The Very Late Jim Beiers: The Strange and Wonderous Tale of the Stockton Ferry (OPUS)
“If it looks like an OPUS..”
Back in late 1998, during a sort of the University of Newcastle’s student publication, OPUS, we came across a couple of issues that looked like OPUSes, but went under the name of “The Stockton Ferry”. What were they?
Godfrey Tanner’s Story of Jim Beiers and his associates
We decided to ring the then, very alive Professor Godfrey Tanner, to ask him about it.
He told us a story about the late James (Jim) Beiers, and his associates, who were into drug reform and renamed the OPUS to the “Stockton Ferry” (i.e., that being the vehicular ferry that transported cars and buses and all wheeled vehicles across the Hunter River from Stockton to Newcastle and vice versa ) as it was known as the “cheapest trip in town”.
So we placed this is the record of the phone conversation along with the Stockton Ferry and the OPUS magazines in 1970, (and not 1972/73 as Godfrey recalled) so that future archivists would know about it:
“Re: The Stockton Ferry
Record of phone conversation between Professor Godfrey Tanner and Gionni Di Gravio 15 December 1998 11:45am
GDG: Godfrey, what was the “Stockton Ferry”?
GT: It was the renamed OPUS circa 1972-1974. The brainchild of James Beiers (a.k.a. Jimmy) and his co-editors who were into drug reform. The idea being that readers would be encouraged to take short trips after reading the contents. He unfortunately was killed in a car accident in early 1973 on the Hume Highway on route to Melbourne for a music festival of sorts. He was an orphan and had a wonderful mind; it’s unfortunate it ended so tragically. He was involved with a short student film that had a character who was killed and buried in his role. On the night he died we had a sense of his presence in the room at my house around the moment of his death; we were having dinner. An uncanny end.
GDG: Thankyou Godfrey, have a wonderful day.
GDG XII A.D. 1998″
UON60 OPUS Reunion Get-Together 2025
Fast forward to 2025, and with the University Newcastle’s 60th Commemorations came the idea of an OPUS magazine student reunion, to bring together all the still living OPUS editors and contributors in the room to tell us all about their stories.
And with it came the story of the mysterious Stockton Ferry, and the untimely death of its founder Jim Beiers.
UON60: Calling all OPUS Student Magazineers Across Time & Space
Re-reading what Godfrey said – They Made a Film!
When we re-read Godfrey’s words, we realised Jim Beiers had starred in a student film:
“He was involved with a short student film that had a character who was killed and buried in his role.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could see it?
BOX (Work Title)
The name of the student experimental film was called BOX, and was written and directed by Bob Hill. There was an article on the production in the October 1970 issue of The Stockton Ferry.
“Box” (Work Title) contained information and stills from the production shoot from the “Stockton Ferry” (October 1970) page 10 (a.k.a. OPUS).
Written and Directed by Bob Hill
Produced by Bob Hill and Bob Chard
Camera by Bruce Dowse and Bob Chard
With Maureen Bonimini as the Death Girl
Jim Beiers as the Boy
Braham Hughes as the Priest
Jean Talbot as the Mother
Bob Hill spoke about how the film was made, and the plot:
“We started work on the film a lot later than we expected to. The $500 grant from the SRC was only the first stage. I found that we had to redevelop the plot to an actual shooting schedule… the original script was a balls-up and almost unworkable, so I rewrote the entire shooting sequence to fit a practical schedule. We’re at least half way through now with all the major sequences already filmed. I suppose the entire film could be put together in less than a month when I get the time after the exams — the hard part is yet to come; the sound will probably be the most crucial part of the film. The final cost of the film should be about $1700 – $1800.
“It’s a bit” dull talking about it like this but the ‘plot’ concerns a Boy from a village (the film is set in peasant surroundings — 1900’s ) who has an affair with a witch girl. The townspeople call the Priest when the Boy and the Girl are discovered making love and the Boy falls into a death trance which the witches have put on him. The priest passes judgement and the Boy is placed in an open coffin and led away, through the town cemetery, into a deep gorge where he is buried alive. The last scene is of the Boy looking up to the cliffs overhead where all the witches are assembled and are looking down and laughing at him as he gets covered with dirt whilst the townspeople chant to break the curse.”
The scenes shown here were all shot in the bedroom where the Boy is taken to after he has been cursed. He is verging between clarity, madness and death.
The Freak Out section is only a minor part of the film – the shadows on the walls worked beautifully it’s a pity the shadows don’t come out in colour too. The Film will be screened some time in December. I’ll show it at the university first if it‘s not too embarrassing.”
— Bob Hill September [1970].
