Alone Across Australia

Last updated

Alone Across Australia
Alone Across Australia Film Poster.jpg
Official film poster
Directed by Ian Darling
Jon Muir
Produced byIan Darling
Jon Muir
Starring Jon Muir
Edited bySally Fryer
Music by Kim Green
Release date
  • April 2004 (2004-04)(Full Frame Film Festival)
Running time
52 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

Alone Across Australia is a fifty-two-minute documentary released in 2003, which is based on adventurer Jon Muir's solo and unsupported journey across Australia in 2001. The motion picture introduces Muir and his exploits all over the world, mainly focusing on his journey throughout the Australian continent, from Porte Augusta in South Australia to Burketown in Queensland.

Contents

The documentary has three executive producers: Philippa Bateman, Mitchell Block, and James Hersov of Shark Island Production Ltd, Australia. [1] It was written by Muir and Ian Darling, edited by Sally Fryer and the music was supervised by Kim Green. [1] In April 2004, the documentary was broadcast at the Full Frame Festival. [1]

Background

Muir was born in 1961 and grew up in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. [2]

He went to Fig Tree High School, [2] where he started becoming interested in rock climbing and mountaineering. He dropped out of high school at 16 years, two years before graduation, to be a professional rock climber. [2]

Muir married his first wife Brigitte Muir (French 2016) but got divorced in 2002. He then began dating his current wife Suzy Muir. The couple currently reside on a 60-hectare property near The Grampians National Park in Western Victoria. (French 2016)

Muir is known for his international and Australian exploits.

International achievements

Muir climbed and explored the New Zealand and European Alps. He explored both poles during expeditions without animal or technological support. He walked through the South Pole in 1999 and through the North Pole in 2002. He also traversed 6000 km in a kayak in the ocean. (Huntsdale 2017).

Muir participated in the Australian Bicentennial Everest Expedition in 1984 but was unsuccessful at reaching Mount Everest. In 1988, he tried again to reach the summit without sherpa support and became the first man to climb Mount Everest unsupported. After that, he became a tour guide on the mountain. (Huntsdale 2017).

Australian achievements

His achievements in Australian mainly consist of trekking across extreme conditions over a long distance. Muir completed the first trek barefoot across dry Lake Eyre (Huntsdale 2017).

He walked from the Spencer Gulf, South Australia to the center of Australia unsupported, encompassing 17 000 kilometers. Finally, in 2001, he was the first man to walk 1,650 km across the Australian continent from Port Augusta to Burketown (Huntsdale 2017).

Content

Alone Across Australia shows the journey of Muir from Port Augusta, South Australia to Burketown, Queensland. Seraphine, his Jack Russell, accompanied him during his journey as he walked 2500 kilometres (1600 miles), unsupported (Harvey 2004).

During his trek, he had a cart attached to him to carry the equipment, which comprised fifty-five maps and a compass for direction. [3] Regarding resources, he brought rice and muesli and a gun to defend himself. [3]

He walked without any localization tools or mobile phone. During the trek, he did not have the opportunity to get more supplies (Muir & Darling 2003). Instead, he hunted and gathered food and found water in the Australian Outback. He established a goal of 20 km a day and started walking as soon as the sun was up.

The documentary is divided into several parts and follows Muir as he crosses the Australian Outback (Muir & Darling 2003). The first part includes his crossing of the salt lakes. The second part follows his crossing of the deserts, and the final part follows him crossing the rivers north.

Salt Lakes

The first natural obstacle that Muir crosses in the film is the salt lakes in South Australia. Due to the lack of available drinking water, the film shows Muir's desalinization process. The second half of this section focuses on Muir's lack of progress for a couple of days due to rain. It was the heaviest rain event in Australia in 14 years. At the end of this part, Muir realized that he was two weeks behind schedule (Muir & Darling 2003).

