The filming of Tomorrow When the War Began some little time ago was by no means the first time that Dungog has found itself before the camera. Some 36 years ago many locals may still remember that ABC TV spent a number of days turning the town of Dungog into the town of Black Mountain and the Dungog Chronicle Office (now David Crane’s shop) into that of the Black Mountain Express.

The occasion was the filming of an episode of the ABC TV series The Outsiders over a period of some four days. The Outsiders was a joint Australian/German production staring Andrew Keir and Sascha Hehn. Scenes were shot all around Black Mountain (Dungog) including the RSL, the School of Arts, the Dungog Chronicle Office, Lions Park and various shops in Dowling Street. A feature of the filming was the hanging of two Japanese flags and an Australian flag above Williams Pharmacy.

The writer at the time felt that the heated scene between the newspaper editor and the town Mayor was a very ‘realistic’ one involving as it did the clash of jobs over the environment. Couldn’t happen today.