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{{short description|Australian soldier, actor}} {{Short description|Australian soldier and actor (1928–2014)}}
{{About|the Australian actor|the Welsh golfer|Stephen Dodd|the Australian footballer|Steven Dodd}} {{About|the Australian actor|the Welsh golfer|Stephen Dodd|the Australian footballer|Steven Dodd}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2012}} {{Use British English|date=June 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox person {{Infobox person
| image = Steve Dodd in Korea.jpg | image = Steve Dodd in Korea.jpg
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| birth_date = 1 June 1928 | birth_date = 1 June 1928
| death_date = {{death date and age|2014|11|10|1928|6|1|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2014|11|10|1928|6|1|df=y}}
| death_place = ], Australia | death_place = ], Australia
| occupation = Actor, soldier, stockman | occupation = Actor, soldier, stockman
| yearsactive = 1946–2008}} | yearsactive = 1946–2008}}
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==Life and career outside acting== ==Life and career outside acting==
]
Stephen Dodd, also known as Mullawa,{{sfn|Townsend Management|2014}} Mulla Walla,{{sfn|Long|2014}} or Mullawalla{{sfn|Smith|2022|p=99}}{{sfn|Townsend Management|2010}} (flying fish),{{sfn|Long|2014}} was an ] ] man from central Australia. Sources vary regarding his place of birth, and whether it was in the ] or ]: a 1966 article in the ] magazine ] states he was born in ],{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} and one 1973 newspaper source states he was born at the ], to the south-west of Alice Springs.<ref name="Mirror">{{cite news|title=Aboriginal to lead tours|date=12 February 1973|work=Daily Mirror|page=15}}</ref> However, his entry on the ] ''Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War'' states he was born at ], in the far north of South Australia.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} A 1953 newspaper report about his return from service in Korea states that he was from ] in the far north of South Australia, and had been a resident of the ] just outside the small town of ] in the ] further south,{{sfn|''Barrier Miner''|1953}} which housed Aboriginal children from northern South Australia; some residents subsequently identified as members of the ].{{sfn|SA Memory|2016}} The only birth date record is in the Korean War nominal roll, which gives 1 June 1928.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} Stephen Dodd, also known as Mullawa,{{sfn|Townsend Management|2014}} Mulla Walla,{{sfn|Long|2014}} or Mullawalla{{sfn|Smith 6 September 2022|p=99}}{{sfn|Townsend Management|2010}} (flying fish),{{sfn|Long|2014}} was an ] ] man from central Australia. Sources vary regarding his place of birth, and whether it was in the ] or ]: a 1966 article in the ] magazine ] states he was born in ], Northern Territory,{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} and one 1973 newspaper source states he was born at the ], to the south-west of Alice Springs.<ref name="Mirror">{{cite news|title=Aboriginal to lead tours|date=12 February 1973|work=Daily Mirror|page=15}}</ref> However, his entry on the ] ''Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War'' states he was born at ], in the far north of South Australia.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} A 1953 newspaper report about his return from service in Korea states that he was from ] in the far north of South Australia, and had been a resident of the ] just outside the small town of ] in the ] further south,{{sfn|''Barrier Miner''|1953}} which housed Aboriginal children from northern South Australia; some residents subsequently identified as members of the ].{{sfn|SA Memory|2016}} In 1969, Dodd visited the now relocated home in ] for the 80th birthday celebrations for Sister Delia Rutter, who had looked after him as a boy when the home was at Quorn.{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} The only birth date record is in the Korean War nominal roll, which gives 1 June 1928.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}}


In a May 2011 interviewed Dodd claimed that he "was the first Aboriginal to sign up from South Australia to go to Korea".{{sfn|Kelton|2011}} After enlisting in the ] for a six-year term in April 1951,{{sfn|Smith|2022|p=99}}{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} Dodd underwent ] training before being posted to the ] (1 RAR);{{sfn|Smith|2022|p=99}} his service number was 41018.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} In September, 1 RAR was warned for service in the ], which had begun in 1950. After a farewell march through Sydney, 1 RAR boarded the ] HMT ''Devonshire'' on 18 March 1952. Unit training was completed in Japan, and 1 RAR arrived in South Korea on 6 April and occupied positions on the ] on 19 June, under the command of the ]. At this stage of the war, the fighting had settled into fairly static ], and 1 RAR was occupied with duties including defence, repairing minefield fences, patrolling, reconnaissance, and raids on enemy trenches. In July 1952, 1 RAR suffered four killed and 33 wounded during ], and captured its first prisoner in September, before being relieved in the line at the end of that month. Returning to the trenches in December, 1 RAR had a difficult task re-establishing a poorly maintained position, and suffered 50 casualties. During the same month the battalion participated in Operation Fauna, destroying an enemy position for the loss of three missing and 22 wounded. Relieved just before New Year's Day 1953, Operation Fauna became the unit's last action of the war, as it remained in a rest area until it was replaced by the ], in March. During its time in Korea, 1 RAR suffered a total of 42 killed and 107 wounded, and spent long periods in close proximity to the enemy in forward positions. Dodd is believed to have been the only Aboriginal member of 1{{nbsp}}RAR in Korea in 1952–1953. After his return from Korea, Dodd transferred to the ], and completed his term of service in early 1957.{{sfn|Smith|2022|p=99}} After enlisting in the ] for a six-year term in April 1951,{{sfn|Smith 6 September 2022|p=99}}{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} Dodd underwent ] training before being posted to the ] (1&nbsp;RAR);{{sfn|Smith 6 September 2022|p=99}} his service number was 41018.{{sfn|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} In September, 1&nbsp;RAR was warned for service in the ], which had begun in 1950. After a farewell march through Sydney, 1&nbsp;RAR boarded the ] HMT ''Devonshire'' on 18 March 1952. Unit training was completed in Japan, and 1&nbsp;RAR arrived in South Korea on 6 April and occupied positions on the ] on 19 June, under the command of the ]. At this stage of the war, the fighting had settled into fairly static ], and 1&nbsp;RAR was occupied with duties including defence, repairing ] fences, patrolling, ], and raids on enemy trenches. In July 1952, 1&nbsp;RAR suffered four killed and 33 wounded during ], and captured its first ] in September, before being relieved in the line at the end of that month. Returning to the trenches in December, 1&nbsp;RAR had a difficult task re-establishing a poorly maintained position, and suffered 50 casualties. During the same month the battalion participated in Operation Fauna, destroying an enemy position for the loss of three missing and 22 wounded. Relieved just before New Year's Day 1953, Operation Fauna became the unit's last action of the war, as it remained in a rest area until it was replaced by the ], in March. During its time in Korea, 1&nbsp;RAR suffered a total of 42 killed and 107 wounded, and spent long periods in close proximity to the enemy in forward positions. After his return from Korea, Dodd transferred to the ], and completed his term of service in early 1957.{{sfn|Smith 6 September 2022|p=99}}
].|alt=A black and white photograph of an Aboriginal male dressed as a cowboy on horseback next to an Aboriginal boy on foot]]

In 1966 he was reported to be a bachelor;{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} later sources shed no light on his marital status. In 1971 he remarked in an interview that his father and six brothers were living in the Northern Territory.<ref name="Canberra">{{cite news|title=Acting's in his blood|date=25 January 1971|work=Canberra News|page=2}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, Indigenous Australian men played significant roles as ] in the Australian pastoral industry, and as entertainers participating in competitive demonstrations of stockmen's skills, referred to as rough riding.<ref name="Hunter">{{cite journal|last=Hunter|first=Kathryn M|year=2008|title=Rough Riding: Aboriginal Participation in Rodeos and Travelling Shows to the 1950s|journal=Aboriginal History|volume=32|pages=82–96}}</ref> Dodd worked as a stockman, horse breaker and ] rider prior to and during his acting career,{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|pp=1–2}} including a period working for rider and entertainer ].{{sfn|''Dawn''|1967|p=1}} He was a member of the Rough Riders Association, and gave exhibition rides at the ] in 1964.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} In 1966 he was reported to be a bachelor;{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} later sources shed no light on his marital status. In 1971 he remarked in an interview that his father and six brothers were living in the Northern Territory.<ref name="Canberra">{{cite news|title=Acting's in his blood|date=25 January 1971|work=Canberra News|page=2}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, Indigenous Australian men played significant roles as ] in the Australian pastoral industry, and as entertainers participating in competitive demonstrations of stockmen's skills, referred to as rough riding.{{sfn|Hunter|2008}} Dodd worked as a stockman, horse breaker and ] rider prior to and during his acting career,{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|pp=1–2}} including a period working for rider and entertainer ].{{sfn|''Dawn''|1967|p=1}} He was a member of the Rough Riders Association, and gave exhibition rides at the ] in 1964.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}}