Deserts

Muir conquered his second natural challenge: the deserts. These include the Tirari and Simpson deserts. During this expedition, Muir had to pass through the longest dingo fence in Australia. He also encountered the first people of his journey. The documentary includes their testimonies that Muir refused any support. Firstly, he met Malcolm and Colleen Michelle at Muloorina station, followed by John Hammond, at Mungerannie and finally a group of bikers at Adria Downs station, but only Bob Crombie was interviewed. This part also follows some events, including the couple of days off that Muir took to rest in order to finish the walk. It also shows the night where he and Seraphine were attacked by five dingoes, where he was forced to shoot one. He also visited the remains of the Annandale Station (Muir & Darling 2003).

North rivers

The final section of the documentary shows the last couple of days where the trek crosses the North Rivers. Muir abandoned his cart and reached Burketown with just a backpack. He also lost his sleeping bag, and in order to be able to sleep in the cold, he had to go back to where he left his cart, which caused delay (Muir & Darling 2003).

This section also shows the death of Seraphine, his Jack Russell, who ate a poison bait for dingoes (Muir & Darling 2003). After burying his dog, he had to finish the trek alone.

The last 100 km of Muir's trek was not recorded as his camera failed, but he arrived safely. The film's conclusion shows Muir's 25-kilogram weight loss and troubles with malnutrition (Muir & Darling 2003).

Production and soundtrack

The documentary mainly comprises recorded sequences by Jon Muir himself using his camera during the crossing from South Australia to Queensland. It also includes sequences of his previous attempts and previous achievements around the world. Sequences are followed by interviews with experts and Muir's friends that were filmed during the previous and following years.

The soundtrack for the documentary was supervised by Kim Green. [1] Muir also provided narration over the course of the film.

Interviews with the people he met along his journey were also recorded by Muir himself.

The documentary was edited by Sally Fryer and completed in 2003. [4]

Broadcast and streaming

The documentary was broadcast at the 2004 Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, one year after its release date in 2003. It was also broadcast to 12 different festivals such as The Down Under Film Festival in 2005 and London Australian Film Festival in 2005. [1]

Australian and international sales are owned by Ian Darling.

The documentary was made available online on the streaming platform: DocPlay, Amazon Prime. [1]

Awards and nominations

Jon Muir was awarded the Order of Australia for services to mountaineering and the Australian Geographic Society's Adventurer of the Year in 2002 (French 2016).

Alone Across Australia has been nominated at fourteen international festivals: [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Jarvis</span> Environmental scientist, explorer, film-maker and author

Timothy John Jarvis is an Australian explorer, climber, author, environmental activist, and documentary filmmaker. He is best known for his numerous Antarctic expeditions, particularly his attempted Antarctic crossing in 1999 and the period recreations of historical treks by Sir Douglas Mawson and Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Tim Macartney-Snape is an Australian mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without supplementary oxygen, via a new route on the North Face. In 1990, Macartney-Snape became the first person to walk and climb from sea level to the top of Mount Everest. Macartney-Snape is also the co-founder of the Sea to Summit range of outdoor and adventure gear and accessories, a guide for adventure travel company World Expeditions and a founding director and patron of the World Transformation Movement.

Matt Dickinson is a film-maker and writer who is best known for his award-winning novels and his documentary work for National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel and the BBC. Dickinson was one of the climbers caught in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. In 2003 he was the co-writer and director of Cloud Cuckoo Land—an independent British movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cecilie Skog</span> Norwegian adventurer (born 1974)

Cecilie Skog is a Norwegian adventurer who trekked across Antarctica in 2010.

Bruce Kirkby is a Canadian adventurer, photographer, and writer. Recognized for expeditions to remote wilderness areas, his achievements include a 40-day, 1000-kilometre crossing of Arabia's Empty Quarter by camel (1999) and the first contiguous descent of Ethiopia's Blue Nile Gorge from source to Sudanese border. The author of three best-selling books, Kirkby's writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic and The New York Times. National Geographic Channel featured his photography in the documentary Through the Lens (2003). An Ambassador for Mountain Equipment Co-op and member of the Starboard SUP Dream Team, Kirkby makes his home in Kimberley, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Chin</span> American mountain climber and film director and skier (born 1973)

Jimmy Chin is an American professional mountain athlete, photographer, skier, film director, and author.

