The Story of Jupiter: Why Filmmakers Should Turn to North Queensland
By Daniel Sumpton | Misfit Media Columnist
With eyes described as “large, luminous, and as limpid as a planet,” John Joseph (Jupiter) Mosman discovered the first gold nugget in what is now called Charters Towers. Alongside prospectors George Clark, James Fraser, and Hugh Mosman, Jupiter’s task to search for missing horses during a prospecting expedition led to the discovery of a lifetime. Once Jupiter’s finding had been reported on, a gold rush in the region began. The renowned Aboriginal Australian prospector Jupiter is clearly a man with a story worth giving screen time, so why don’t filmmakers jump to highlight someone so important?
North Queensland is a beautiful place with great people of the past and present, as well as a rich history worth spotlighting. Hollywood has showcased its understanding of how beautiful North Queensland is. It has done this with, for example, the high budget smash hit starring Mathew McConaughey and Kate Hudson titled Fool’s Gold, which was partially filmed in North Queensland. While shooting blockbusters in North Queensland is great, the region deserves its powerful history and stories to get the same big budget treatment.
Maybe asking Hollywood to come down-under to film North Queensland’s most profound and longstanding stories is a bit of a long shot, but what about Australian filmmakers? Australians in any industry are well aware of the vast amount of beautiful scenery and landmarks that are more stunning than many places in the world. If large American blockbusters have shots of North Queensland in their films every now and again due to its beauty, why aren’t Australian filmmakers producing films in the area all the time?
There are not good answers to these questions I am putting forth. The truth is it would only take the Australian entertainment industry to come to its senses before films that tell the touching stories of North Queenslanders come to our local theatres. Whether it be the story of Jupiter or many other of the stories the North has to tell. Another example is the previously mentioned Hugh Mosman who went on to be incredibly successful, had his own arm blown off by dynamite, and also became a politician. The Australian entertainment industry will be a more prominent, plentiful, and successful place if it set up shop here.
For a deep dive into the history of Charters Towers and more places in North Queensland, like the Misfit Media Facebook page and keep a lookout for upcoming articles.