Title from title frames

Twenty years ago, a hard-drinking, fiery British immigrant called Gordon Bennett, came to the remote Australian territory of Christmas Island to become General Secretary of the Union of Christmas Island Workers. By the time he died in 1991, he was known as ‘Tai Ko Seng' which, roughly translated, means "big brother who delivers". Every year since his death, people gather on 30 July at the Island's Chinese cemetery, to pay tribute to Bennett as they would to their honoured ancestors. Big Brother of Christmas Island tells the moving story of how the legend of the "Tai Ko Seng" was born. Christmas Island rears out of the Indian Ocean only ten degrees south of the equator. The British Phosphate Commission (BPC) ran the island like a Raj outpost, exploiting cheap Asian labour and practising a form of apartheid. Appalled at what he found, Bennett was determined to dismantle the archaic and racist institutions on the island. In telling the story, we meet Australian citizens who were once indentured coolies on the island; lover Tracey Lim, who risked everything to work with Bennett; and family and friends who reveal the full brunt of the backlash against him. The film documents his increasing dependence on alcohol and the disintegration of his first marriage. It traces attempts by the company to crush the tiny union and shut down the mine. We learn how Bennett and the Islanders fought back and won. Just after he achieved his most dramatic victory, Gordon Bennett died at the age of 47. His name continues to arouse passionate responses. There are still those who detest him and many more for whom he remains ‘Big Brother of Christmas Island'. A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Wildfilm Australia Pty Ltd. Developed with the assistance of ScreenWest, Western Australian Film and Television Office. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Copyright - 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia. Executive Producer: Franco di Chiera, Chris Oliver Producer: Peter Du Cane, Samantha Kelley Director: Mathew Kelley Writer: Peter Du Cane, Mathew Kelley DOP/Cinematographer: Ian Pugsley Narrator/Presenter: John Stanton Featured People: Gordon Bennett

In Process Record

Originally produced by National Film and Sound Archive of Australia in 1999

Mode of access: World Wide Web

In English