My grandfather, King George, he take me walkabout.
Teach me black fella way.
Grandfather teach me most important lesson of all.
Tell 'em story.
That day I down the billabong,
King George, he teach me how to catch 'em fish using magic song.
See, I not black fella. I not white fella, either.
Them white fellas call me mix blood.
Half-caste.
Creamy.
I belong no one.
That day I see 'em, them white fellas,
they were pushing them cheeky bulls across the river onto Carney land.
King George angry at them white fellas.
King George say them white fella bad spirit.
Must be taken from this land.
Coppers.
Them coppers come take me away!
They want to put me on that Mission Island.
Make me into a white fella.
But they're not coppers.
Whoa, girl, whoa, whoa.
And that first time I saw her, that Missus Boss.
The strangest woman I ever seen!
She's not from this land.
This land my people got many names for.
But white fellas call it...
Australia.
But this story not begin that day.
This story begin a little while ago in a land far, far away.
That land called England.
My husband must sell Faraway Downs.
But the offer from this cattle king, Mr. Carney,
is only one-sixth of what it was once worth.
We need the money, Ramsden!
But Maitland is just about to muster the fats.
- What? - Gather the big cows ready for market.
Ramsden, you and I both know there is only one reason
my husband has spent so much time down under.
And it has absolutely nothing to do with cows.
At least not of the animal variety.
Lady Ashley, I do think that's a bit harsh.
Oh, Ramsden, drink your tea.
Lady Ashley! What do you intend to do?
I intend to travel to this cattle station,
sell it and bring Maitland home myself!
But, Lady Ashley, it's Australia!
Darling Sarah, I implore you, do not travel.
Outbreak of war imminent. Stop.
Maitland, your concern regarding war duly noted. Stop.
Have plan concerning cattle. Sale to King Carney not necessary.
Need more time. Stop.
Nonsense. Stop.
Expect contract for sale of station to be drawn by time of my arrival. Stop.
Cannot meet you. Stop. Am mustering. Stop.
Have sent trusted man. Stop. The Drover. Stop.
The Drover?
Drover, you boong lover.
Any of you other Carney boys wanna have a go?
Come on, fellas. Don't let fear stand in your way.
I'll have you!
- Hey! - Hey! No boongs in here!
He's not in the pub, Ivan.
Go on. Run after your boong friend,
'cause as far as this town's concerned, you are a black.
You work with them, you eat with them and you sleep with them.
Crikey.
When you see her, wave your hat.
What are you waiting for, an invitation?
I hate coming to town.
Lady Sarah Ashley.
A genuine aristocrat living right here in Darwin.
Administrator, we're at war!
As the officer in charge of livestock purchases for the armed forces...
She's quite a looker.
I fail to see what Lady Sarah Ashley
has to do with Carney's stranglehold on the beef industry.
Her husband, Lord Ashley, claims he's mustering fats at Faraway Downs.
Faraway Downs?
Faraway Downs, the only cattle station in the whole of the north
not owned by Leslie King Carney.
Lord Maitland Ashley is mustering on Faraway Downs?
Yeah, yeah.
Isn't quite what we had in mind, is it, Neil?
No, yeah.
And now his missus has arrived on the flying boat.
Doesn't look like they're gonna sell Faraway Downs to me, Neil.
She won't last.
A delicate English rose withers in the outback, yeah. You with me?
If you must know, I am to be met by my husband's trusted man, a Mr. Drover!
The bloody Drover?
Hey, hey! Hey!
Bring it! Yes.
Move it!
Terrible!
Look at my wife and daughter down there giving her the royal welcome.
My fianc�, Neil Fletcher, manages Faraway Downs.
Good day.
A bit pale.
Not a bad-looking sheila, but what's the story on the luggage?
Wants to settle down in the outback, does she?
If she stays and Lord Ashley manages
to get his cattle down onto that wharf there,
then we've got a competitor for the Army contract, Neil.
Carney's control of every cattle station in the north
jeopardizes the supply of beef to our troops.
But it's a poor war that doesn't make a decent patriot rich,
so, I don't want a single beast from Faraway Downs
to set a hoof on that wharf.
