Ocean monster screen stars: The impact of J. E. Williamson in Australia

Abstract In the days of silent movies, J. E. Williamson became famous for filming a 1916 adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1870). It was the first underwater film ever shot – using a submarine contraption he was able to photograph under the sea and stay dry. Almost immediately, his name, films and publications received attention in the Australian press. ‘Why not bring Williamson to Australia to explore the Great Barrier Reef underwater?’ asked one newspaper report. There were reports at the Great Barrier Reef of a giant sea serpent. But Williamson was already on his way to Scotland to hunt the Loch Ness Monster. Williamson did not visit Australia, but through a strange twist of fate one of his underwater photographs taken at the Bahamas became retitled ‘The Treasure Bridge of the Australian Great Barrier Reef’ by André Breton, leader of the Surrealists. This story unfolds between the years 1914 and 1940 and is the subject of the following article. The discussion emphasizes three points: the fluid world of image culture that emerged with new printing technologies and transport systems in the early twentieth century; the way this modern era valorized the film-maker who was also explorer and showman and in the process confused the boundaries between science and fiction; and how fear and loathing engendered by the sea had dire consequences for marine animals.