From 1969 to at least 1973 Dodd worked as a guide for ], escorting tours to ] and other locations in central Australia.<ref name="Mirror"/> Dodd stated that he demonstrated ] and spear-throwing at ], and at an ] (though which year is unknown).<ref name="Canberra"/> He was also a participant in a re-enactment of Captain ]'s landing in Australia, as part of the ] celebrations.<ref name="Mirror"/> In 1985, Dodd was living in ], having spent fifteen years in Sydney's northern suburbs.<ref name="SMH85"/> For the last two decades of his life, Dodd lived at ] on the south coast of New South Wales, where he died on 10 November 2014, aged 86.{{sfn|Townsend Management|2014}}{{sfn|Long|2014}}{{sfn|Wright|2014}} From 1969 to at least 1973 Dodd worked as a guide for ], escorting tours to ] and other locations in central Australia.<ref name="Mirror"/> Dodd stated that he demonstrated ] and spear-throwing at ], and at an ] (though which year is unknown).<ref name="Canberra"/> He was also a participant in a re-enactment of Captain ]'s landing in Australia, as part of the ] celebrations.<ref name="Mirror"/> In 1985, Dodd was living in ], having spent fifteen years in Sydney's northern suburbs.<ref name="SMH85"/> For the last two decades of his life, Dodd lived at ] on the south coast of New South Wales, where he died on 10 November 2014, aged 86.{{sfn|Townsend Management|2014}}{{sfn|Long|2014}}{{sfn|Wright|2014}}
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===Early career=== ===Early career===
Dodd's first opportunity to act in ] came in 1946, when the actor ] noticed Dodd on the set of '']''{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}{{snd}}a film set in the northern Australian bush during ]{{sfn|''The Overlanders''|2023}}{{snd}}and arranged for him to have a minor role.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} Two Aboriginal actors who, unlike Dodd, are credited for their parts in the film, were ] and Clyde Combo,{{sfn|''The Overlanders''|2023}} who worked alongside Dodd on later movies like '']'' and '']''.{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=281}} ''The Overlanders'' was the first of three Rafferty movies in which Dodd secured a part,<ref name="Canberra" /> the second being ''Bitter Springs'' in 1950, another ] film. The film was about a family of white settlers fighting to take possession of land and resources from an Aboriginal clan.{{sfn|''Bitter Springs''|2023}} It was notable for being "a serious study of the relations of white settlers and Aborigines"<ref>''Monthly Film Bulletin'', 1950, cited in {{cite web|url=http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=202|work=National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Website|title=Aboriginal people in Australian feature film Part 1|publisher=Department for Education, Training and Employment (South Australia)|access-date=26 February 2009|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvc017.wic796dp.server-web.com%2Feducationtext.aspx%3Fxcid%3D202&date=2010-10-11|archive-date=11 October 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> and "more honest than most Australian film-makers ventured to be at that time".{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|pp=275–276}} Film writer Bruce Molloy described ''Bitter Springs'' as a "lucid and dramatically effective representation" of black–white conflict in colonial Australia, giving Indigenous Australians "a degree of justice long denied them in cinematic representation".<ref name="Molloy">{{cite book|last=Molloy|first=Bruce|title=Before the interval: Australian mythology and feature films, 1930–1960|publisher=University of Queensland Press|location=St Lucia, Qld|year=1990|page=194|isbn=0-7022-2269-0}}</ref> Dodd had been working on ''Bitter Springs'' as a tracker and interpreter for the actor ] when Rafferty arranged for Dodd to have an on-screen role.<ref name="Canberra" /> There was a positive relationship between the Aboriginal ] and the cast and crew, particularly Rafferty, involved in the location filming for ''Bitter Springs'' in the area of ] in northern South Australia. Pate said that Rafferty "wasn't a prejudiced person&nbsp;... Chips was a person who appreciated the {{sic|Aborigine|nolink=y}} very much&nbsp;... he got on very well with the people".<ref name="Larkins">{{cite book|last=Larkins|first=Bob|title=Chips: the life and films of Chips Rafferty|publisher=Macmillan|location=Melbourne|year=1986|page=69|isbn=0-333-41510-8}}</ref> Dodd, meanwhile, appreciated Rafferty's vision for an Australian film industry and its potential to provide opportunities for Indigenous Australians.<ref name="Canberra"/> During the making of ''Bitter Springs'' the producers were sharply criticised for their poor treatment of the uncredited Aboriginal actors employed on the movie.{{sfn|Sabine|1995|p=148}} Rafferty was also the star of the film that gave Dodd his third minor on-screen role, the American production ''Kangaroo'' in 1952.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} Dodd's first opportunity to act in ] came in 1946, when the actor ] noticed Dodd on the set of '']''{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}{{snd}}a film set in the northern Australian bush during ]{{sfn|''The Overlanders''|2023}}{{snd}}and arranged for him to have a minor role.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} Two Aboriginal actors who, unlike Dodd, are credited for their parts in the film, were ] and Clyde Combo,{{sfn|''The Overlanders''|2023}} who worked alongside Dodd on later movies like '']'' and '']''.{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=281}}
]
''The Overlanders'' was the first of three Rafferty movies in which Dodd secured a part,<ref name="Canberra" /> the second being ''Bitter Springs'' in 1950, another ] film. The film was about a family of white settlers fighting to take possession of land and resources from an Aboriginal clan.{{sfn|''Bitter Springs''|2023}} It was notable for being "a serious study of the relations of white settlers and Aborigines",{{sfn|DETE (SA) Part 1}} and "more honest than most Australian film-makers ventured to be at that time".{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|pp=275–276}} Film writer Bruce Molloy described ''Bitter Springs'' as a "lucid and dramatically effective representation" of black–white conflict in colonial Australia, giving Indigenous Australians "a degree of justice long denied them in cinematic representation".{{sfn|Molloy|1990|p=194}} Dodd had been working on ''Bitter Springs'' as a tracker and interpreter for the actor ] when Rafferty arranged for Dodd to have an on-screen role.<ref name="Canberra" /> There was a positive relationship between the local Aboriginal people and the cast and crew, particularly Rafferty, involved in the location filming for ''Bitter Springs'' in the area of ] in northern South Australia. Pate said that Rafferty "wasn't a prejudiced person&nbsp;... Chips was a person who appreciated the {{sic|Aborigine|nolink=y}} very much&nbsp;... he got on very well with the people".<ref name="Larkins">{{cite book|last=Larkins|first=Bob|title=Chips: the life and films of Chips Rafferty|publisher=Macmillan|location=Melbourne|year=1986|page=69|isbn=0-333-41510-8}}</ref> Dodd, meanwhile, appreciated Rafferty's vision for an Australian film industry and its potential to provide opportunities for Indigenous Australians.<ref name="Canberra"/> During the making of ''Bitter Springs'' the producers were sharply criticised for their poor treatment of the uncredited Aboriginal actors employed on the movie.{{sfn|Sabine|1995|p=148}} Rafferty was also the star of the film that gave Dodd his third minor on-screen role, the American production ''Kangaroo'' in 1952.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}


In 1957, the ], a British company, came to Australia to make a film adaptation of '']'', an Australian colonial novel by ].{{sfn|Webby|2002|pp=45–50}} Dodd reported travelling to Britain and the United States with the company for six months, where he gained experience; in what role is unknown.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|pp=1–2}} Dodd also stated that he worked with Rafferty on a fourth film, '']'', in 1971,<ref name="Canberra"/> but Dodd's name does not appear in published cast lists.{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=333}}{{sfn|''Wake in Fright''|2023}} He also reported that in the same year, he was cast in the role of an Aboriginal caretaker in a short film titled ''Sacrifice'', which is held by the ].<ref name="Canberra"/>{{sfn|''Sacrifice''|2023}} In 1974, he appeared in a short film titled ''Me and You Kangaroo''.{{sfn|''Me and You Kangaroo''|2023}} In 1957, the ], a British company, came to Australia to make a film adaptation of '']'', an Australian colonial novel by ].{{sfn|Webby|2002|pp=45–50}} Dodd reported travelling to Britain and the United States with the company for six months, where he gained experience; in what role is unknown.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|pp=1–2}} Dodd also stated that he worked with Rafferty on a fourth film, '']'', in 1971,<ref name="Canberra"/> but Dodd's name does not appear in published cast lists.{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=333}}{{sfn|''Wake in Fright''|2023}} He also reported that in the same year, he was cast in the role of an Aboriginal caretaker in a short film titled ''Sacrifice'', which is held by the ].<ref name="Canberra"/>{{sfn|''Sacrifice''|2023}} In 1974, he appeared in a short film titled ''Me and You Kangaroo''.{{sfn|''Me and You Kangaroo''|2023}}


Dodd also had several roles in theatre. In 1966, he performed the role of Darky Morris in a ] stage production of ''Desire of the Moth'', with a season of nearly three months in Melbourne and Sydney.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} In 1971, he appeared in an early Sydney production of ]'s seminal work, ''The Cherry Pickers''.<ref name="Identity">{{cite journal|year=1971|title=Steve Dodd|journal=Identity|volume=1|issue=2|pages=9–10}}</ref> Dodd also had several roles in theatre. In 1966, he performed the role of Darky Morris in ] stage production of ''Desire of the Moth'', with a season of nearly three months in Melbourne and Sydney.{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} In August 1971, he appeared in an early Sydney production of ]'s seminal work, ''The Cherry Pickers''. The play also featured fellow Aboriginal actor ], and was highly commended in the ].{{sfn|''Identity''|1971a|pp=9–10}} In October of the same year, Dodd was a prominent guest at the launch of ''Identity'', a magazine published by the ] that was described by the Chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs ] as one "whereby Aborigines can talk to other Aborigines and can also talk to us".{{sfn|''Identity''|1971b|pp=10–11}}