You with me, Neil?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Nature'll take its course.
My glasses!
What about the missus?
I've arranged for someone special to give her the old scenic route.
Give her a taste of the outback.
Go!
Who's taking her? - The Drover.
The Drover?
Enjoy the ride, sweetheart.
I'm Sarah Ashley.
My husband, Lord Ashley,
has sent a trusted man to collect me. A Mr. Drover.
It seems as if he has been waylaid.
No women. Ladies' lounge next door.
The hen parlor's thataway, my dear.
No wonder your establishment is empty.
Good day.
You can take it!
There, there, there. There, you drongo.
Oh! No, no! My bags! Not my...
Oh, no, no!
Welcome to Australia.
Drover take Missus Boss to Faraway Downs
in a great big fancy truck!
He even let her sit in his special seat.
She even drinks Drover's own water bottle.
That's it, that's it.
They get along like a burning house.
Now, Magarri, he sit 'em up top.
And Magarri's cousin, Goolajbaloong, he come along for the ride.
They make 'em friends right away.
Water!
That's it. Stay, Jedda, stay. Stay.
"Trusted man. " Typical of my husband.
Actually, your husband's a pretty good bloke.
Yes, well, he certainly knows how to choose his employees.
- Employee? - No wonder the place is bankrupt!
Lady, I'm not an employee.
Really? So you're just driving me all the way out to Faraway Downs
as a personal favor to my husband, are you?
- No. - Him being such a good bloke and all?
I'm driving you out there because he promised me
a drove of 1,500 head of cattle.
What, to buy?
No, you goose, to drove. I'm a drover, right?
I move the cattle from A to B, all right? I work on commission.
- No man hires me, no man fires me. - That's...
Everything I own I can fit in my saddlebag,
which is the way I like it.
Yes, well, it's all very outback adventure, isn't it?
I'm not saying it's for everyone.
No. Definitely not for everyone.
Most people like to own things. You know, land, luggage, other people.
Makes them feel secure.
But all that can be taken away.
And in the end, the only thing you really own is your story.
Just trying to live a good one.
Yes, yes, an adventure story. You sound just like my husband.
- Oh, they're kangaroos! - Big Reds.
Lovely. Beautiful.
- Yeah, beautiful. - I've never seen a kangaroo.
- Beautiful, jumping. - They're jumping.
Oh, it's beautiful.
Look at them jumping!
Mr. Drover!
- Hey, Miss Boss! - Tucker, Missus Boss?
- Mr. Drover. - Yeah?
There's only one tent.
- That's right. - For the four of us?
Well, you know, it gets pretty chilly here at night.
We like to bunk up together, eh, Magarri? Goolaj? Huh?
Nice and close, you know.
- Freezing! Yeah!
Oh, come on, Lady Ashley. We're just having a laugh.
Never really slept in a tent in our lives. We just bunk around the fire, see?
- See, we're not really used to... - A woman?
I suppose you think I should be back in Darwin
at the church fete, or the ladies'... Whatever you call it.
Well, I will have you know that I am as capable as any man.
Guests. We're not used to guests. That's what I was about to say.
But now you mention it, I happen to quite like the women of the outback.
But they're mostly native women.
Aboriginal women. They're very easy to...
To get along with, if you try.
Hup now, hup now! Go!
Him always punctual and on time.
Get out of here!
What's that? - Your accountant.
Hey, Drover! He's your bloody problem now!
See you, Drover!
Kippelly Flymm.
- Kippelly Flynn. - I'm sorry, what was your name again?
Lipelling Klymm, milady.
Kipling Flynn.
Thanks.
How long till we reach Faraway Downs?
We've been on it for the last two days.
- Drover! Hey, Drover! - Good day, love, how you doing?
Good. Aren't you not gonna stop and have a rest for a while?
No, got to make a delivery.
Put the kettle on. I'll be round in a couple of days.
- Okay. - Give us a kiss.
See you soon.
She's easy to get on with.
- She's trouble, that one. See you later! Bye!
You and my husband share an interest.
An interest? Really?
