Summary:Information and publicity film for Malayan tin industry.
Description:Reel One: Introductory sequence showing location of tin producing region; formation of alluvial deposits; method of pan mining - licensed labour restricted to women (referenced as "Dulang Washers"), most of them Chinese, separated from their husbands by economic hardship, war and new immigration laws; operation of gravel pump mine - "strictly enforced laws" guarantee good working and living conditions, and the larger concerns have provided recreation and social facilities for the mainly Chinese immigrant, or Chinese descent, work force. "Malaya owes much of her prosperity and development to these labourers".
Reel Two: British-financed dredge mine - more capital intensive than the mainly Chinese owned gravel pump mines, but more economic ("they produce about half of Malaya's tin"); European engineers manage an ethnically diverse work force, but more and more local labour is being trained for more supervisory roles. Operation of dredge, tin dressing shed and smelter. The narrator concludes that the British "brought law and order" to Malaya "at the request of both the Malays and the Chinese" - European techniques, scientific knowledge and capital investment, alongside Chinese resourcefulness, have won increasing wealth from the tin fields. This revenue now supports an independent and self-governing state; "On tin, modern Malaya was founded...While the world's demand for tin holds, Malaya's economy will hold firm...".
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:Yes
Object_Number:COI 809
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:IWM
Film: IWM (COI 809)
Featured Period:1945-1989
Production Date:1958-1958
Production Country:GB
Production Details:Malayan Film Unit (Production company)
Lee Meow Seong (Production individual)
Amrit, A S (Production individual)
Schooling, Antony (Production individual)
Wong Khye Weng (Production individual)
Bhaskaran, V G (Production individual)
Ow Kheng Law (Production individual)
Hodge, Tom (Production individual)
Tin Industry [R and D] Board (Production individual)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords:
Physical Characteristics:Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Technical Details:35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 2
Footage: 1705 ft; Running time: 19 mins
