url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40512938 | title=Australia's Hollywood | newspaper=Cairns Post | date=21 October 1925 | access-date=9 December 2011}} They used it as a skating rink during the night and a studio during the day.[http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/8717/Cinesound.pdf 'Cinesound: from Roller Rink to Sound Stage', Waverly Council]

Starting with Painted Daughters in 1925, Australasian produced a number of features, including works from director Raymond Longford. They made five in 12 months, none of which made much impact internationally, so they decided to embark on two major productions, For the Term of His Natural Life (1927) and The Adorable Outcast (1928), both of which featured American stars and director, Norman Dawn{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29452464 |title=A Tasmanian Film |newspaper=The Mercury |location=Hobart, Tas. |date=24 July 1926 |access-date=4 August 2012 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} Together these movies lost an estimated £30,000.Graham Shirley and Brian Adams, Australian Cinema: The First Eighty Years, Currency Press, 1989 p 93 The company soon withdrew from production but in June 1932 it re-emerged as Cinesound Productions.

In 1928, Greater Union is selling off certain assets of Australasian Films to a First National Pictures executive John C. Jones, who formed the new company to Greater Australasian Films.{{Cite news |date=1929-02-27 |title=John C. Jones To Take Over Australasian Films March 18 |pages=6 |work=Everyones }} The company entered a contract with major American firm Columbia Pictures later on,{{Cite news |date=1929-12-04 |title=All Columbia Pictures for Union Theaters Release |pages=41 |work=Everyones.}} and absorbed British Dominions Films.{{Cite news |date=1930-01-15 |title=Greater A.F. Absorbs B.D.F. |pages=7 |work=Everyones.}} In 1935, Greater Australasian Films was sold off to Columbia Pictures, effectively folding the company.{{Cite news |date=1935-04-24 |title=Columbia Negotiates to Buy G.A.F. Distribution System |pages=5 |work=Everyones.}}

• The Shepherd of the Southern Cross (1914)
• The Loyal Rebel (1915)
• How We Fought the Emden (1915)
• Australia Prepared (1916)
• Cupid Camouflaged (1918)
• Painted Daughters (1925)
• Sunrise (1926)
• The Pioneers (1926)
• Tall Timber (1926){{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-tall-timbers/|date=12 July 2025|access-date=12 July 2025|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Tall Timbers}}
• Hills of Hate (1926)
• The Grey Glove (1927)
• For the Term of His Natural Life (1927)
• The Adorable Outcast (1928)
• That's Cricket (1931)

• Cinema in Australia

{{reflist|colwidth=33em}}

• [https://www.imdb.com/company/co0091360/ Australasian Films] at IMDb
• [http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Organisation%3A%22%2FOrganisation%2Fkey%2F111-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 Australasian Films]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at National Film and Sound Archive
• {{cite web|website=Australian National University|url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/109798/2/b10157529-pike_A_F.pdf |title=The History of an Australian Film Production Company: Cinesound, 1932-70|first=Andrew Franklin|last=Pike}}

Category:Film production companies of Australia