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clip 1Clip description
Melbourne’s cable trams operated from 1885 to 1940. Jaunty music accompanies a tram ride through Melbourne in the 1920s.
Curator’s notes
This clip offers a montage of historic footage of Melbourne’s streets in the 1920s with the cable trams in operation. It is a collection of shots inside the trams with passengers; there is also a tracking shot of trams passing over bridges and along streets, and possibly a motor vehicle or another tram used as a camera dolly to film the tram in movement.
The audio is jazz dance music, typical of the 1920s, showing the influence of ragtime. In the absence of any narration the music is essential in bringing the footage to life. The lack of voice-over, however, is unfortunate. There is information the viewer would probably like to hear, especially the locations where the footage has been filmed. Often the interest of historic footage like this is to see locations as they were decades ago and then compare them to the present day.
Also it is remarkable to see how fast the trams are travelling and how they operate with other traffic. It would have been interesting to hear any stories about accidents or anecdotes that passengers at the time may have had. What was it actually like to ride a cable tram? Without any narration, the clip on its own seems insufficient.