Come on. We all know the real reason that my husband is out here.
Right, you mean the breeding, yeah.
- Breeding? - Yeah.
No, we're both dead keen on breeding.
I have this idea, which he loves.
You might be quite excited about it, too, actually.
Now, I'm a brumby man, but his fancy English filly, Capricornia,
has really caught my eye.
I've got to admit, she is gorgeous. Really gorgeous.
Gorgeous creature.
I've always wanted to mate an English thoroughbred with a bush brumby.
I mean, it'd be magic, wouldn't it? Magic.
- Imagine that combination. - Don't you say another word.
- I know what you're implying. - You've thought about it, too, haven't you?
Capricornia... You... Poppycock!
- What are you talking about? - Poppycock!
Coppers.
What are you talking about?
You... You want...
You want to have it on with me.
- What? What was that? - Oh, you know exactly what I'm saying.
Just like you have it on with that poor girl that you're exploiting,
and God knows how many others.
What are you talking about?
- You got a filthy mind, lady. - You're an animal!
I wouldn't have it on with you
if you were the only tart left in Australia, you hear me?
- Animal! You are a... - Believe me, I wouldn't...
- What was that? - Stay in the car.
- No, no. - Get your hands off me.
For once in your life, do as you're bloody told.
There she is.
Faraway Downs.
And that first time I saw her,
that Missus Boss...
Lady Ashley, wait, don't go in there.
I'm so sorry.
My family has had the honor of serving the owners of Faraway Downs
for three generations.
We know how hard this land can be.
But Lord Maitland Ashley, he never gave up.
The only thing that could stop this decent, courageous man
was a spear from a murderous black, the so-called King George.
And he will be brought to justice.
Let us now pray for Maitland Ashley,
that his soul may enter peacefully through the gates of heaven.
Lady Ashley, we can leave for Darwin first thing in the morning.
Yes, yes. Certainly, Mr. Fletcher.
I can't understand what my husband would have seen out here.
Yeah, this land has a strange power.
That first night, when the sun go to sleep,
King George tell me this land be healed.
He tell me that woman,
that far, far away woman, she be like the rain.
I've been thinking I'm gonna sing her to me.
Make the land sing.
I let you see me now.
- Who are you? - I Nullah.
- How did you get in here? - I make myself invisible
with gulapa magic!
What do you want?
That balanda Fletcher been curse this place.
But you like Rainbow Serpent.
You mien-muk.
You heal this land. So I sing you to me.
Like I sing a fish to me.
I sing, too, when Mama and Fletcher
make wrong-side business.
Wrong-sided business?
You know, laying down and tickling.
Oh, my goodness.
- Me and you secret. - Oh, my goodness. Mr. Fletcher?
I got to sing to Mama to warn her that Lord Boss Ashley is coming down.
Maitland? I mean, Lord Ashley?
Yeah. He plenty funny.
So that's why I took him down the billabong.
Show him all the big, fat, cheeky bulls.
Come here, look 'em. Look.
Get pushed across the river, over to Carney land.
The bulls? Billabong?
- That's where Maitland was killed. - But, Missus Boss, the spear was...
Please, don't. Don't make him that policeman take away my boy.
Them coppers. That bad Fletcher, he say you see me,
you send me to the Mission Island, to that lock-lock.
Throw away bloody key.
- Please, missus! Quick! I make us invisible.
Missus Boss!
Oh, it's you.
Last night, I show you
where...
She's a beautiful day, isn't she?
How was your sleep? Restful?
I wouldn't say so, no.
The boys are just finishing up.
Gotta tell you, they're a pretty sorry mob of cattle.
Seems hardly worth the effort.
Ready to go, Lady Ashley?
Billabong.
Mr. Fletcher,
tell me about the big fat cows that cross the river
down at the billabalong, or whatever it is you call it.
The billabong? No, that's Carney property over there.
- Our cattle don't cross the river. Apparently, they do.
Yeah? Who says they do?
That little boy there.
Oh, you mean little half-caste fella?
Hey! Hey, little fella, come here!
Come and tell Mr. Fletcher what you told me last night.