The Hunter Valley Locations for the “BOX” Film Shoot
The locations for the film were:
- Minmi (N.S.W.) – Cemetery & Quarries (Procession, Clifftops and Burial)
- Failford (N.S.W.) (near Taree) – Old house/Clothesline scene; Possibly off Bullocky Way. House has gone – area now a housing estate.
- Seaham (N.S.W.) “Pastoral scenes” around Seaham. Unsure of exact location… but on a creek off the Williams River.
- Newcastle (N.S.W.) Bed & Witches – 3rd floor “Malmo” building King Street Newcastle – approx. No 75. (building now demolished)
BOX (1971) Premieres in October 1971
The Premiere at the University occurred on 23 October 1971.
“FILM PREMIERED AT UNIVERSITY”
from The University News, The University of Newcastle, No. 28, 28 October 1971 (p.4) full: https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/nodes/view/59401
SILK SCREEN “BOX” POSTER
Tracking Down “BOX (1971)”
We then set about trying to locate a copy of the film, and were delighted to find that the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) held a copy. We also managed to contact the Writer and Director, Bob Hill, who kindly provided us with permission to make the film available for viewing through the University of Newcastle’s Living Histories Platform. We thank both the NFSA and Bob Hill for making this possible.
Link to the film BOX (1971)
[WARNING: The film contains full frontal nudity, supernatural and horror themes. Viewer discretion is advised]
The Death of Jim Beiers on his way to the Rolling Stones’ Sydney Show
Bob was able to provide details surrounding the life and untimely death of his film’s star, Jim Beiers.
He was born in 1952, and his parents both pre-deceased him, hence Godfrey’s claim that he was an orphan. He was raised by his older brother, Peter Beiers.
Jim died on 22 February 1973 on the Deadly Hume Highway returning from Melbourne to Sydney, in his combi van, hoping to join his friends in attending the Rolling Stones’ Sydney concert scheduled for the 27 February 1973, a concert he would never see. A recording of this concert is exists.
Bob Hill remembers the circumstances around hearing the news of Jim’s tragic accident:
“I seem to recall I was expecting to meet Jim in Sydney for the Stones’ 1st concert … but when I picked up my youngest brother from the airport a day or two before the show, he passed on the news that Jim had been killed in a road accident near Seymour, Victoria on “The Deadly Hume”. Since I had been out of the Stockton Ferry loop, it took some time for one of our Stockton Ferry group to track me down to let me know – I think it was Max Ryan eventually rang my parent’s house in Taree and passed on the message.
I attended his funeral in a little wooden church somewhere near Belmont, which was packed with stunned friends and family. Godfrey may even have been there.
Jim’s much older brother Peter, (a veterinarian – and the person who really raised Jim), organised the funeral and had “When the Saints Go Marching In” played over the tinny speaker system when it finished – which made us all cringe, especially since we knew of Jim’s sophisticated taste in music. I think it was Peter’s way of cutting us out of the loop – since he disapproved of our arts student lifestyles and appearances. We certainly weren’t invited to the crematorium at Beresfield and I note that there is no memorial for Jim there, with his ashes “scattered in general plot”.
From Ancestry.com.au and Find a Grave.com –
James Beiers
BIRTH
1952
DEATH
22 Feb 1973 (aged 20–21)
BURIAL
Beresfield, Newcastle City, New South Wales, Australia
PLOT
Ashes scattered in general plot. No memorial at Newcastle Memorial Park.
MEMORIAL ID
193438218 · View Source
Jim Beiers’s Graduation
James died a year or so within making the film, his posthumous graduation occurred in 16th March 1973, and the booklet bears a “cross” against his name “James Andrew Beiers” See: https://livinghistories.newcastle.edu.au/assets/display/191857-max?u=d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
The Necromantic Underworld of the Early 1970s Bringing Jim Back to Life Through the Magic of Film & Cinematic Art
The young star of this film, James Beiers, passed away in a car accident within a year of its making, so to see him move and live again is very special to us.
All that exists of him lives within this film. And that is true magic.
Bob Hill’s The Strange and Wonderous Tale of the Stockton Ferry
We asked Bob Hill to provide his reminiscences and memories of the Stockton Ferry period of his life. We also asked that he represent the memory of Jim Beiers at our OPUS reunion in May 2025.
Over to Bob…“The Strange and Wonderous Tale of the Stockton Ferry”.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Bob Hill, Ruth Talbot-Stokes, Zsuzsi Szucs & The National Film & Sound Archive and Matthew Davis and Jasmine Sullivan of the Auchmuty Library, University of Newcastle.
Gionni Di Gravio OAM
University Archivist & Chair, Hunter Living Histories