Titles from the 1910s
67 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
A
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.
Anzac Day Promotional advertisement – c1916
This advertisement encourages Australians to commemorate Anzac Day. The Gallipoli campaign was fought from 25 April 1915 and first commemorated in 1916.
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.
Australasian Gazette – First Shipment of Red Cross Supplies to Egypt newsreel – c1917
In this newsreel, workers at Federal Government House, Melbourne, load boxes of Red Cross supplies onto horse-drawn vehicles. The supplies are to aid soldiers in Egypt.
Australasian Gazette – Goodbye Sunny New South Wales newsreel – c1917
This newsreel footage from 1917 encourages young men to enlist for the First World War. It shows a public parade for soldiers travelling overseas to fight.
Australasian Gazette – HMAS Brisbane Launched at Cockatoo Island newsreel – 1915
In this 1915 newsreel, the wife of then prime minister Andrew Fisher launches the HMAS Brisbane naval ship from the dockyard of Cockatoo Island.
Australasian Gazette – Mimic Warfare newsreel – 1917
In this 1917 newsreel, troops from the Engineers’ Depot rehearse a raid on enemy trenches and are instructed by their commanding officers over the telephone.
Australasian Gazette – Patriotic Procession in Aid of the French Red Cross newsreel – 1915
In this 1915 newsreel, people in costume walk, ride horses or ride in horse-drawn carriages on a Melbourne street as part of a parade for the French Red Cross.
Australasian Gazette – Returned Anzacs newsreel – c1917
This newsreel likely dates from the latter half of the First World War and shows returned Anzac soldiers marching through Melbourne as part of the ‘Fill-the-Gap’ recruitment drive.
Australasian Gazette – Sheep Dog Trial newsreel – 1915
This newsreel segment from 1915 shows a typical Australian showground. A sheepdog trainer and his dog herd three sheep into a pen.
Australasian Gazette – The Last Innings of Victor Trumper newsreel – 1915
In this newsreel, a large group marches in front of the horse-drawn vehicle carrying the casket of Australian cricketer Victor Trumper to a Sydney cemetery.
Australasian Gazette – The Strike Spreads newsreel – c1917
In this Australasian Gazette newsreel, waterside workers unload perishables from a ship. This footage may be from the the New South Wales General Strike of 1917.
Australia in France, Part One documentary – c1918
One of the Australian War Memorial’s most important films – the most accurate filmed record of the Battle of Pozières in 1916.
The Australian Flying Corps in France, England and Palestine historical – 1919
A silent film depicting pilots and crew of the Australian Flying Corps, precursor to the RAAF, in training and at war in 1918 in France and the Middle East.
Australian Labor Government 1916 Conscription Referendum Campaign: Referendum Bullets newsreel – 1916
This silent cinema short, presented by Prime Minister Billy Hughes, promotes the 'Yes’ vote for the 1916 conscription referendum.
The Australians at Messines historical – 1917
Silent footage by Herbert Baldwin, Australia’s first official war photographer, of the Battle of Messines in Belgium, June 1917.
The Australians’ Final Campaign in 1918 historical – c1919
A compilation film covering Australian forces on the Western Front in the final year of the First World War.
Australia Prepared documentary – c1916
A recruiting film highlighting Australian wartime contributions, including shipbuilding and the manufacture of weapons and uniforms.
B
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.
Bapaume to Bullecourt historical – 1917
Silent footage of Australian soldiers entering Bapaume, in March 1917, pursuing German troops as they withdraw to the Hindenburg Line.
C
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 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.
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.
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.
Chez les Sauvages Australiens historical – 1917
An engaging and respectful insight into Aboriginal people’s culture and their interaction with the filmmaking process, made in 1917.
Country Gardens music – 1919
A pianola version of Percy Grainger’s ‘Country Gardens’ performed by the composer.
D
The Digger Carries On: Repatriation Illustrated documentary – 1919
This 1919 film reassured Australians that returned servicemen were being looked after, in part through retraining.
E
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.
The Enemy Within feature film – 1918
Snowy Baker stars as a secret agent who smashes a ring of German spies in Sydney during the First World War.
F
Fighting in Flanders documentary – 1917
Silent footage of Australian troops in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), fighting near the Menin Road in Belgium, in September 1917.
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.
For the Honour of Australia feature film – 1916
War melodrama about two brothers in 1915: one joins the navy, the other discovers a German spy ring in Australia and is saved after the Sydney batters the Emden.
H
The Hero of the Dardanelles feature film – 1915
Hero is the first surviving feature film depiction of Australian troops of the First World War and includes images of a real army camp and real soldiers, in training at Liverpool, NSW.
I
Incidents in Connection with the Funeral of Captain Baron von Richthofen historical – 1918
The funeral of Germany’s greatest air ace in the First World War, conducted with full military honours by a squadron of the Australian Flying Corps, in April 1918.
K
Kiwi Shoe Polish: Shine Sir advertisement – 1914
This cinema advertisement illustrates what employers on the home front faced when their staff enlisted themselves into the war effort.
L
The Landing of the Australian Troops in Egypt historical – c1916
A short commercial recording dramatising the Australian troops arriving in Egypt, before Gallipoli.
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.
M
The Man from Kangaroo feature film – 1919
John Harland, a bush parson, is dismissed from his job for teaching children how to box. Harland moves to another town, where he combats ruffians and rescues his girlfriend from a forced marriage.
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.
My South Polar Expedition spoken word – 1910
Sir Ernest Shackleton tells how the loss of a pony affected his attempt to reach the South Pole in 1908.
N
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.
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.
O
The Official Film of the Mawson Antarctic Expedition documentary – c1916
This film documents part of the treacherous 600-mile 1911–1914 expedition to the Magnetic South Pole led by Sir Douglas Mawson.
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.