There were numerous small television roles for Dodd. His work for Smoky Dawson included appearing in the television series ''Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout'', broadcast in June 1966.{{sfn|''Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout''|2023}} In other television work, Dodd participated in a ] documentary series about pioneering Australian transport company ], and also worked on several documentary programs for the ].{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} Dodd had minor roles in many early Australian TV dramas of the 1960s and 1970s, including ''Whiplash'', '']'',{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} '']'', ''Delta'' (1969),<ref name="Canberra"/> ''Riptide'' (1969),{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} ''Woobinda&nbsp;– Animal Doctor'' (1970), '']'' (1972–73),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ovguide.com/tv/spyforce.htm|title=Watch Spyforce Free Online|publisher=OV Guide|access-date=29 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111104844/http://www.ovguide.com/tv/spyforce.htm|archive-date=11 November 2014}}</ref> '']'' (1974), and '']'' (1976).<ref name=Deadlys>{{cite web|title=Big Lifetime Achievement|url=http://www.deadlys.com.au/2013/09/big-lifetime-achievement/|work=The Deadlys|publisher=Vibe Australia|access-date=11 November 2014}}</ref> In 1973 it was reported that a television film ''Marra Marra'' featuring prominent Aboriginal actors ] and ], together with Dodd and Zac Martin, had been completed by Spinifex Productions.{{sfn|''New Dawn''|1973|p=16}} There were numerous small television roles for Dodd. His work for Smoky Dawson included appearing in the television series ''Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout'', broadcast in June 1966.{{sfn|''Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout''|2023}} In other television work, Dodd participated in a ] documentary series about pioneering Australian transport company ], and also worked on several documentary programs for the ].{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=2}} Dodd had minor roles in many early Australian TV dramas of the 1960s and 1970s, including ''Whiplash'',{{sfn|Aborigines' Friends' Association|1968}} '']'',{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} '']'', ''Delta'' (1969),<ref name="Canberra"/> ''Riptide'' (1969),{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} ''Woobinda&nbsp;– Animal Doctor'' (1970), '']'' (1972–73),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ovguide.com/tv/spyforce.htm|title=Watch Spyforce Free Online|publisher=OV Guide|access-date=29 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111104844/http://www.ovguide.com/tv/spyforce.htm|archive-date=11 November 2014}}</ref> '']'' (1974), and '']'' (1976).{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}} In March 1969 it was reported that he had been cast in a new series titled ''Sparky, the Koala Bear'' to be filmed after Easter that year.{{sfn|''The Coromandel''|1969}} In 1973 it was reported that a television film ''Marra Marra'' featuring prominent Aboriginal actors ] and ], together with Dodd and Zac Martin, had been completed by Spinifex Productions.{{sfn|''New Dawn''|1973|p=16}}
]'' in November 1978|alt=an indoors colour photograph with three white people and one Aboriginal man in formal attire in the foreground with a large gathering in the background]] ]'' in November 1978|alt=an indoors colour photograph with three white people and one Aboriginal man in formal attire in the foreground with a large gathering in the background]]
Although Dodd obtained small parts in several television series, for many years he and his fellow Aboriginal actors found themselves included in only minor and typecast roles in television productions. According to Indigenous actor, historian and activist ],<ref name="EAAFoley">{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia|title-link=Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia|editor=David Horton|publisher=Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|location=Canberra|year=1994|volume=1|page=374|chapter=Foley, G.|isbn=978-0-85575-234-7}}</ref> Dodd joked that "he was sick of roles where his total dialogue was, 'he went that way, Boss!'"<ref name="Foley">{{cite web|url=http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_17.html|title=Koori Engagement with Television|last=Foley|first=Gary|work=Kooriweb|access-date=11 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329013440/http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_17.html|archive-date=29 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Reflecting on this issue, a commentator remarked on the 1978 film '']'': "There are many irrelevant scenes, the most obvious one being where Tracker Bindi (Steve Dodd), an Aboriginal, is introduced&nbsp;– yet another tired reinforcement of a false stereotype.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=18}} Although Dodd obtained small parts in several television series, for many years he and his fellow Aboriginal actors found themselves included in only minor and typecast roles in television productions. According to Indigenous actor, historian and activist ],<ref name="EAAFoley">{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia|title-link=Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia|editor=David Horton|publisher=Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies|location=Canberra|year=1994|volume=1|page=374|chapter=Foley, G.|isbn=978-0-85575-234-7}}</ref> Dodd joked that "he was sick of roles where his total dialogue was, 'he went that way, Boss!'"<ref name="Foley">{{cite web|url=http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_17.html|title=Koori Engagement with Television|last=Foley|first=Gary|work=Kooriweb|access-date=11 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329013440/http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/essay_17.html|archive-date=29 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Reflecting on this issue, a commentator remarked on the 1978 film '']'': "There are many irrelevant scenes, the most obvious one being where Tracker Bindi (Steve Dodd), an Aboriginal, is introduced&nbsp;– yet another tired reinforcement of a false stereotype.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=18}}


===Later career=== ===Later career===
Dodd contributed to several films in which issues facing Indigenous Australians, such as ] and race relations, were the central subjects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=245|title=Aboriginal people in Australian feature film Part 2|work=National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Website|publisher=Department for Education, Training and Employment (South Australia)|access-date=25 February 2009|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fsvc017.wic796dp.server-web.com%2Feducationtext.aspx%3Fxcid%3D245&date=2010-10-11|archive-date=11 October 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> These appearances included ''Bitter Springs'' and '']'' (1978), the first of two films in which he appeared alongside ]. Dodd played the character of Tabidgi, the uncle of the lead character, Aboriginal man Jimmie Blacksmith. In the film, Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman named Gilda Marshall (played by ]). When they have a baby, Dodd's character, "a tribal elder,&nbsp;... is worried about Jimmie's marriage to a white woman and has brought him a talisman to keep him safe".{{sfn|Kael|1985}} Pauline Kael, writing in '']'', described the performances of the two black professional actors (] and Dodd) as "wonderful as sots:&nbsp;... Steve {{sic|Dodds|nolink=y}}, who is tried for murder and simply says, 'You'd think it would take a good while to make up your mind to kill someone and then to kill them, but take my word for it, it only takes a second'".{{sfn|Kael|1985}} Dodd contributed to several films in which issues facing Indigenous Australians, such as ] and race relations, were the central subjects.{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}}{{sfn|DETE (SA) Part 2}} These appearances included ''Bitter Springs'' and '']'' (1978), the first of two films in which he appeared alongside ]. Dodd played the character of Tabidgi, the uncle of the lead character, Aboriginal man Jimmie Blacksmith. In the film, Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman named Gilda Marshall (played by ]). When they have a baby, Dodd's character, "a tribal elder,&nbsp;... is worried about Jimmie's marriage to a white woman and has brought him a talisman to keep him safe".{{sfn|Kael|1985}} Pauline Kael, writing in '']'', described the performances of the two black professional actors (] and Dodd) as "wonderful as sots:&nbsp;... Steve {{sic|Dodds|nolink=y}}, who is tried for murder and simply says, 'You'd think it would take a good while to make up your mind to kill someone and then to kill them, but take my word for it, it only takes a second'".{{sfn|Kael|1985}}


Dodd's career was busiest in the 1980s, and by 1985 it was reported that he had acted in 55 movies or television features.<ref name="SMH85">{{cite news|title=Two different worlds for actor Steve Dodd|date=25 April 1985|work=Sydney Morning Herald (The Northern Herald)|pages=10}}</ref> In 1981 he played Billy Snakeskin in the film '']'', about the fate of young men who participated in the World War I ] of 1915.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=74}} This was followed by parts in ''Chase Through the Night'' and ''Essington'', both in 1984. In 1985 he played the role of Mr Joe in ''The Coca-Cola Kid'', an Australian romantic comedy with an international cast including ] and ].{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=166}} In 1986 he appeared in the film ''Short Changed'', while through the mid-1980s he had minor parts in the popular television series '']'' (1985–1988).<ref name=Deadlys/> Dodd's career was busiest in the 1980s, and by 1985 it was reported that he had acted in 55 movies or television features.<ref name="SMH85">{{cite news|title=Two different worlds for actor Steve Dodd|date=25 April 1985|work=The Sydney Morning Herald (The Northern Herald)|pages=10}}</ref> In 1981 he played Billy Snakeskin in the film '']'', about the fate of young men who participated in the World War I ] of 1915.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=74}} This was followed by parts in ''Chase Through the Night'' and ''Essington'', both in 1984. In 1985 he played the role of Mr Joe in ''The Coca-Cola Kid'', an Australian romantic comedy with an international cast including ] and ].{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=166}} In 1986 he appeared in the film ''Short Changed''. He also had minor parts in the popular television series ] (1964–1977), '']'' (1969–1975), ] (1974–1976) and '']'' (1985––1988).{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}}


''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' was not the only film in which Dodd appeared that addressed topical Indigenous issues of the day. A decade after ''Jimmie Blacksmith'', Dodd performed in '']'', again with Jack Thompson in one of the lead roles.<ref>Klein, Fred and Nolen, Ronald (2001). ''The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia'' (4th edition). London: Macmillan. p. 1352. {{ISBN|0-333-90690-X}}.</ref> This film is a thriller based on claims that Indigenous Australians were used as human guinea pigs in the ].<ref>See for example, Parkinson, Alan (2007). ''Maralinga&nbsp;– Australia's Nuclear Waste Cover-up''. Sydney: ABC Books; {{ISBN|978-0-7333-2108-5}}.</ref> The film uses as its context the ], which was investigating radioactive contamination at the site. In the film, Dodd plays a minor character named Freddy Tjapaljarri.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=220}} ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' was not the only film in which Dodd appeared that addressed topical Indigenous issues of the day. A decade after ''Jimmie Blacksmith'', Dodd performed in '']'', again with Jack Thompson in one of the lead roles.<ref>Klein, Fred and Nolen, Ronald (2001). ''The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia'' (4th edition). London: Macmillan. p. 1352. {{ISBN|0-333-90690-X}}.</ref> This film is a thriller based on claims that Indigenous Australians were used as human guinea pigs in the ].<ref>See for example, Parkinson, Alan (2007). ''Maralinga&nbsp;– Australia's Nuclear Waste Cover-up''. Sydney: ABC Books; {{ISBN|978-0-7333-2108-5}}.</ref> The film uses as its context the ], which was investigating radioactive contamination at the site. In the film, Dodd plays a minor character named Freddy Tjapaljarri.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=220}}


Sources differ on whether Dodd had a part in '']'' (released as ''A Cry in the Dark'' outside of Australia and New Zealand), the 1988 film about the ], with Dodd's name not included in the cast list published by ''Australian Film 1978–1994''.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=250}} In 1988 he played a minor role in '']'', an unreleased ] about a series of unexplained murders.{{sfn|''Kadaicha''|2023}} In 1990 Dodd appeared in two films: ''Quigley Down Under'', a ] made in Australia but starring American ] and Briton ];{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=323}} and ''The Crossing'', an Australian drama set in a country town.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=296}} Sources differ on whether Dodd had a part in '']'' (released as ''A Cry in the Dark'' outside of Australia and New Zealand), the 1988 film about the ], with Dodd's name not included in the cast list published by ''Australian Film 1978–1994''.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=250}} In 1988 he played a minor role in '']'', an unreleased ] about a series of unexplained murders.{{sfn|''Kadaicha''|2023}} In 1990 Dodd appeared in two films: '']'', a ] made in Australia but starring American ] and Briton ];{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=323}} and '']'', an Australian drama set in a country town.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=296}}


