Titles curated by Poppy De Souza
402 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 next
1900s
Living Hawthorn historical – 1906
Reminiscent of Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory, this actuality footage is filmed by Millard Johnson and William Gibson, two pioneers of Australian silent film.
Boxing 1908: Johnson vs Burns historical – 1908
The Boxing Day fight between Canadian Tommy Burns and African American Jack Johnson drew an impressive crowd of 20,000 people.
Pathe Animated Gazette: Fire Breaks Out at Hornsby, Sydney newsreel – c1908
Topics in this Pathe Animated Gazette newsreel from 1908 range from a fire at Hornsby, in Sydney, to women modelling harem pants in Melbourne.
Fighting the Flames historical – 1909
Footage of the Adelaide Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1909 featuring rescue and resuscitation demonstrations by firefighters.
Higgins, Bryce: Family and Holiday Scenes: 1909-1924 home movie – c1909
This beautifully filmed home movie contains some of the earliest examples of home movie footage held by the National Film and Sound Archive.
Jack Johnson Training Film historical – c1909
American boxer Jack Johnson trains before an intimate crowd, months after he became the first-ever African American to claim the heavyweight title.
1910s
Marvellous Melbourne: Queen City of the South documentary – c1910
Spencer believed cinema patrons wanted to see their own people and country. He went on to produce feature films, some with director Raymond Longford.
Opening of the Prahran-Malvern Tramway documentary – 1910
This silent footage by Millard Johnson and William Gibson was made at a time when few people had seen moving pictures let alone a film camera.
Pathe Animated Gazette (Australasian Edition): The First Instalment of Australian Notes newsreel – c1910
Australasian editions of the Pathe Animated Gazette combined local and international news items and screened to cinema audiences from around 1908 until the First World War.
At Footscray a Church is Pulled Down newsreel – 1911
This footage shows the preparations for demolition of a small church in Paisley Street, Footscray. It was screened at the opening of the Grand Picture Theatre in November 1911.
Ballarat Beauty Competition newsreel – 1911
This Pathé newsreel captures the 36 entrants in a local beauty competition held in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on 9 June 1911.
Footscray 1911 historical – c1911
One of the earliest moving image recordings of Footscray, this footage was screened to locals a week later at the Federal Hall in Nicholson Street.
A Thriving and Prosperous Suburb: Bird’s Eye View of Footscray documentary – c1911
This informal snapshot of daily life in 1910 is a rare record of working people in early 20th-century Melbourne.
Naming the Federal Capital of Australia historical – 1913
Director Raymond Longford, best known for his silent feature film The Sentimental Bloke (1919), documents the naming of Australia’s capital city, Canberra, in 1913.
The St Kilda Esplanade on Boxing Day historical – c1913
A vivid snapshot of public life on a sunny day at the St Kilda esplanade and foreshore on Boxing Day 1913.
Society Wedding home movie – c1914
This silent footage of a society wedding, beautifully framed and shot on 35mm nitrate film, is a rare example of a home movie from the 1910s.
Cartoons of the Moment – Australia’s Prime Minister Delights the Empire newsreel – c1915
In this edition of Cartoons of the Moment, Harry Julius comments on the war in Europe and Prime Minister Hughes’s policy of restrictions on trade with Germany.
Cartoons of the Moment – Crown Prince of Death newsreel – c1915
This First World War anti-German propaganda cartoon represents fighting countries as animals and employs puns in the titles and accompanying captions.
Cartoons of the Moment – German Dove of Peace newsreel – 1915
These cartoons also occasionally provided social commentary on domestic issues that did not have to do with the First World War, such as the evolution of the skirt.
Cartoons of the Moment – Miss Australasia newsreel – c1915
Cartoons of the Moment employs cut-out animation, with two-dimensional character shapes photographed using a stop-motion technique.
Cartoons of the Moment – The Berlin Lokal Anzeiger newsreel – 1915
To emphasise the topicality of his work, political cartoonist Harry Julius is seen reading a newspaper at his desk before he begins sketching his latest cartoon.
Cartoons of the Moment – The Economy in Germany newsreel – c1915
Julius’s propaganda cartoons satirise the qualities of a country and its people by associating characters with specific symbols, items of clothing and facial features.
Cartoons of the Moment – The War Zoo newsreel – c1915
Cartoonist Harry Julius used animals to represent the various countries involved in the First World War, creating easily identifiable – and satirical – character stereotypes.
Empire Day Pageant historical – c1915
This is a silent actuality fragment from around 1915 and shows people celebrating 'Empire Day’ in full costume, apparently in a small country town. The estimated date of the footage comes from the stock dates marked on the film fragments – one method used to date audiovisual material held at the National Film and Sound Archive.
