Clip description
Actress Kerry Walker reminisces about the arrival of TV in Melbourne. Television sets were in shop windows and people stood in the street to see the new marvel.
Curator’s notes
This clip is a good example of the way historical actuality footage can provide social context. As Kerry Walker describes people standing around the local appliance shop to get a glimpse of a television, the historical footage both supports and recreates her recollections. For younger generations who did not experience the advent of television, the black-and-white footage brings history to life. Similarly, Walker’s memory invests the otherwise anonymous crowds gathered in front of the televisions with a sense of excitement and fascination. The two types of visual images – the talking head and the historical footage – are enriched through association.