THIS SERIES CONTAINS RESTRICTED MATERIAL
This series comprises films documenting the Board for Anthropological Research (BAR) expeditions throughout Australia between 1926-1966. These films record the scientific field research of the BAR members in their studies of Australian Aboriginal people, their culture, beliefs, relationship to the land and their environment.

Produced for educational purposes and commercially sold and loaned to individuals and institutions as a teaching tool, copies of these films exist in institutions throughout Australia and overseas. All permission to access or use BAR films should be directed to the South Australian Museum Archives (SAMA) Access Officer.

Numerous BAR members were the cinematographer of these films including: TD Campbell (AA 52), FA Jeffrey (AA 155), EO Stocker (AA 311), NB Tindale (AA 338), CP Mountord (AA 228), HK Fry (AA 105), EC Black (AA 31), FJ Fenner (AA 91), HJ Wilkinson (AA 370), JC Dobbie, J Simpson, MJ Barrett, R Edwards (AA 83), H Beyron and AA Abbie (AA 688). All BAR films previously accessioned into these collections have been transferred into the BAR film collection.

The film collection consists of 35mm nitrate film and 16mm acetate safety film. In 1979 the SAMA deposited its nitrate films with the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) for cold storage. The complex history of the nitrate films has been documented in Correspondence and Research folders (AA 346/9/27/9/1-3). The SAMA Master Preservation Tapes contains the best quality copies from both NFSA and SAMA film collections.

The film series has been ordered chronologically by BAR Expedition, with the exception of films made at Yuendumu and Haasts Bluff between 1951-1965. A number of the films produced by TD Campbell during these years includes footage shot between the years 1956-1958. Primary resource material on these films is very few so the decision was made to follow the old BAR film catalogue order of C1-C11, followed by partly processed films.

Note that not all BAR expeditions have films and that some BAR expeditons have numerous film titles.

Up until 1950 all BAR films are black and white, silent with intertitles. After 1950 all BAR films are colour, silent or colour with sound.

In the time coded summary all film intertitles have been italicised and are within quotation marks. All spelling within intertitles have been left as originally spelt. Language and terms which reflect the author's attitude or that of the period in which the item was produced may be considered inappropriate today.

The method adopted by BAR expeditions to undertake research and record the results involved assigning a unique number to each individual (here called 'individual subject number'). This number was given the expedition symbol as a prefix, and remained consistent throughout the research. Each expedition was assigned the symbol, and individuals recorded during that expedition were assigned an individual subject number, for example [C2]. Where possible the name and 'individual subject number' of those who appear in film have been noted and can be used to cross-reference information relating to a named individual across different Board for Anthropological Research series, expeditions and related collections.

To facilitate further research the film summaries also contain reference to associated SAMA collections, for example TD Campbell (AA 52), and SAM Registry numbers, for example the canoe made during the Harvard Adelaide film is noted as SAM Registry number (A27479).