Dodd's career returned to politically contentious Indigenous issues when he played a minor role, of Kummengu, in the 1991 film '']''. This film is a police drama based around the death of an Indigenous man in police custody.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=336}} As in ''Ground Zero'', the subject was very topical: the movie was released at the same time as the report of the ], which had for four years been examining why so many Indigenous Australians ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx|title=Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody – Fact sheet 112|year=2012|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=6 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034842/http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx|archive-date=3 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dodd's career returned to politically contentious Indigenous issues when he played a minor role, of Kummengu, in the 1991 film '']''. This film is a police drama based around the death of an Indigenous man in police custody.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=336}} As with ''Ground Zero'', the subject was very topical: the movie was released at the same time as the report of the ], which had for four years been examining why so many Indigenous Australians ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx|title=Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody – Fact sheet 112|year=2012|publisher=National Archives of Australia|access-date=6 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034842/http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx|archive-date=3 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>


In 1999, Dodd was one of three actors in ''Wind'', a short film portraying the pursuit of an old Aboriginal man (Dodd) by a young black tracker and a white police sergeant.{{sfn|''Wind''|2023}}{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=252}} That same year was marked by the most commercially successful film of his career, '']''.<ref name="Matrix">{{cite web|url=http://au.movies.yahoo.com/movie/2013/the-matrix/cast|title=The Matrix cast list|publisher=Au.movies.yahoo.com|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235212/http://au.movies.yahoo.com/movie/2013/the-matrix/cast/|archive-date=30 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later, Dodd played minor roles in an episode of television series '']'' (2006) and the movies ''My Country'' (2007){{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=233}} and ''Broken Sun'' (2008);<ref name=BBFC>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/broken-sun-2010-0|title=Home > Releases > Broken Sun|date=9 November 2010|publisher=British Board of Film Classification|access-date=29 December 2013}}</ref> by this time his career in film and television had lasted for over sixty years. In 1999, Dodd was one of three actors in ''Wind'', a short film portraying the pursuit of an old Aboriginal man (Dodd) by a young black tracker and a white police sergeant.{{sfn|''Wind''|2023}}{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=252}} That same year was marked by the most commercially successful film of his career, '']''.<ref name="Matrix">{{cite web|url=http://au.movies.yahoo.com/movie/2013/the-matrix/cast|title=The Matrix cast list|publisher=Au.movies.yahoo.com|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235212/http://au.movies.yahoo.com/movie/2013/the-matrix/cast/|archive-date=30 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Later, Dodd played minor roles in an episode of television series '']'' (2006) and the movies ''My Country'' (2007){{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=233}} and ''Broken Sun'' (2008);<ref name=BBFC>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/broken-sun-2010-0|title=Home > Releases > Broken Sun|date=9 November 2010|publisher=British Board of Film Classification|access-date=29 December 2013}}</ref> his career in film and television lasted for sixty-seven years.{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}}


In 2013, Dodd received the Jimmy Little Lifetime Achievement Award at the ] at the ]. Departing from tradition by presenting the award to someone who was not primarily a musician, the organisers described Dodd as "an actor that created a pathway for others across the entire arts and music sectors to follow, at a time when typecasting stereotypes and discrimination was the 'norm' in Australia's arts industry".<ref name=Deadlys/> In 2013, Dodd received the ] Lifetime Achievement Award at the ] at the ]. Departing from tradition by presenting the award to someone who was not primarily a musician, the organisers described Dodd as "a pioneer and leader for our people in the field of the arts, showing resilience and dogged determination{{snd}}barriers were not going to hold him back".{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}} They also described him as "an actor that created a pathway for others across the entire arts and music sectors to follow, at a time when typecasting stereotypes and discrimination was the 'norm' in Australia's arts industry".{{sfn|Deadlys|2013}}


==Filmography== ==Filmography==
Line 67: Line 70:
| 1946 | 1946
| minor role | minor role
|{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} | Feature film{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1950 | 1950
| minor role | minor role
|{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} | Feature film{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1952 | 1952
| minor role | minor role
|{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}} | Feature film{{sfn|''Dawn''|1966|p=1}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1971 | 1971
| unknown |
| Does not appear in published cast lists,{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=333}}{{sfn|''Wake in Fright''|2023}} but Dodd reported working on the film.<ref name="Canberra"/> | Feature film<br>Does not appear in published cast lists,{{sfn|Pike|Cooper|1980|p=333}}{{sfn|''Wake in Fright''|2023}} but Dodd reported working on the film.<ref name="Canberra"/>
|- |-
| ''Me and You Kangaroo'' (short film) | ''Me and You Kangaroo''
| 1974 | 1974
| unknown |
| Held by the National Film and Sound Archive{{sfn|''Me and You Kangaroo''|2023}} | Short film<br>Held by the National Film and Sound Archive{{sfn|''Me and You Kangaroo''|2023}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1978 | 1978
| Bindi (tracker) | Bindi (tracker)
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=18}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=18}}
|- |-
| ''{{sortname|The|Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith|The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (film)}}'' | ''{{sortname|The|Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith|The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (film)}}''
| 1978 | 1978
| Tabidgi (credited as Steve Dodds) | Tabidgi
|{{sfn|Kael|1985}}{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=16}} | Feature film{{sfn|Kael|1985}}{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=16}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1981 | 1981
| Billy Snakeskin | Billy Snakeskin
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=74}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=74}}
|- |-
| ''Chase Through the Night'' | '']''
| 1984 | 1984
| Narli | Narli
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.memorabletv.com/australia/tvac.htm|title=TV Australia&nbsp;– Cabaret to City West|publisher=Memorabletv.com|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303223055/http://www.memorabletv.com/australia/tvac.htm|archive-date=3 March 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><br/>Held by the National Film and Sound Archive<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22;querytype=;rec=1;resCount=10 |title=Chase Through the Night (mini-series) |publisher=Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au |date=6 January 1985 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5tcO3Qc5e?url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p%3Badv%3D%3Bgroup%3D%3Bgroupequals%3D%3BholdingType%3D%3Bpage%3D0%3Bparentid%3D%3Bquery%3D%22steve%20dodd%22%3Bquerytype%3D%3Brec%3D1%3BresCount%3D10 |archive-date=20 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Miniseries<br/>Held by the National Film and Sound Archive<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22;querytype=;rec=1;resCount=10 |title=Chase Through the Night (mini-series) |publisher=Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au |date=6 January 1985 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123040957/http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22;querytype=;rec=1;resCount=10 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1984 | 1984
| unknown |
|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/203057/essington/cast|title=''Essington'' cast list|publisher=Reelz Channel|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809230914/http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/203057/essington/cast/|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> | Feature film<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/203057/essington/cast|title=''Essington'' cast list|publisher=Reelz Channel|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809230914/http://www.reelzchannel.com/movie/203057/essington/cast/|archive-date=9 August 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|- |-
| ''{{sortname|The|Coca-Cola Kid|The Coca-Cola Kid (film)}}'' | ''{{sortname|The|Coca-Cola Kid|The Coca-Cola Kid (film)}}''
| 1985 | 1985
| Mr Joe | Mr Joe
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=166}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=166}}
|- |-
| ''Short Changed'' | '']''
| 1986 | 1986
| old drunk | Old Drunk
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=204}} |{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=204}}
|- |-
Line 127: Line 130:
| 1987 | 1987
| Freddy Tjapalijarri | Freddy Tjapalijarri
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=220}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=220}}
|- |-
| ''] (A Cry in the Dark)'' | '']'' (''A Cry in the Dark'')
| 1988 | 1988
| Nipper Winmatti | Nipper Winmatti
| Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=250}} | Feature film<br>Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=250}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1988 | 1988
| unknown |
|{{sfn|''Kadaicha''|2023}} | Feature film{{sfn|''Kadaicha''|2023}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1988 | 1988
| unknown |
|Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray, but this is a condensed one.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=261}} | Feature film<br>Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray, but this is a condensed one.{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=261}}
|- |-
| ''{{sortname|The|Water Trolley|nolink=1}}'' (short film) | ''{{sortname|The|Water Trolley|nolink=1}}'' (short film)
| 1988 | 1988
| unknown |
| Held by the National Film and Sound Archive<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20The%20water%20trolley;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |title=The Water Trolley |publisher=Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5tcOG2wSo?url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p%3Badv%3Dyes%3Bgroup%3D%3Bgroupequals%3D%3BholdingType%3D%3Bpage%3D0%3Bparentid%3D%3Bquery%3D%22steve%20dodd%22%20The%20water%20trolley%3Bquerytype%3D%3Brec%3D0%3BresCount%3D10 |archive-date=20 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | Feature film<br>Held by the National Film and Sound Archive<ref>{{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20The%20water%20trolley;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |title=The Water Trolley |publisher=Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123040958/http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20The%20water%20trolley;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |archive-date=23 November 2023 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1990 | 1990
| Kunkurra | Kunkurra
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=323}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=323}}
|- |-
| ''{{sortname|The|Crossing|nolink=1}}'' | '']''
| 1990 | 1990
| Old Spider | Old Spider
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=296}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=296}}
|- |-
| ''Spirit of the Blue Mountains'' (documentary) | ''Spirit of the Blue Mountains''
| 1990 | 1990
| Presenter | Presenter
| Screen Australia<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/spirit-of-the-blue-mountains-1990/7559/|title=''Spirit of the Blue Mountains''|publisher=]|access-date=9 August 2010}}</ref> | Documentary (Screen Australia)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/spirit-of-the-blue-mountains-1990/7559/|title=''Spirit of the Blue Mountains''|publisher=]|access-date=9 August 2010}}</ref>
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 1991 | 1991
| Kummengu | Kummengu
|{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=336}} | Feature film{{sfn|Murray|1995|p=336}}
|- |-
| ''Wind'' | ''Wind''
| 1999 | 1999
| Old Aboriginal man | Old Aboriginal Man
|{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=254}} | Short film{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=254}}
|- |-
| ''{{sortname|The|Matrix}}'' | ''{{sortname|The|Matrix}}''
| 1999 | 1999
| Blind man | Blind man
|<ref name="Matrix"/> | Feature film<ref name="Matrix"/>
|- |-
| ''My Country'' (short film) | ''My Country''
| 2007 | 2007
| Old Uncle | Old Uncle
|{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=235}} | Short film{{sfn|Screen Australia|2014|p=235}}
|- |-
| '']'' | '']''
| 2008 | 2008
| Aboriginal man | Aboriginal Man
|<ref name=BBFC/> | Feature film<ref name=BBFC/>
|} |}


