William Gibson (producer)

Australian film producer and exhibitor

Portrait of William Alfred Gibson, Australian film producer and businessman

William Alfred Gibson OBE (1869 – 6 October 1929) was an Australian film producer and exhibitor best known for his collaboration with Millard Johnson. He was one of the producers of The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) and helped establish Amalgamated Pictures.[1][2]

## Biography

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Gibson was born in London to William Gibson Snr. a soldier and Matilda (nee Day) and originally worked as a chemist for William Johnson and supplied chemicals to early film exhibitors. He went into exhibition himself with Johnson's son Millard, later expanding into film processing and photography.[3]

He and Johnson helped produce The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), arguably the world's first feature film. This was made with the Tait brothers with whom Gibson and Johnson formed Amalgamated Pictures.

This later merged with other companies to become Australasian Films and Union Theatres, the famous "Combine" which dominated Australian distribution and exhibition in the 1920s; Gibson served as its managing director.[4]

## Honour

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He was awarded an OBE on 19 October 1920.[5]

## References

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1. ^ Sally Jackson and Graham Shirley, 'The Story of the Kelly Gang', National Film and Sound Archive
2. ^ ""Kelly Gang" Film Began Era Of "Feature" Pictures". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 9 October 1949. p. 9 Supplement: Features. Retrieved 4 August 2012 - via National Library of Australia.
3. ^ "PICTURE PROFILES IN THE OLDEN DAYS". The Winner. Melbourne. 9 February 1916. p. 11. Retrieved 20 June 2015 - via National Library of Australia.
4. ^ Pike, A. F., 'Gibson, William Alfred (1869–1929)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 2 February 2012
5. ^ William Alfred Gibson OBE record

## External links

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* William Gibson at Brighton Cemetery
* William Gibson at National Film and Sound Archive

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* Australia
* Trove

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