Come on, Nullah, come on.
Yes. - They're funny ones.
Now,
did you see big, fat cattle crossing Marmont River?
Or were they just Carney cattle on the other side of the river having a drink?
Them just Carney cattle, Mr. Fletcher. I been looking but myself.
You tell great big tall stories, don't you?
It's all right, Mr. Fletcher.
I'm sure the boy just made a mistake. Well.
All right, now, we best get going, Lady Ashley.
Hey, Sing Song, take the little fella to the kitchen
and give him a big bloody feed of that tucker that he likes.
Forgive me, Mr. Fletcher.
Look, I understand. You barely slept.
Let me go! - Wait, wait, wait!
- Let me go! - Wait... Nullah!
That old windmill hasn't turned in years.
He's a sweet little boy. I don't think he meant any harm.
They're funny, little creamies. They're all a bit soft in the head.
That's why the government sends them to the mission.
They all tell bloody monstrous lies.
Yeah, and the next one, quick. Come on. We haven't got all day.
I no bloody liar!
He liar! He say this not work!
Fletcher liar!
No! No, leave him alone! Please!
I gulapa! I curse you!
Leave him alone! Leave him alone!
Run, Nullah! Run!
Leave him alone! - I curse you!
Mr. Fletcher!
- Leave him alone! Mr. Fletcher!
Get off my property. You no longer work for me!
If I go, my men go with me.
There won't be a single bloody beast in this stockyard
to start the drove in the morning.
You heard what I said. Get off my property!
- Yeah? - Go! Now!
You're the boss.
Hey, Flynn! Get in the car. I'll get you a new job somewhere else.
Bunchemup, grab the gear, pack it up.
I'll see you in Desperation Creek in a few days.
Bloody old fool.
Carney's gonna get this property.
Been a pleasure working for you.
Real pleasure. Yeah.
That strange woman, she fire him, that Fletcher.
He can't hurt Mama no more.
From that day on,
we call her Missus Boss.
Why would Fletcher block the water pump?
I don't know. All crazy.
- White fella, black fella, all crazy. - Crazy.
Mr. Flynn. - Oh...
- Milady. - Don't get up.
The truth, Mr. Flynn.
This ledger,
which Fletcher had me keep for the benefit of your husband,
is a tale of decline and ruin redolent of the great Gibbon.
There is, however, another,
kept for the benefit of Mr. Carney,
in which is recorded all the unbranded
Fat cattle,
siphoned off across the river and into his herd.
And the boy.
He's Fletcher's son, isn't he?
As with all things Fletcher, it's impossible to prove anything.
Still, if Carney's good Christian wife
ever comes to the same conclusion as yourself,
Fletcher's chances of marrying their daughter would be dashed.
I'm going to the authorities and I will be telling them...
Carney is the authority here.
Are you suggesting I let him steal my cattle and buy my property
for a fraction of what it's worth?
I am suggesting that you continue to do what your husband set out to do.
Drove.
Drove the cattle to Darwin.
Would you mind? I need a drink.
Milady, drove.
Drove the cattle to Darwin, sell them to the Army,
you'll break Carney's monopoly.
Use the profits to put Faraway Downs back on its feet, you go back to London,
you're sitting pretty for the rest of your life.
That's what Maitland said he was doing.
And there's no reason why you can't do the same.
There is just one small problem.
Having dismissed Fletcher, there's no one to muster the cattle.
Flynn! Missus Boss!
It's the Drover!
Drover! Drover!
Yay, Drover! Yay!
Teach me how to break them brumbies!
See any boys in there? MAGARRl: No, boss!
Goolaj, go see if they're in the top paddock.
Mr. Drover!
Just get the bloody brumbies in there.
I'll find out what the hell is going on here.
Hey, Drover, you gotta teach me how to break them horses.
Go fill the water trough, son. - Mr. Drover,
I need to speak to you!
Now, where the hell are all the bloody stockmen?
That's what I need to speak to you about.
- Where's Fletcher? - We disagreed and I dismissed him.
- Dismissed? - Yes.
Hang on, hang on. What about the cattle?