Line 195: Line 198:
==References== ==References==
===Books, magazines and journals=== ===Books, magazines and journals===
* {{cite journal|date=1968|title=Steve Dodd|journal=Annual Report of the Aborigines' Friends' Association (1967–1968)|publisher=Aborigines' Friends' Association|location=Adelaide|oclc=220485874|ref={{harvid|Aborigines' Friends' Association|1968}} }}
* {{cite journal|date=July 1973|title=Film May Lead to TV Series|journal=New Dawn|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/collection/featured-collections/new-dawn|volume=4|issue=2|page=16|publisher=New South Wales Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare|location=Sydney|ref={{harvid|New Dawn|1973}} }} * {{cite journal|date=July 1973|title=Film May Lead to TV Series|journal=New Dawn|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/collection/featured-collections/new-dawn|volume=4|issue=2|page=16|publisher=New South Wales Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare|location=Sydney|ref={{harvid|New Dawn|1973}} }}
* {{cite journal|last=Hunter|first=Kathryn&nbsp;M.|year=2008|title=Rough Riding: Aboriginal Participation in Rodeos and Travelling Shows to the 1950s|journal=]|publisher=ANU Press|volume=32|pages=82–96|issn=0314-8769}}
* {{cite book|last=Kael|first=Pauline|title=An Australian Film Reader|editor=Albert Moran and Tom O'Regan|publisher=Currency Press|location=Sydney|year=1985|chapter='A Dreamlike Requiem Mass for a Nation's Lost Honour' (''New Yorker'', 15 September 1980)|isbn=0-86819-123-X}} * {{cite book|last=Kael|first=Pauline|title=An Australian Film Reader|editor=Albert Moran and Tom O'Regan|publisher=Currency Press|location=Sydney|year=1985|chapter='A Dreamlike Requiem Mass for a Nation's Lost Honour' (''New Yorker'', 15 September 1980)|isbn=0-86819-123-X}}
* {{cite journal|date=February 1967|volume=16|title=Many Familiar Faces at This Year's Summer Camp|journal=Dawn|pages=1–4|url=http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/dawn/docs/v16/s02/3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317002206/http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/dawn/docs/v16/s02/3.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2011|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Dawn|1967}} }} * {{cite journal|date=February 1967|volume=16|title=Many Familiar Faces at This Year's Summer Camp|journal=Dawn|pages=1–4|url=http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/dawn/docs/v16/s02/3.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317002206/http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/dawn/docs/v16/s02/3.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2011|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Dawn|1967}} }}
* {{cite book|last=Molloy|first=Bruce|title=Before The Interval: Australian Mythology and Feature Films, 1930–1960|publisher=University of Queensland Press|location=St Lucia, Queensland|year=1990|isbn=0-7022-2269-0}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Murray|editor-first=Scott|year=1995|title=Australian Film 1978–1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features|edition=2nd|location=Melbourne|publisher=Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Film Commission and Cinema Papers|isbn=978-0-19-553777-2}} * {{cite book|editor-last=Murray|editor-first=Scott|year=1995|title=Australian Film 1978–1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features|edition=2nd|location=Melbourne|publisher=Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Film Commission and Cinema Papers|isbn=978-0-19-553777-2}}
* {{cite book|last1=Pike|first1=Andrew|last2=Cooper|first2=Ross|title=Australian film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne|year=1980|pages=275–276|isbn=0-19-550784-3}} * {{cite book|last1=Pike|first1=Andrew|last2=Cooper|first2=Ross|title=Australian film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Melbourne|year=1980|pages=275–276|isbn=0-19-550784-3}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Sabine|editor-first=James|year=1995|title=A Century of Australian Cinema|publisher=William Heinemann|location=Port Melbourne|isbn=978-0-85561-610-6}} * {{cite book|editor-last=Sabine|editor-first=James|year=1995|title=A Century of Australian Cinema|publisher=William Heinemann|location=Port Melbourne|isbn=978-0-85561-610-6}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Ian |date=6 September 2022|title=Steve Mullawalla Dodd |url=https://issuu.com/kirstiewyatt/docs/web_-_edition_28_the_last_post_-_2022_special_edit |magazine=The Last Post |location=Long Beach, New South Wales |publisher=GTR Publishing |access-date=5 May 2023|pp=98–99}} * {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Ian|year=2022|chapter=Steve Mullawalla Dodd|pages=176–178|title=For Love of Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service personnel from South Australia since Federation|publisher= Provost Research and Writing Services in partnership with Reconciliation South Australia|location=Blackwood|isbn=978-0-6454211-1-8}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Ian |date=6 September 2022|title=Steve Mullawalla Dodd |magazine=The Last Post |location=Long Beach, New South Wales |publisher=GTR Publishing |pages=98–99|ref={{harvid|Smith 6 September 2022}}|oclc=1334696328 }}
* {{cite journal|date=June 1966|title=Steve Dodd, Actor|journal=Dawn|volume=15|issue=6|pages=1–2|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/collection/featured-collections/dawn?page=1|publisher=New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board|location=Sydney|oclc=1371069303|ref={{harvid|Dawn|1966}} }} * {{cite journal|date=June 1966|title=Steve Dodd, Actor|journal=Dawn|volume=15|issue=6|pages=1–2|url=https://aiatsis.gov.au/collection/featured-collections/dawn?page=1|publisher=New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board|location=Sydney|oclc=1371069303|ref={{harvid|Dawn|1966}} }}
* {{cite book|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/a321de20-911c-448b-8afa-f29bc82f16e6/Black-list.pdf|title=The Black List: Film and TV Projects since 1970 with Indigenous Australians in Key Creative Roles|year=2014|publisher=Screen Australia|access-date=5 May 2023|isbn=978-1-920998-11-0|ref={{harvid|Screen Australia|2014}} }} * {{cite book|url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/a321de20-911c-448b-8afa-f29bc82f16e6/Black-list.pdf|title=The Black List: Film and TV Projects since 1970 with Indigenous Australians in Key Creative Roles|year=2014|publisher=Screen Australia|access-date=5 May 2023|isbn=978-1-920998-11-0|ref={{harvid|Screen Australia|2014}} }}
* {{cite journal|year=1971|title=The Cherry Pickers|journal=Identity|publisher=Aboriginal Publications Foundation|location=Canberra|oclc=6130857|volume=1|issue=2|ref={{harvid|Identity|1971a}} }}
* {{cite journal|year=1971|title=The Role of Identity|journal=Identity|publisher=Aboriginal Publications Foundation|location=Canberra|oclc=6130857|volume=1|issue=2|ref={{harvid|Identity|1971b}} }}
* {{cite journal|last=Webby|first=Elizabeth|year=2002|title=Killing the Narrator: National Differences in Adaptations of ''Robbery Under Arms''|journal=Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature|volume=1|pages=45–50|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/viewFile/4/4|access-date=9 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909095651/http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/viewFile/4/4|archive-date=9 September 2006}} * {{cite journal|last=Webby|first=Elizabeth|year=2002|title=Killing the Narrator: National Differences in Adaptations of ''Robbery Under Arms''|journal=Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature|volume=1|pages=45–50|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/viewFile/4/4|access-date=9 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909095651/http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/jasal/article/viewFile/4/4|archive-date=9 September 2006}}


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* {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134288629 |title=1st Btn. Returns from Korea Tired but Happy |newspaper=] |volume=60 |issue=9,252 |location=South Australia |date=6 April 1953 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=16 |via=]}} * {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134288629 |title=1st Btn. Returns from Korea Tired but Happy |newspaper=] |volume=60 |issue=9,252 |location=South Australia |date=6 April 1953 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=16 |via=]}}
* {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217185234 |title=Aborigine Gets Ready |newspaper=] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=6 April 1953 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=6 (Last Race) |via=Trove}} * {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article217185234 |title=Aborigine Gets Ready |newspaper=] |location=Queensland, Australia |date=6 April 1953 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=6 (Last Race) |via=Trove}}
* {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article261078810 |title=Colebrook Home’s 80th Birthday Celebrated |newspaper=The Coromandel |volume=24 |issue=31 |location=South Australia |date=27 March 1969 |accessdate=9 June 2023 |page=6 |via=Trove|ref={{harvid|The Coromandel|1969}} }} * {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article261078810 |title=Colebrook Home's 80th Birthday Celebrated |newspaper=The Coromandel |volume=24 |issue=31 |location=South Australia |date=27 March 1969 |accessdate=9 June 2023 |page=6 |via=Trove|ref={{harvid|The Coromandel|1969}} }}
* {{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49260020|title=His Friends Were There to Meet Him|newspaper=]|location=Broken Hill, NSW|date=13 April 1953|access-date=29 December 2013|page=3|via=Trove|ref={{harvid|Barrier Miner|1953}} }} * {{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49260020|title=His Friends Were There to Meet Him|newspaper=]|location=Broken Hill, NSW|date=13 April 1953|access-date=29 December 2013|page=3|via=Trove|ref={{harvid|Barrier Miner|1953}} }}
* {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article267318071 |title=Indigenous Personnel Fly Flags in Recognition |newspaper=] |volume=57 |issue=14 |location=Australia|date=31 July 2014 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=2 (Naidoc Week 6–13 July) |via=Trove}} * {{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article267318071 |title=Indigenous Personnel Fly Flags in Recognition |newspaper=] |volume=57 |issue=14 |location=Australia|date=31 July 2014 |access-date=5 May 2023 |page=2 (Naidoc Week 6–13 July) |via=Trove}}


