Titles tagged with ‘ships’
38 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1890s
Loading Horses on the SS Cornwall historical – 1899
Horses board the SS Cornwall on 31 October 1899, prior to the ship’s departure for the Boer War.
SS Katoomba Unloading historical – 1899
This actuality footage from 1899 shows the unloading of timber spars from the SS Katoomba at a busy wharf in Brisbane.
1910s
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.
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.
1920s
Australasian Gazette – Dame Nellie Melba newsreel – c1920
This newsreel footage shows soprano Dame Nellie Melba, having arrived in Sydney from Vancouver on the passenger liner RMS Niagara after a world tour.
Australasian Gazette – Bon Voyage to Ex-Chief Justice, Sir William Cullen newsreel – c1924
This newsreel shows the 1924 farewell and departure from Sydney of the retired Chief Justice Sir William Cullen and Lady Cullen for an overseas trip.
Australasian Gazette – Ship Building as Hobby newsreel – c1925
In this 1925 newsreel, builders of model passenger liners sail their boats on a pond in Moore Park, Sydney.
Australasian Gazette – Master Pictures Lead the Way newsreel – c1926
In 1926, the general manager of Australasian Films and the producer of For the Term of His Natural Life leave for Tasmania to scout movie locations.
Australasian Gazette – Miss Australia, Beryl Mills, Leaves for the US on the Sonoma newsreel – 1926
This newsreel clip shows a large crowd farewelling the first Miss Australia, Miss Beryl Mills, as she leaves for the USA on the ocean liner Sonoma in 1926.
Bushells Tea: The Charmed Cup advertisement – 1929
Divided into three parts, this advertisement was screened like chapters of a dramatic fairytale plot.
1930s
Australian Navy: Destroyers documentary – c1930
The capacity of Royal Australian Navy destroyers to carry and launch torpedoes in the 1930s is demonstrated here.
Siege of the South documentary – 1931
Frank Hurley documents Australia’s rich history of scientific exploration of the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Endurance documentary – 1933
After watching Home of the Blizzard Ernest Shackleton asked Frank Hurley to film his expedition across Antarctica with the aim of funding part of the expedition through film sales.
In the Wake of the Bounty feature film – 1933
Made by Charles Chauvel and with Errol Flynn in the cast, In the Wake of the Bounty is an odd mixture of re-creation and travelogue.
Cockatoo Island: Newsreel Film of Dockyard Activities historical – c1939
The largest island in Sydney Harbour became the major shipbuilding and dockyard facility for the Pacific during the Second World War, following the fall of Singapore.
1940s
Through the Centre sponsored film – 1940
The Indian camel trader and the Japanese pearl diver become part of the film’s projection of the exotic within the expansive space of the Australian outback.
A Mountain Goes to Sea documentary – 1943
Made during the Second World War, A Mountain Goes to Sea was intended as a morale booster for workers building the machinery of war.
Sydney Harbour and Anzac Day home movie – c1946
This colour home movie shows the official Anzac Day parade through central Sydney in 1946, one year after the end of the Second World War.
Menzies 1948 Journey, Reel 1 home movie – 1948
This 16mm colour home movie filmed and edited by Sir Robert Menzies is an extraordinary record for not only Australians but the British too.
Antarctica 1948 documentary – 1949
A record of the operations of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition, November 1947–April 1948.
1950s
Antarctic Vigil documentary – 1952
One of the first colour films about Australian bases in the sub-Antarctic islands.
Il Contratto feature film – 1953
In 1950s Melbourne, four recent Italian migrants eager for work to pay off their debts finally find employment on a rural farm near the city.
Blue Ice documentary – 1954
The story of the 1954 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition to set up the first Australian base on the Antarctic continent.
Antarctic Voyage documentary – 1956
In 1955, the Danish ship Kista Dan takes a team of Australian scientists south for a year at Mawson, Australia’s new Antarctic research station.
1960s
Australia Today – Antarctic Pioneers documentary – 1963
Photographer Frank Hurley discusses his Antarctic exploits in his last appearance on film.
Ikara the Weapon Thrower sponsored film – 1963
This black-and-white film, classified 'confidential’ at the time, shows the lead up to the Ikara weapons trials and the trials that began in April 1963.
Dimpel, Konrad: On the Voyage to Germany home movie – c1966
Konrad Dimpel has recorded his family’s history through home movies since his arrival in Australia from Germany in 1954.
1970s
The Painters and Dockers Strike documentary – 1976
In the 1950s the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia had its own film unit to counter government policies of the day.
A Big Country – Perkins Navy television program – 1979
Bruce Perkins, a highly trained engineer with a pioneering spirit, says you need someone for the top end who is prepared to get things done.
Patrol Boat – Never Under the White Ensign television program – 1979
Patrol Boat is a television drama about the crew of a navy patrol boat, whose job it is to guard Australia’s coastal waters.
1980s
Cockatoo Island: HMAS Success Launching historical – 1984
The HMAS Success was ultimately the last ship to be built on Cockatoo Island before the dockyard closed in 1992.
The Ship That Shouldn’t Have documentary – 1984
A scientific expedition aboard the steam-powered Cheynes 2 was beset by disasters. The members of the expedition were lucky to survive.
1990s
No Survivors: The Mysterious Loss of the HMAS Sydney documentary – 1993
The loss of HMAS Sydney, the worst naval disaster in Australian history, sparked allegations of a cover-up.
Dogwatch feature film – 1997
This film could almost pass as a 1940s Hollywood studio thriller starring Humphrey Bogart.
2000s
The Battleships documentary – 2000
Included is a dramatic recreation of Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour, which brought the US into the Second World War.
Dad’s Clock short film – 2001
This stop-motion animation short film celebrates the life of the animator’s late father.
National Treasures – Endeavour Journal documentary – 2004
A look at Lieutenant James Cook’s journal, written on board the Endeavour during his trip down under in 1770.
Sea Patrol – Cometh the Hour television program – 2007
Adventure-driven navy drama revolving around the crew of a patrol boat and set in the waters of northern Australia.