WWI Troops Embarkation and Charity Bazaars, Sydney historical – c1915
This silent footage shows newly recruited troops embarking for service; life on board the ships for troops heading overseas; and the fundraising activities of the Red Cross to aid in the war effort.
Australia Prepared documentary – c1916
A recruiting film highlighting Australian wartime contributions, including shipbuilding and the manufacture of weapons and uniforms.
Cartoons of the Moment – Today the German Monster Threatens the World newsreel – c1916
This powerful piece of anti-German propaganda was a recruitment tool to persuade Australian men of fighting age that their help was urgently needed in the war effort.
Les Darcy’s Last Fight: Les Darcy vs George Chip historical – 1916
One of Australia’s best ever boxers, Les Darcy, takes on American middleweight George Chip at the Sydney Stadium.
Les Darcy vs Dave Smith for the Championship of Australia historical – 1916
Boxing great Les Darcy trains with, and later fights, Dave Smith, his former mentor.
Across the Trans-continental Railway: From Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta documentary – c1917
The construction of the trans-continental railway began in 1912 with work being carried out at both ends simultaneously.
Novel Method of Advertising Peace Bonds: The Lion and the Kangaroo newsreel – c1917
In this newsreel item of a Melbourne parade, advertisements for peace bonds feature on the lion and kangaroo cages belonging to the Colleano and Sole Brothers Circus.
Cartoons of the Moment – The Kaiser War newsreel – c1918
This edition of Cartoons of the Moment was probably made in 1918, after Prime Minister Hughes’s second visit to England to attend the Imperial War Cabinet.
Pathe Animated Gazette: 141st Australasian Edition newsreel – c1918
This edition of the Pathe Animated Gazette covers news items from different parts of Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Warrnambool and Tasmania.
Richmond Carnival in Aid of Blind Soldiers, May 1918 newsreel – 1918
Parades, carnivals and marches were commonly covered by newsreels. They were held to raise money and increase support for Australian troops and their families.
Voice of a Nation historical – c1918
Returned Australian soldiers from the First World War march through a city street alongside horse-drawn Red Cross ambulances.
Red Cross Activities During and After WWI historical – c1919
The footage provides a snapshot of the daily tasks Female Red Cross volunteers performed during and after the First World War.
Ross Smith’s Flight from London to Australia documentary – 1919
In 1919, aviator Ross Smith and crew became the first Australians to fly between England and Australia in under 30 days. Cameraman Frank Hurley joined them.
1920s
The Australian Steel Works sponsored film – c1920
This Made in Australia Council documentary, made circa 1920, tours a steel works factory in Newcastle to promote the Australian steel industry.
Berlei Corsets: Beautiful Lines of Woman Triumphant advertisement – c1920
This advertisement shows the fuller figures of the models as compared with models of today.
City Traffic in Variable Moods newsreel – c1920
This newsreel item is an example of how simple camera techniques can dramatically alter the appearance and mood of scenes that are filmed.
Kiddies of Queensland Enjoy Outings in their Billy Carts: Rockhampton newsreel – c1920
This newsreel novelty item from approximately 1920 features boys riding on the back of goats and children in billycarts on the streets of Rockhampton, Queensland.
A Shining Example sponsored film – c1920
Unlike other films produced by the Made in Australia Council, A Shining Example juxtaposes a tour of an Australian factory with a fictional narrative.
Steamboat Holidays on the Murray River documentary – c1920
This silent documentary shows the landscape and townships along the Murray River and is from a series made in the 1920s called See Australia First.
Albion, Douglas: Children’s Party home movie – c1921
This beautiful example of early movie making in 1920s Australia was rediscovered by Douglas Albion decades after it was filmed.
Albion, Douglas: Wally’s Fifth Birthday Party home movie – c1921
Douglas Albion was about to throw this footage out when he heard of a search for source material to be used in the production of Our Century (1998).
Sewerage of a Great City: Melbourne sponsored film – c1922
By the time this sponsored documentary was made, over 166,000 homes and 70,000 people were, according to its intertitles, 'enjoying the benefits of sewerage’ in Melbourne.
Sorrento historical – c1922
The many attractions of the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento are promoted in this 1920s footage produced for the Sorrento Progress Association.
The Sun Worshippers documentary – 1922
A scientific expedition to Wallal for the 1922 solar eclipse confirmed the bending of light by gravity predicted in Einstein’s 1915 General Theory of Relativity.
The Origin of Oil sponsored film – c1923
Made for the Shell Company of Australia, this industrial documentary traces the path of oil from its initial extraction to the petroleum relied on by consumers.
Boots and Shoes sponsored film – c1924
This film shows the inner workings of a boot and shoe factory, following the manufacturing process from cutting shoe patterns to the finished product.