===Websites=== ===Websites===
* {{cite web|url=http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=202|work=National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Website|title=Aboriginal people in Australian Feature Film Part 1|publisher=Department for Education, Training and Employment (South Australia)|access-date=26 February 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20101012012342/http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=202|archive-date=12 October 2010|ref={{harvid|DETE (SA) Part 1}} }}
* {{cite web|url=http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=245|title=Aboriginal people in Australian Feature Film Part 2|work=National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Educational Website|publisher=Department for Education, Training and Employment (South Australia)|access-date=25 February 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20101012004956/http://svc017.wic796dp.server-web.com/educationtext.aspx?xcid=245|archive-date=12 October 2010|ref={{harvid|DETE (SA) Part 2}} }}
* {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;page=0;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F30964-1%22;rec=1;resCount=10 |title=Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |access-date=9 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout|2023}} }} * {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;page=0;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F30964-1%22;rec=1;resCount=10 |title=Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |access-date=9 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout|2023}} }}
* {{cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/|title=Bitter Springs (1950)|publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|website=Australian Screen|access-date=8 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Bitter Springs|2023}} }} * {{cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/bitter-springs/|title=Bitter Springs (1950)|publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|website=Australian Screen|access-date=8 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Bitter Springs|2023}} }}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=959&c=8731|archive-url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=959&c=8731|archive-date=4 March 2016|title=Colebrook Home for Aboriginal Children|work=Treasures of the State Library|publisher=Government of South Australia|access-date=4 May 2023|ref={{harvid|SA Memory|2016}} }} * {{cite web|url=http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=959&c=8731|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504103007/https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=959&c=8731|archive-date=4 May 2023|title=Colebrook Home for Aboriginal Children|work=Treasures of the State Library|publisher=Government of South Australia|access-date=4 May 2023|ref={{harvid|SA Memory|2016}}|url-status=bot: unknown}}
* {{cite web|url=https://deadlys.com.au/2013/09/big-lifetime-achievement/|title=Deadlys News: Lifetime achievement|publisher=Vibe Australia|access-date=11 December 2023|date=10 September 2013|ref={{harvid|Deadlys|2013}}}}
* {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;page=1;query=kadaicha;rec=2;resCount=10 |title=Kadaicha |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Kadaicha|2023}} }} * {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;page=1;query=kadaicha;rec=2;resCount=10 |title=Kadaicha |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Kadaicha|2023}} }}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/steve-dodds-role-in-service-praised/story-e6frea83-1226064412348|title=Actor Steve Dodd praised for his greatest role|last=Kelton|first=Sam|date=27 May 2011|work=The Advertiser (Adelaide)|access-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903010431/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/steve-dodds-role-in-service-praised/story-e6frea83-1226064412348|archive-date=3 September 2012|url-status=dead}} * {{cite news|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/steve-dodds-role-in-service-praised/story-e6frea83-1226064412348|title=Actor Steve Dodd praised for his greatest role|last=Kelton|first=Sam|date=27 May 2011|work=The Advertiser (Adelaide)|access-date=18 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903010431/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/steve-dodds-role-in-service-praised/story-e6frea83-1226064412348|archive-date=3 September 2012|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2400320/nowras-steve-dodd-the-face-of-naidoc-weeks-beginning-photos/|title=Nowra's Steve Dodd: the face of NAIDOC Week's beginning|last=Long|first=Jessica|date=7 July 2014|work=]|access-date=10 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110234700/http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2400320/nowras-steve-dodd-the-face-of-naidoc-weeks-beginning-photos/|archive-date=10 November 2014}} * {{cite news|url=http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2400320/nowras-steve-dodd-the-face-of-naidoc-weeks-beginning-photos/|title=Nowra's Steve Dodd: the face of NAIDOC Week's beginning|last=Long|first=Jessica|date=7 July 2014|work=]|access-date=10 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110234700/http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2400320/nowras-steve-dodd-the-face-of-naidoc-weeks-beginning-photos/|archive-date=10 November 2014}}
* {{cite web|url=http://townsendmt.wordpress.com/artists/|title=Male actors&nbsp;– Steve Mullawalla Dodd|publisher=Townsend Management|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012002904/http://townsendmanagement.com.au/artists/|archive-date=12 October 2010|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Townsend Management|2010}}}} * {{cite web|url=http://townsendmt.wordpress.com/artists/|title=Male actors&nbsp;– Steve Mullawalla Dodd|publisher=Townsend Management|access-date=7 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012002904/http://townsendmanagement.com.au/artists/|archive-date=12 October 2010|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Townsend Management|2010}}}}
* {{cite web |url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20me%20and%20you%20kangaroo;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |title=Me and You Kangaroo |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive |access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Me and You Kangaroo|2023}} |archive-date=9 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609054344/http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20me%20and%20you%20kangaroo;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;page=0;query=sacrifice%20Media%3A%22FILM%22%20Decade%3A%221970-1979%22;rec=2;resCount=10|title=Sacrifice |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Sacrifice|2023}} }} * {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;page=0;query=sacrifice%20Media%3A%22FILM%22%20Decade%3A%221970-1979%22;rec=2;resCount=10|title=Sacrifice |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Sacrifice|2023}} }}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.koreanroll.gov.au/veteran.aspx?id=1223442|title=Service Record: Stephen Dodd|work=Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War|publisher=Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309183913/http://www.koreanroll.gov.au/veteran.aspx?id=1223442|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} }} * {{cite web|url=http://www.koreanroll.gov.au/veteran.aspx?id=1223442|title=Service Record: Stephen Dodd|work=Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War|publisher=Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs|access-date=23 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309183913/http://www.koreanroll.gov.au/veteran.aspx?id=1223442|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=dead|ref={{harvid|Department of Veterans' Affairs|2012}} }}
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* {{cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/wind/|title=Wind (1999)|year=1999|work=Australian Screen|publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|access-date=9 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Wind|2023}}}} * {{cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/shorts/wind/|title=Wind (1999)|year=1999|work=Australian Screen|publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|access-date=9 June 2023|ref={{harvid|Wind|2023}}}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2689482/local-film-legend-steve-dodd-passes-away/?cs=202|title=Local film legend Steve Dodd passes away|last=Wright|first=Adam|date=11 November 2014|work=]|access-date=11 November 2014}} * {{cite news|url=http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/2689482/local-film-legend-steve-dodd-passes-away/?cs=202|title=Local film legend Steve Dodd passes away|last=Wright|first=Adam|date=11 November 2014|work=]|access-date=11 November 2014}}
* {{cite web|url=http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=%22steve%20dodd%22%20me%20and%20you%20kangaroo;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 |title=Me and You Kangaroo |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|access-date=9 June 2023 |ref={{harvid|Me and You Kangaroo|2023}} }}


==External links== ==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}} {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{IMDb name|230117|Steve Dodd}} * {{IMDb name|230117|Steve Dodd}}
* in 1966 theatre production, ''Desire of the Moth''
* , townsendmt.wordpress.com; accessed 11 November 2014
{{Featured article}} {{Featured article}}



Latest revision as of 20:04, 11 December 2024

Australian soldier and actor (1928–2014) This article is about the Australian actor. For the Welsh golfer, see Stephen Dodd. For the Australian footballer, see Steven Dodd.

Steve Dodd
Steve Dodd in a military uniform, including slouch hat, smiling at camera.Steve Dodd, serving with the Australian Army in Korea (1953), Australian War Memorial
Born1 June 1928
Unclear (see below)
Died10 November 2014(2014-11-10) (aged 86)
Basin View, Australia
Occupation(s)Actor, soldier, stockman
Years active1946–2008

Steve Dodd (1 June 1928 – 10 November 2014) was an Aboriginal Australian actor, notable for playing Aboriginal characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty. His career was interrupted by six years in the Australian Army during the Korean War, and limited by typecasting.

Dodd performed in several major Australian movies, including Gallipoli and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, in which he played Tabidgi, the murdering uncle of the lead character. He also held minor parts in Australia-based international film productions including The Coca-Cola Kid, Quigley Down Under and The Matrix. He likewise appeared in minor roles in early Australian television series, such as Homicide and Rush, as well as later series including The Flying Doctors. In 2013, Dodd was honoured with the Jimmy Little Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th Deadly Awards at the Sydney Opera House. He died in November 2014.

Life and career outside acting

a black and white photograph of a smiling Aboriginal male wearing Australian Army uniform and slouch hat
Dodd upon his return from service in the Korean War in 1953

Stephen Dodd, also known as Mullawa, Mulla Walla, or Mullawalla (flying fish), was an Arrernte Aboriginal man from central Australia. Sources vary regarding his place of birth, and whether it was in the Northern Territory or South Australia: a 1966 article in the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board magazine Dawn states he was born in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, and one 1973 newspaper source states he was born at the Hermannsburg Mission, to the south-west of Alice Springs. However, his entry on the Department of Veterans' Affairs' Nominal Roll of Australian Veterans of the Korean War states he was born at Oodnadatta, in the far north of South Australia. A 1953 newspaper report about his return from service in Korea states that he was from Coober Pedy in the far north of South Australia, and had been a resident of the Colebrook Home for Aboriginal Children just outside the small town of Quorn in the Flinders Ranges further south, which housed Aboriginal children from northern South Australia; some residents subsequently identified as members of the Stolen Generations. In 1969, Dodd visited the now relocated home in Eden Hills for the 80th birthday celebrations for Sister Delia Rutter, who had looked after him as a boy when the home was at Quorn. The only birth date record is in the Korean War nominal roll, which gives 1 June 1928.

