On Our Selection is a 1920 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford and produced by E J Carroll based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd.
Steele Rudd’s real name was Arther Hoey Davis and he was born in Drayton near Toowoomba in QLD. The son of a convict father and Irish immigrant mother from a family of 13 children. He left school before he was 12. Moving to Brisbane as a teenager he was employed at the sheriffs office. He took up rowing as a hobby and began writing a column on rowing in a weekly paper and needed a pseudonym so he adopted “Steele Rudder” later shortened to ‘Rudd”. His main claim to fame as a writer was the “Dad and Dave” stories. There is a statue of him in King George Square Brisbane.
Synopsis – Mrs Rudd and the younger of her six children go and join Dad Rudd and his son Dave on the family’s selection, where Dad and Dave have built a slab and mud hut. The family adjusts to bush life and eventually make enough to buy a horse and plough. The farm progresses until set back by a year-long drought and bushfire. Later, the eldest Rudd daughter, Kate, returns from teaching in the city. She romances neighbour Sandy Nelson, and they get married.
Trivia – Longford cast many non professional actors in support roles to give the film more authenticity. The actor who played Cranky Jack was discovered at Circular Quay Sydney. The producer E J Carroll did not have the rights to the play adaption so the the script comes directly from Steele Rudd’s original works.
Doors and bar open at 11am. Movie starts at 12 noon. $15 for adults and free for kids 13 and under.