Well, it beggars belief, but as he was leaving,
he deliberately let the cows out of the...
I don't know, whatever you call it, and they ran off!
Damn! Do you realize, woman, what you've done?
Mr. Drover, do not take that tone with me, thank you very much!
- Don't take that tone with you, huh? - No.
I'm asking you, woman, do you know what you've done?
I won't get another drove this late in the season, all right?
- You've cost me my living. - Can't you just round them up?
Round them up, huh? Oh, round them up! Yeah!
Yes, just go get them.
Fifteen hundred head of cattle
scattered over a million acres, with just me and my two men.
That's a great idea! Stupid cow.
Mr. Drover, I was right to dismiss Mr. Fletcher on moral grounds.
Moral grounds? You're at that again, are you?
Let me guess. He wanted to exploit you, did he?
- Fancy you, did he? - What?
Is there any man in this world who doesn't fancy you?
- Please. - Huh?
Mr. Fletcher is working for Mr. Carney!
They were pushing the best of the unbranded cattle
across the river onto Mr. Carney's property!
They were stealing!
Well, there's no surprises there.
- No, he's a bad man. - All right. All right.
But, look, you can't prove it, right?
- Well... - You can't.
And you can't win against Carney, so just take my advice, lady.
Grab King Carney's offer and go the hell back to England as quickly as possible.
That way, you'd make everybody happy, especially me.
Men!
So, you're just going to walk away?
I learned a long time ago not to fight other people's wars.
Wait! Wait! Wait! Mr. Drover, wait!
Please, please, please! Mr. Drover, please! Please. Wait. Please. I...
Listen, you said your dream was to breed a thoroughbred with a bush brumby.
If you agree to help me, I...
I will give you my Capricornia.
And how are we gonna do a drove with just me and my two men, huh?
Oh, crikey.
Mum was a drover's boy for Fletcher.
Bandy was a drover's boy a long time ago.
Some white stockmen like to have an Aboriginal woman on the drove
to keep them company at night.
They shave their heads to make them look like boys
and work them like any other stockman during the day.
That's... What do you call it? Exploiting them.
Exploiting, yes.
Anyway, we're still in trouble.
All right. We gotta have seven good riders, at least,
and the most I can count is five. And what do we got? We got me...
- You. - Magarri!
Yeah, Magarri. You got 'em, Magarri.
- Goolaj. We got Daisy. Nice ride. Great.
And, Bandy, good work. But...
What about Mr. Sing Song? Mr. Sing Song ride horse? Huh?
- Hey! Don't look at me, huh? - Sing Song, he real good cooker.
Cook's wagon, at best. So, we got five, right?
It's not enough. We need two more experienced riders.
I did that run once back in 1935,
with Magarri, Dingo Jones and the Drongo brothers,
true knights of the outback.
Mr. Flynn! Can you ride?
- I can... - I won't carry a drunk.
...but don't.
I ride 'em real bloody good!
I drove those no-good cheeky bulls into the big bloody metal ship.
All right, five and a quarter.
- Six and a quarter. - What?
Lady, this ain't trotting in Kensington Gardens.
Mr. Drover, I could show you a thing or two about horses.
Pretty sure, when it comes to horses, there's nothing you can show me.
- Bring the horse. - You can't be serious.
Bring the horse!
This should be interesting.
Move along! Move along! Rah! Rah! Move along!
What are you doing?
Lady Ashley... Move it. Move it! Move it!
You're going the wrong way. Rah! Rah!
It's easy!
- Stubborn things. Silly cows. - Hey, hey, hey. Hey!
Come on. - What the bloody hell you doing?
You're scattering them all over the place.
Get up the back there. Up the tail.
Get up there. Go, go, go! Don't let them break away.
Go on!
Run, cows! Move, you cows!
We're trying to get the cows up there.
- Not too bad, Lady Ashley. - I've got him! I've got him!
I think we're doing pretty well.
You crazy take all this stuff. Where you think you going, Shanghai?
A lady never knows what she might need.
Run, Nullah, run!
- Run! Run, run! Coppers! Coppers!
Tank! Tank, Nullah! Tank!