After enlisting in the Australian Army for a six-year term in April 1951, Dodd underwent infantry training before being posted to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR); his service number was 41018. In September, 1 RAR was warned for service in the Korean War, which had begun in 1950. After a farewell march through Sydney, 1 RAR boarded the troopship HMT Devonshire on 18 March 1952. Unit training was completed in Japan, and 1 RAR arrived in South Korea on 6 April and occupied positions on the Jamestown Line on 19 June, under the command of the 28th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade. At this stage of the war, the fighting had settled into fairly static trench warfare, and 1 RAR was occupied with duties including defence, repairing minefield fences, patrolling, reconnaissance, and raids on enemy trenches. In July 1952, 1 RAR suffered four killed and 33 wounded during Operation Blaze, and captured its first prisoner in September, before being relieved in the line at the end of that month. Returning to the trenches in December, 1 RAR had a difficult task re-establishing a poorly maintained position, and suffered 50 casualties. During the same month the battalion participated in Operation Fauna, destroying an enemy position for the loss of three missing and 22 wounded. Relieved just before New Year's Day 1953, Operation Fauna became the unit's last action of the war, as it remained in a rest area until it was replaced by the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, in March. During its time in Korea, 1 RAR suffered a total of 42 killed and 107 wounded, and spent long periods in close proximity to the enemy in forward positions. After his return from Korea, Dodd transferred to the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps, and completed his term of service in early 1957.

A black and white photograph of an Aboriginal male dressed as a cowboy on horseback next to an Aboriginal boy on foot
Dodd (on horseback in 1966), worked for rider and entertainer Smoky Dawson.

In 1966 he was reported to be a bachelor; later sources shed no light on his marital status. In 1971 he remarked in an interview that his father and six brothers were living in the Northern Territory. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Indigenous Australian men played significant roles as stockmen in the Australian pastoral industry, and as entertainers participating in competitive demonstrations of stockmen's skills, referred to as rough riding. Dodd worked as a stockman, horse breaker and rodeo rider prior to and during his acting career, including a period working for rider and entertainer Smoky Dawson. He was a member of the Rough Riders Association, and gave exhibition rides at the Calgary Stampede in 1964.

From 1969 to at least 1973 Dodd worked as a guide for Airlines of New South Wales, escorting tours to Uluru and other locations in central Australia. Dodd stated that he demonstrated boomerang and spear-throwing at Expo 70, and at an Olympic Games (though which year is unknown). He was also a participant in a re-enactment of Captain James Cook's landing in Australia, as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations. In 1985, Dodd was living in Manly, New South Wales, having spent fifteen years in Sydney's northern suburbs. For the last two decades of his life, Dodd lived at St Georges Basin on the south coast of New South Wales, where he died on 10 November 2014, aged 86.

Acting career

Early career

Dodd's first opportunity to act in Australian film came in 1946, when the actor Chips Rafferty noticed Dodd on the set of The Overlanders – a film set in the northern Australian bush during World War II – and arranged for him to have a minor role. Two Aboriginal actors who, unlike Dodd, are credited for their parts in the film, were Henry Murdoch and Clyde Combo, who worked alongside Dodd on later movies like Bitter Springs and Kangaroo.

A black and white photograph of a male Aboriginal actor (standing) and a female Indigenous actor (seated) on the stage during the performance of a play
Dodd as Darky Morris and Patsy Kruger in "Desire of the Moth" in 1966

The Overlanders was the first of three Rafferty movies in which Dodd secured a part, the second being Bitter Springs in 1950, another Ealing Studios film. The film was about a family of white settlers fighting to take possession of land and resources from an Aboriginal clan. It was notable for being "a serious study of the relations of white settlers and Aborigines", and "more honest than most Australian film-makers ventured to be at that time". Film writer Bruce Molloy described Bitter Springs as a "lucid and dramatically effective representation" of black–white conflict in colonial Australia, giving Indigenous Australians "a degree of justice long denied them in cinematic representation". Dodd had been working on Bitter Springs as a tracker and interpreter for the actor Michael Pate when Rafferty arranged for Dodd to have an on-screen role. There was a positive relationship between the local Aboriginal people and the cast and crew, particularly Rafferty, involved in the location filming for Bitter Springs in the area of Quorn in northern South Australia. Pate said that Rafferty "wasn't a prejudiced person ... Chips was a person who appreciated the Aborigine [sic] very much ... he got on very well with the people". Dodd, meanwhile, appreciated Rafferty's vision for an Australian film industry and its potential to provide opportunities for Indigenous Australians. During the making of Bitter Springs the producers were sharply criticised for their poor treatment of the uncredited Aboriginal actors employed on the movie. Rafferty was also the star of the film that gave Dodd his third minor on-screen role, the American production Kangaroo in 1952.

In 1957, the J. Arthur Rank organisation, a British company, came to Australia to make a film adaptation of Robbery Under Arms, an Australian colonial novel by Rolf Boldrewood. Dodd reported travelling to Britain and the United States with the company for six months, where he gained experience; in what role is unknown. Dodd also stated that he worked with Rafferty on a fourth film, Wake in Fright, in 1971, but Dodd's name does not appear in published cast lists. He also reported that in the same year, he was cast in the role of an Aboriginal caretaker in a short film titled Sacrifice, which is held by the National Film and Sound Archive. In 1974, he appeared in a short film titled Me and You Kangaroo.

Dodd also had several roles in theatre. In 1966, he performed the role of Darky Morris in J. C. Williamson's stage production of Desire of the Moth, with a season of nearly three months in Melbourne and Sydney. In August 1971, he appeared in an early Sydney production of Kevin Gilbert's seminal work, The Cherry Pickers. The play also featured fellow Aboriginal actor Athol Compton, and was highly commended in the Captain Cook Bicentenary Competition. In October of the same year, Dodd was a prominent guest at the launch of Identity, a magazine published by the Aboriginal Publications Foundation that was described by the Chairman of the Council for Aboriginal Affairs H. C. Coombs as one "whereby Aborigines can talk to other Aborigines and can also talk to us".

There were numerous small television roles for Dodd. His work for Smoky Dawson included appearing in the television series Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout, broadcast in June 1966. In other television work, Dodd participated in a Channel 7 documentary series about pioneering Australian transport company Cobb and Co, and also worked on several documentary programs for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Dodd had minor roles in many early Australian TV dramas of the 1960s and 1970s, including Whiplash, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Division 4, Delta (1969), Riptide (1969), Woobinda – Animal Doctor (1970), Spyforce (1972–73), Homicide (1974), and Rush (1976). In March 1969 it was reported that he had been cast in a new series titled Sparky, the Koala Bear to be filmed after Easter that year. In 1973 it was reported that a television film Marra Marra featuring prominent Aboriginal actors David Gumpilil and Bob Maza, together with Dodd and Zac Martin, had been completed by Spinifex Productions.

an indoors colour photograph with three white people and one Aboriginal man in formal attire in the foreground with a large gathering in the background
Dodd (right) at the world premiere of Little Boy Lost in November 1978

Although Dodd obtained small parts in several television series, for many years he and his fellow Aboriginal actors found themselves included in only minor and typecast roles in television productions. According to Indigenous actor, historian and activist Gary Foley, Dodd joked that "he was sick of roles where his total dialogue was, 'he went that way, Boss!'" Reflecting on this issue, a commentator remarked on the 1978 film Little Boy Lost: "There are many irrelevant scenes, the most obvious one being where Tracker Bindi (Steve Dodd), an Aboriginal, is introduced – yet another tired reinforcement of a false stereotype.

Later career

Dodd contributed to several films in which issues facing Indigenous Australians, such as land rights and race relations, were the central subjects. These appearances included Bitter Springs and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), the first of two films in which he appeared alongside Jack Thompson. Dodd played the character of Tabidgi, the uncle of the lead character, Aboriginal man Jimmie Blacksmith. In the film, Jimmie Blacksmith marries a white woman named Gilda Marshall (played by Angela Punch McGregor). When they have a baby, Dodd's character, "a tribal elder, ... is worried about Jimmie's marriage to a white woman and has brought him a talisman to keep him safe". Pauline Kael, writing in The New Yorker, described the performances of the two black professional actors (Jack Charles and Dodd) as "wonderful as sots: ... Steve Dodds [sic], who is tried for murder and simply says, 'You'd think it would take a good while to make up your mind to kill someone and then to kill them, but take my word for it, it only takes a second'".

Dodd's career was busiest in the 1980s, and by 1985 it was reported that he had acted in 55 movies or television features. In 1981 he played Billy Snakeskin in the film Gallipoli, about the fate of young men who participated in the World War I Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. This was followed by parts in Chase Through the Night and Essington, both in 1984. In 1985 he played the role of Mr Joe in The Coca-Cola Kid, an Australian romantic comedy with an international cast including Eric Roberts and Greta Scacchi. In 1986 he appeared in the film Short Changed. He also had minor parts in the popular television series Homicide (1964–1977), Division 4 (1969–1975), Rush (1974–1976) and The Flying Doctors (1985––1988).

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith was not the only film in which Dodd appeared that addressed topical Indigenous issues of the day. A decade after Jimmie Blacksmith, Dodd performed in Ground Zero, again with Jack Thompson in one of the lead roles. This film is a thriller based on claims that Indigenous Australians were used as human guinea pigs in the British nuclear tests at Maralinga. The film uses as its context the McClelland Royal Commission, which was investigating radioactive contamination at the site. In the film, Dodd plays a minor character named Freddy Tjapaljarri.

