Sign in

Private company

Efftee Studios

Australian film and theatre production studio

Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films was based in Melbourne and used optical sound equipment imported from the US.2 It was founded by Francis William Thring.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1930Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Efftee Studios was an early Australian film and theatre production studio, established by F.W. Thring (the name 'Efftee' deriving from his initials, 'FT' for Francis Thring) in 1930. It existed until Thring's death in 1935. Initially Efftee Films was based in Melbourne and used optical sound equipment imported from the US.2

The story

Founded by Francis William Thring in 1930.1

In 1931, the company produced the first commercially viable Australian made sound feature film, Diggers. Over the next five years, Efftee produced nine features, over 80 shorts and several stage productions, including the Australian musicals Collits' Inn (1933) and The Cedar Tree (1934). Notable collaborators include C. J. Dennis, George Wallace and Frank Harvey.

In 1934, Thring suspended Efftee's operations to pressure the government to establish a quota for Australian films, threatening to move production to London. He relocated production to Sydney to take advantage of the New South Wales Cinematograph Films (Australian Quota) Act 1935.

Efftee was also the first operator of Melbourne radio station 3XY which began broadcasting on 9 September 1935.

Thring traveled to Hollywood in March 1936 to look for scriptwriters and actors and returned in June but died soon after.

Founder F.W. Thring was the father of the Australian and international actor, Frank Thring.

From Wikipedia’s article on Efftee Studios, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Leadership

Who has led Efftee Studios, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Timeline

  1. 1935Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1930Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3