Bandy! Coppers! Hurry up!
Cut them loose.
Get out. You two, check the east side.
Move, move! Hurry up!
Around the back. Chinaman!
Daisy's in the tank.
Bandy, tea, tea.
Where's the creamy?
Trackers.
Nullah.
Lady Ashley? Sergeant Callahan of the Northern Territory Police.
Grab the float!
I can't begin to tell you, Lady Ashley,
how the tragedy which befell your late husband
has wrung sympathy from the hearts of every civilized man and woman
in the Northern Territory.
Let me assure you, Lady Ashley,
that the suspect, King George, will be brought to justice.
But surely a witch doctor could conceal his own tracks, Sergeant, could he not?
Makes no difference. It's only a matter of time.
Help!
Oh, incidentally, I met up with your former manager, Neil Fletcher.
He informed me that there's a half-blood Aboriginal child out here somewhere.
I thought we might pick him up
and put him in the good hands of the church.
I will be sure to look out for him.
Till we meet again, Lady Ashley.
Get 'em in the back, Constable. Let's go.
They're in the tank! Drover!
Drover, help them! Quickly!
Mama!
Easy, lad. I got you. I got you.
Come on, Daisy. Come on.
Daisy! Daisy! Oh, Daisy!
Daisy! Oh, God, please!
Daisy! Daisy!
Daisy.
When someone dies, in the Aboriginal culture,
you're not supposed to say their name again.
He needs mothering.
- Mothering? - Yep.
And you're a woman,
- so you should go on, get down there. - I'm...
I'm not...
What?
Good with children.
Nullah?
I wanted to extend my condolences.
Go away.
Would you...
Would you like to hear a story?
What story?
Well, it's... It's called...
- It's called The Wizard of Oz. - What's a wizard?
Well, a wizard is a sort of magic man.
Gulapa.
Mama say I gulapa.
- I magic man. - Really?
I wizard man!
We can't say Mama's name no more.
No, well...
Anyway, there's a girl and there's a dog.
Ruff! Ruff, ruff, ruff.
And there's a tornado. Well, no, in the film, it's a twister.
- Who twister? - Oh, no, no, a twister's not a person.
It's like a big... Like a storm.
- Like the wet? - Like the wet.
Anyway, the story takes place in a...
Well, a faraway land.
Called Oz.
- This good story. - Oh! Well...
- It got song? - Yes. Yes, lots of songs.
I like song.
You sing 'em me, I learn 'em song.
No, no, no, I... No.
No.
Well, I...
Some...
- I'll sing a little. - Good.
Somewhere over the rainbow
- Rainbow Serpent? - Yes.
That bloody good. Keep going.
- You funny singer, but good song. - Oh...
Somewhere...
There's some birds and they...
- Keep going. Come on. - It's...
Someday I'll wish upon a... A star...
And...
- Come on. Sing more. - Yes.
Wake up where the clouds are far behind
Dreams really do come
true!
Dreaming song.
Missus Boss, we got to get those no-good cheeky bulls
into the big bloody metal ship.
That's right.
That's what dreaming songs tell us, Missus Boss.
We've got to get those no-good big bloody bulls into that metal ship.
I'm sorry. I thought he could... I thought he could do it.
Yeah, well, people don't change, Miss Ashley.
Twister. Twister!
No desert comes drier than Kipling Flynn, milady!
Well done! Well done, Kipling!
Flynn Kipling! Yay!
Hey, hey!
Welcome! Welcome!
Hey, Nullah. - All right.
Well, Mr. Drover, I believe we have the appropriate number.
- The appropriate number, huh? - Yes!
Now, listen up. I'm only gonna say this once.
I run the show. Everybody does exactly
as she's told.
- Understood? - Understood.
No matter your experience or your age, you pull your weight.
- Yes, boss. - And above all, the Drover's Law,
no grog.
Now, if there's a rush and the cattle are stampeding toward you,
it's not much good prancing and dancing about on your show pony.
Only one thing cattle fear more than a man on a horse,
and that's a man standing on his own two feet,
staring 'em right between the eyes.