Sources differ on whether Dodd had a part in Evil Angels (released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand), the 1988 film about the Azaria Chamberlain disappearance, with Dodd's name not included in the cast list published by Australian Film 1978–1994. In 1988 he played a minor role in Kadaicha, an unreleased horror film about a series of unexplained murders. In 1990 Dodd appeared in two films: Quigley Down Under, a western made in Australia but starring American Tom Selleck and Briton Alan Rickman; and The Crossing, an Australian drama set in a country town.

Dodd's career returned to politically contentious Indigenous issues when he played a minor role, of Kummengu, in the 1991 film Deadly. This film is a police drama based around the death of an Indigenous man in police custody. As with Ground Zero, the subject was very topical: the movie was released at the same time as the report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which had for four years been examining why so many Indigenous Australians died in police detention.

In 1999, Dodd was one of three actors in Wind, a short film portraying the pursuit of an old Aboriginal man (Dodd) by a young black tracker and a white police sergeant. That same year was marked by the most commercially successful film of his career, The Matrix. Later, Dodd played minor roles in an episode of television series The Alice (2006) and the movies My Country (2007) and Broken Sun (2008); his career in film and television lasted for sixty-seven years.

In 2013, Dodd received the Jimmy Little Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th Deadly Awards at the Sydney Opera House. Departing from tradition by presenting the award to someone who was not primarily a musician, the organisers described Dodd as "a pioneer and leader for our people in the field of the arts, showing resilience and dogged determination – barriers were not going to hold him back". They also described him as "an actor that created a pathway for others across the entire arts and music sectors to follow, at a time when typecasting stereotypes and discrimination was the 'norm' in Australia's arts industry".

Filmography

Film Year Character Sources and notes
The Overlanders 1946 minor role Feature film
Bitter Springs 1950 minor role Feature film
Kangaroo 1952 minor role Feature film
Wake in Fright 1971 Feature film
Does not appear in published cast lists, but Dodd reported working on the film.
Me and You Kangaroo 1974 Short film
Held by the National Film and Sound Archive
Little Boy Lost 1978 Bindi (tracker) Feature film
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith 1978 Tabidgi Feature film
Gallipoli 1981 Billy Snakeskin Feature film
Chase Through the Night 1984 Narli Miniseries
Held by the National Film and Sound Archive
Essington 1984 Feature film
The Coca-Cola Kid 1985 Mr Joe Feature film
Short Changed 1986 Old Drunk
Ground Zero 1987 Freddy Tjapalijarri Feature film
Evil Angels (A Cry in the Dark) 1988 Nipper Winmatti Feature film
Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray.
Kadaicha 1988 Feature film
Young Einstein 1988 Feature film
Dodd does not appear in the cast list in Murray, but this is a condensed one.
The Water Trolley (short film) 1988 Feature film
Held by the National Film and Sound Archive
Quigley 1990 Kunkurra Feature film
The Crossing 1990 Old Spider Feature film
Spirit of the Blue Mountains 1990 Presenter Documentary (Screen Australia)
Deadly 1991 Kummengu Feature film
Wind 1999 Old Aboriginal Man Short film
The Matrix 1999 Blind man Feature film
My Country 2007 Old Uncle Short film
Broken Sun 2008 Aboriginal Man Feature film

Footnotes

  1. ^ Townsend Management 2014.
  2. ^ Long 2014.
  3. ^ Smith 6 September 2022, p. 99.
  4. Townsend Management 2010.
  5. ^ Dawn 1966, p. 1.
  6. ^ "Aboriginal to lead tours". Daily Mirror. 12 February 1973. p. 15.
  7. ^ Department of Veterans' Affairs 2012.
  8. Barrier Miner 1953.
  9. SA Memory 2016.
  10. ^ The Coromandel 1969.
  11. ^ Dawn 1966, p. 2.
  12. ^ "Acting's in his blood". Canberra News. 25 January 1971. p. 2.
  13. Hunter 2008.
  14. ^ Dawn 1966, pp. 1–2.
  15. Dawn 1967, p. 1.
  16. ^ "Two different worlds for actor Steve Dodd". The Sydney Morning Herald (The Northern Herald). 25 April 1985. p. 10.
  17. Wright 2014.
  18. ^ The Overlanders 2023.
  19. Pike & Cooper 1980, p. 281.
  20. Bitter Springs 2023.
  21. DETE (SA) Part 1.
  22. Pike & Cooper 1980, pp. 275–276.
  23. Molloy 1990, p. 194.
  24. Larkins, Bob (1986). Chips: the life and films of Chips Rafferty. Melbourne: Macmillan. p. 69. ISBN 0-333-41510-8.
  25. Sabine 1995, p. 148.
  26. Webby 2002, pp. 45–50.
  27. ^ Pike & Cooper 1980, p. 333.
  28. ^ Wake in Fright 2023.
  29. Sacrifice 2023.
  30. ^ Me and You Kangaroo 2023.
  31. Identity 1971a, pp. 9–10.
  32. Identity 1971b, pp. 10–11.
  33. Adventure with Smoky Dawson: Tim Goes Walkabout 2023.
  34. Aborigines' Friends' Association 1968.
  35. "Watch Spyforce Free Online". OV Guide. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  36. ^ Deadlys 2013.
  37. New Dawn 1973, p. 16.
  38. David Horton, ed. (1994). "Foley, G.". Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia. Vol. 1. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-85575-234-7.
  39. Foley, Gary. "Koori Engagement with Television". Kooriweb. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  40. ^ Murray 1995, p. 18.
  41. DETE (SA) Part 2.
  42. ^ Kael 1985.
  43. ^ Murray 1995, p. 74.
  44. ^ Murray 1995, p. 166.
  45. Klein, Fred and Nolen, Ronald (2001). The Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia (4th edition). London: Macmillan. p. 1352. ISBN 0-333-90690-X.
  46. See for example, Parkinson, Alan (2007). Maralinga – Australia's Nuclear Waste Cover-up. Sydney: ABC Books; ISBN 978-0-7333-2108-5.
  47. ^ Murray 1995, p. 220.
  48. ^ Murray 1995, p. 250.
  49. ^ Kadaicha 2023.
  50. ^ Murray 1995, p. 323.
  51. ^ Murray 1995, p. 296.
  52. ^ Murray 1995, p. 336.
  53. "Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody – Fact sheet 112". National Archives of Australia. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  54. Wind 2023.
  55. Screen Australia 2014, p. 252.
  56. ^ "The Matrix cast list". Au.movies.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  57. Screen Australia 2014, p. 233.
  58. ^ "Home > Releases > Broken Sun". British Board of Film Classification. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  59. Murray 1995, p. 16.
  60. "Chase Through the Night (mini-series)". Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au. 6 January 1985. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023.
  61. "Essington cast list". Reelz Channel. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  62. Murray 1995, p. 204.
  63. Murray 1995, p. 261.
  64. "The Water Trolley". Colsearch.nfsa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023.
  65. "Spirit of the Blue Mountains". Screen Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  66. Screen Australia 2014, p. 254.
  67. Screen Australia 2014, p. 235.

References

Books, magazines and journals

  • "Steve Dodd". Annual Report of the Aborigines' Friends' Association (1967–1968). Adelaide: Aborigines' Friends' Association. 1968. OCLC 220485874.
  • "Film May Lead to TV Series". New Dawn. 4 (2). Sydney: New South Wales Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare: 16. July 1973.
  • Hunter, Kathryn M. (2008). "Rough Riding: Aboriginal Participation in Rodeos and Travelling Shows to the 1950s". Aboriginal History. 32. ANU Press: 82–96. ISSN 0314-8769.
  • Kael, Pauline (1985). "'A Dreamlike Requiem Mass for a Nation's Lost Honour' (New Yorker, 15 September 1980)". In Albert Moran and Tom O'Regan (ed.). An Australian Film Reader. Sydney: Currency Press. ISBN 0-86819-123-X.
  • "Many Familiar Faces at This Year's Summer Camp" (PDF). Dawn. 16: 1–4. February 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2011.
  • Molloy, Bruce (1990). Before The Interval: Australian Mythology and Feature Films, 1930–1960. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. ISBN 0-7022-2269-0.
  • Murray, Scott, ed. (1995). Australian Film 1978–1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press in association with the Australian Film Commission and Cinema Papers. ISBN 978-0-19-553777-2.
  • Pike, Andrew; Cooper, Ross (1980). Australian film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 275–276. ISBN 0-19-550784-3.
  • Sabine, James, ed. (1995). A Century of Australian Cinema. Port Melbourne: William Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-85561-610-6.
  • Smith, Ian (2022). "Steve Mullawalla Dodd". For Love of Country: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service personnel from South Australia since Federation. Blackwood: Provost Research and Writing Services in partnership with Reconciliation South Australia. pp. 176–178. ISBN 978-0-6454211-1-8.
  • Smith, Ian (6 September 2022). "Steve Mullawalla Dodd". The Last Post. Long Beach, New South Wales: GTR Publishing. pp. 98–99. OCLC 1334696328.
  • "Steve Dodd, Actor". Dawn. 15 (6). Sydney: New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board: 1–2. June 1966. OCLC 1371069303.
  • The Black List: Film and TV Projects since 1970 with Indigenous Australians in Key Creative Roles (PDF). Screen Australia. 2014. ISBN 978-1-920998-11-0. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  • "The Cherry Pickers". Identity. 1 (2). Canberra: Aboriginal Publications Foundation. 1971. OCLC 6130857.
  • "The Role of Identity". Identity. 1 (2). Canberra: Aboriginal Publications Foundation. 1971. OCLC 6130857.
  • Webby, Elizabeth (2002). "Killing the Narrator: National Differences in Adaptations of Robbery Under Arms". Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 1: 45–50. Archived from the original on 9 September 2006. Retrieved 9 December 2009.

Newspapers

Websites

External links

Media related to Steve Dodd at Wikimedia Commons

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