Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows actor Michael Caton introducing and commenting on black-and-white silent footage from a 1929 newsreel of James Scullin and members of his new Labor government arriving in Canberra for the opening of Parliament. Crowds greet them at Canberra railway station. Stanley Melbourne Bruce, the defeated former prime minister, waves goodbye and gets into his car. Caton comments on the uncritical style of early political newsreels and the calm manner of Bruce’s departure. Music accompanies the voice-over.

Educational value points

• The Scullin Labor government, seen here arriving to take office following a significant election victory, immediately faced the disaster of the Great Depression and was to last only one term. Labor had won a 29-seat majority in the House of Representatives after being out of office for 13 years but a hostile Senate and disunited party made it difficult to deal effectively with the crisis. The Scullin government was to last only two years and lost office in November 1931.

• In the clip, a contemporary narration and added musical soundtrack interpret the historical newsreel footage and highlight the disaster that was to overwhelm the government. The slow, sombre piano score counterbalances the mood of optimism that is suggested as the jovial new members stroll through Parliament House. The narration emphasises their ‘innocence’ in not yet being aware of the devastating effect of the recent Wall Street crash.

• Michael Caton’s narration is critical of the lack of interpretive commentary in early political newsreels and claims that ‘shots were neutral’, but the lack of critical comment at least partly reflects the technical limitations of silent film. Silent newsreels could not present ‘sound bites’ or interviews, and commentary on events depended on intertitles, a restriction that explains the brevity of newsreels and their lack of critical interpretation.

• Two days after the government of James Scullin (1876–1953) was sworn in on 24 October 1929, a month before the opening of Parliament, stock values crashed on Wall Street, leading to a worldwide economic depression with severe effects on Australia. Unemployment hit 21 per cent during the term of the Scullin government and with no centralised unemployment assistance there was widespread suffering, with many losing their homes and all their savings.

• The narration interprets the manner in which former prime minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce (1883–1967) is seen leaving Canberra as providing an example of the smooth transition of power in Australian democracy. Bruce had lost both the election and his own seat, brought down by mounting conflict between unions and employers and his uncompromising support for employers. He is shown here calmly leaving office in apparent good humour.

• Canberra and what was then the new Parliament House are shown in their early years as the seat of Australia’s federal government. In 1927 Parliament had moved from Melbourne to Canberra on the opening of the new Parliament House. In 1929 the capital city was still a small bush town, parts of which can be glimpsed in the clip as Stanley Bruce drives away. The construction of Canberra was suspended during the Depression.

Actor Michael Caton speaks from the floor of parliament.

Michael Caton There’s nothing new in cynicism, but it was slow in finding its place in films. Surprisingly, from today’s standpoint, the silent newsreels that had appeared since the turn of the century lacked any kind of political comment. Shots were neutral, and the intertitle cards unquestioning.

We see a Paramount Gazette newsreel from 1929. Titles read 'Paramount News Special, Paramount Weekly Gazette’. Canberra, FC (illegible) 'Scenes of unprecedented enthusiasm greet Mr and Mrs Scullin on their arrival at Canberra from Melbourne’. A train arrives at a station with a crowd of people. The Scullins pose with flowers they are given from children. There is a footage of a photo shoot of politicians in front of the Parliament House.

Titles reads ‘Mr SM Bruce, ex-Prime Minister leaving his department after relinquishing office’. There is footage that shows ex-Prime Minister Stanley Bruce leaving Parliament House, while the new James Scullin Labor administration walks into the building.

Titles read ‘Mr JA Lyons, Tasmania Postmaster-General and Minister for Works and Railways’. Footage of Lyons. Titles read ‘Mr JA Beasley, New South Wales Assistant Minister for Industry’. Footage of Beasley. ‘Mr F Brennan, Batman, Victoria, Attorney-General’. Footage of Brennan. There is footage of children and men during the depression sitting in doorways and eating bread.

Michael We’ve added music to this item on the arrival of James Scullin’s Labor administration in November 1929. Coming to power at the end of a decade of strong economic growth, it was an administration brimming it optimism. Looking back from today, there’s a kind of innocence to these scenes. Democracy is the peaceful transfer of power. The outgoing prime minister, Stanley Bruce, steps quietly into his car whilst the Labor Party sweeps into the corridors of Old Parliament House. But within two days, the Wall Street crash occurred and their confidence was confronted with a global economic crisis of unprecedented proportions.