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Commuting by Cable (1988)

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clip Musical trams education content clip 1

This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Melbourne’s cable trams operated from 1885 to 1940. Jaunty music accompanies a tram ride through Melbourne in the 1920s.

Curator’s notes

by Damien Parer

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.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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