Dermot Somers is an Irish mountaineer, explorer, writer, and broadcaster. He was educated in the Irish-speaking Coláiste Mhuire, Dublin, and graduated from University College Dublin with a BA and HDipEd, and worked for a time as a teacher, before concentrating full-time on writing, broadcasting, and travelling. He now lives in Drogheda.

Andrew James Lock OAM is an Australian high-altitude mountaineer. He became the first, and still remains the only, Australian to climb all 14 "eight-thousanders" on 2 October 2009, and is the 18th person to ever complete this feat. He climbed 13 of the 14 without bottled oxygen, only using it on Mount Everest, which he has summited three times. He retired from eight-thousander climbing in 2012.

Eric Philips OAM is an Australian polar explorer, adventurer and polar guide.

Ed Wardle is a Scottish television producer, director, camera operator, and adventurer.

Tim Cope is an Australian adventurer, author, filmmaker, trekking guide, and public speaker who grew up in Gippsland, Victoria. He has learned to speak fluent Russian and specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union.

<i>Journey to Everest</i> 2009 American film

Journey to Everest is a 2009 Christian adventure documentary film. Directed by David Kiern and produced by Mitchell Galin for Epiphany Documentary Films, it follows the story of six Americans as they trek to Mount Everest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-Philippe Loncke</span> Belgian explorer, adventurer and motivational speaker

Louis-Philippe Loncke is a Belgian explorer, adventurer and motivational speaker. In 2008, he achieved the world first crossing on foot of the length of the Simpson desert, which was a North to South traverse passing through its geographical center. In 2018, he traversed Tasmania during the austral winter without resupplies and was nicknamed the Mad Belgian by some Australians.

Paul Charlier is an Australian composer and sound designer who works primarily in theatre and film. He has also worked in radio and was a founding member of the Sydney post-punk band SoliPsiK. His theatre work includes the Sydney Theatre Company productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Uncle Vanya, as well as the Company B productions of Faith Healer (Composer) and The Diary of a Madman. His film credits include The Final Quarter (Composer), Looking for Alibrandi, Candy, Paul Kelly - Stories of Me and Last Ride (Composer).

Jon Robert Muir OAM is an Australian mountaineer who has hiked through many terrains, supporting himself through his travels, becoming very skilled at hiking, hunting and finding resources. He is well known for hiking alone across Australia, the North pole, South pole, Mt. Everest and kayaking in the ocean. He has many different achievements that are listed below, in chronological order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Pike</span> Australian film historian

Andrew Pike is an Australian film historian, film distributor and exhibitor, and documentary producer and director. Pike formed Ronin Films, an Australian film distribution company, with his first wife, Dr Merrilyn Fitzpatrick, in 1974. With Ross Cooper, he co-authored the book, Reference Guide to Australian Films 1906–1969 and has produced and directed many documentaries since 1982. Pike has been honoured with numerous awards including a plaque on the ACT Honour Walk in Canberra City, appointed of the Order of Australia (OAM) and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Canberra.

Brigitte Leonce Suzanne Muir is a Belgian-born Australian mountain climber. Her climbing career spanned over thirty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Agnew</span> Australian mountaineer and aviator (born 1959)

Dr Richard (Rick) Agnew is an Australian alpine mountaineer and high altitude sports aviator who has completed the Seven Summits climbing Mount Everest and many other peaks. He holds over 40 international and Australian speed, distance and height aviation records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Darling</span> Australian filmmaker

Ian David Darling is a documentary film director and producer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Screen Australia: Celebrating Australian Stories". Screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Jon Muir OAM". Australian Museum. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Australian Breaking News Headlines & World News Online | SMH.com.au". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. "Alone Across Australia - Cast". Pro.imdb.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. "Alone Across Australia (2003) - The Screen Guide". Screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 25 May 2022.