It's about a family that migrates to Australia. There's a big man who runs afoul of a sargeant, who is a vicious brute. The entire family I think, is put in jail.
The scene that I recall most vividly is one set in the rain, with the big man stripped to his pants and his hands tied to a beam above. You hear grunts and the crack of the whip and the puddles on the ground turn to blood.