Australian
Screen

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All newsreels

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1900s

Pathe Animated Gazette: Fire Breaks Out at Hornsby, Sydney c1908

Topics in this Pathe Animated Gazette newsreel from 1908 range from a fire at Hornsby, in Sydney, to women modelling harem pants in Melbourne.

1910s

Pathe Animated Gazette (Australasian Edition): The First Instalment of Australian Notes c1910

Australasian editions of the Pathe Animated Gazette combined local and international news items and screened to cinema audiences from around 1908 until the First World War.

At Footscray a Church is Pulled Down 1911

This footage shows the preparations for demolition of a small church in Paisley Street, Footscray. It was screened at the opening of the Grand Picture Theatre in November 1911.

Ballarat Beauty Competition 1911

This Pathé newsreel captures the 36 entrants in a local beauty competition held in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens on 9 June 1911.

Australasian Gazette – HMAS Brisbane Launched at Cockatoo Island 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.

Australasian Gazette – Patriotic Procession in Aid of the French Red Cross 1915

In this 1915 newsreel, people in costume walk, ride horses or ride in horse-drawn carriages on a Melbourne street as part of a parade for the French Red Cross.

Australasian Gazette – Sheep Dog Trial 1915

This newsreel segment from 1915 shows a typical Australian showground. A sheepdog trainer and his dog herd three sheep into a pen.

Australasian Gazette – The Last Innings of Victor Trumper 1915

In this newsreel, a large group marches in front of the horse-drawn vehicle carrying the casket of Australian cricketer Victor Trumper to a Sydney cemetery.

Cartoons of the Moment – Australia’s Prime Minister Delights the Empire c1915

In this edition of Cartoons of the Moment, Harry Julius comments on the war in Europe and Prime Minister Hughes’s policy of restrictions on trade with Germany.

Cartoons of the Moment – Crown Prince of Death c1915

This First World War anti-German propaganda cartoon represents fighting countries as animals and employs puns in the titles and accompanying captions.

Cartoons of the Moment – German Dove of Peace 1915

These cartoons also occasionally provided social commentary on domestic issues that did not have to do with the First World War, such as the evolution of the skirt.

Cartoons of the Moment – Miss Australasia c1915

Cartoons of the Moment employs cut-out animation, with two-dimensional character shapes photographed using a stop-motion technique.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Berlin Lokal Anzeiger 1915

To emphasise the topicality of his work, political cartoonist Harry Julius is seen reading a newspaper at his desk before he begins sketching his latest cartoon.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Economy in Germany c1915

Julius’s propaganda cartoons satirise the qualities of a country and its people by associating characters with specific symbols, items of clothing and facial features.

Cartoons of the Moment – The War Zoo c1915

Cartoonist Harry Julius used animals to represent the various countries involved in the First World War, creating easily identifiable – and satirical – character stereotypes.

Australian Labor Government 1916 Conscription Referendum Campaign: Referendum Bullets 1916

This silent cinema short, presented by Prime Minister Billy Hughes, promotes the 'Yes’ vote for the 1916 conscription referendum.

Cartoons of the Moment – Today the German Monster Threatens the World c1916

This powerful piece of anti-German propaganda was a recruitment tool to persuade Australian men of fighting age that their help was urgently needed in the war effort.

Australasian Gazette – First Shipment of Red Cross Supplies to Egypt c1917

In this newsreel, workers at Federal Government House, Melbourne, load boxes of Red Cross supplies onto horse-drawn vehicles. The supplies are to aid soldiers in Egypt.

Australasian Gazette – Goodbye Sunny New South Wales c1917

This newsreel footage from 1917 encourages young men to enlist for the First World War. It shows a public parade for soldiers travelling overseas to fight.

Australasian Gazette – Mimic Warfare 1917

In this 1917 newsreel, troops from the Engineers’ Depot rehearse a raid on enemy trenches and are instructed by their commanding officers over the telephone.

Australasian Gazette – Returned Anzacs c1917

This newsreel likely dates from the latter half of the First World War and shows returned Anzac soldiers marching through Melbourne as part of the ‘Fill-the-Gap’ recruitment drive.

Australasian Gazette – The Strike Spreads c1917

In this Australasian Gazette newsreel, waterside workers unload perishables from a ship. This footage may be from the the New South Wales General Strike of 1917.

Novel Method of Advertising Peace Bonds: The Lion and the Kangaroo c1917

In this newsreel item of a Melbourne parade, advertisements for peace bonds feature on the lion and kangaroo cages belonging to the Colleano and Sole Brothers Circus.

Cartoons of the Moment – The Kaiser War c1918

This edition of Cartoons of the Moment was probably made in 1918, after Prime Minister Hughes’s second visit to England to attend the Imperial War Cabinet.

Pathe Animated Gazette: 141st Australasian Edition c1918

This edition of the Pathe Animated Gazette covers news items from different parts of Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, Warrnambool and Tasmania.

Richmond Carnival in Aid of Blind Soldiers, May 1918 1918

Parades, carnivals and marches were commonly covered by newsreels. They were held to raise money and increase support for Australian troops and their families.

1920s

Australasian Gazette – All for a Good Cause c1920

A surf carnival at Bondi Beach in aid of the St John’s Ambulance Brigade features in this Australasian Gazette newsreel from approximately 1920.

Australasian Gazette – A Unique Audience c1920

This 1920 Australasian Gazette newsreel shows injured soldiers from Caulfield Military Hospital attending a special matinee at Elsternwick Theatre.

Australasian Gazette – Conversion c1920

In this 1920 newsreel, work commences at Victoria Parade for the electrification of the cable tram system of Collins Street, Melbourne.

Australasian Gazette – Dame Nellie Melba 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 – In and around Hamilton District c1920

This newsreel from approximately 1920 shows the orchard districts of Hamilton, Queensland. Workers pick, sort and pack peaches for transportation.

Australasian Gazette – Some Sunday Morning c1920

This newsreel vividly captures 'some Sunday morning’ at St Kilda Beach, Melbourne, showcasing 1920s swimming costumes, parasols and beach culture.

City Traffic in Variable Moods c1920

This newsreel item is an example of how simple camera techniques can dramatically alter the appearance and mood of scenes that are filmed.

Kiddies of Queensland Enjoy Outings in their Billy Carts: Rockhampton c1920

This newsreel novelty item from approximately 1920 features boys riding on the back of goats and children in billycarts on the streets of Rockhampton, Queensland.

Australasian Gazette – Maoris Give Their War Cry c1922

In this 1922 newsreel footage, a Maori rugby league team perform a haka war dance before playing a game against New South Wales.

Australasian Gazette – 1st Chatswood Erects a Tower and a Rope Suspension Bridge c1923

In this newsreel from approximately 1923, the 1st Chatswood Boy Scouts erect a tower and suspension bridge and compete in a boxing match.

Australasian Gazette – 1924 Melbourne Cup 1924

This newsreel features highlights of the 1924 Melbourne Cup, including the horses entering the racetrack, crowds in the grandstand and the race, won by Backwood.

Australasian Gazette – A Seaplane Circles a Continent 1924

In this extract from a 1924 documentary, A Seaplane Circles a Continent, a RAAF airplane arrives in St Kilda after circumnavigating Australia.

Australasian Gazette – Bon Voyage to Ex-Chief Justice, Sir William Cullen 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 – Pauline Frederick, World Famous Star of Stage and Screen c1924

In this newsreel, stage and screen actress Pauline Frederick poses for the camera. It is an early example of the fascination Australians have with American actors.

Australasian Gazette – Sun Worshippers c1924

This newsreel from approximately 1924 shows surfers and swimmers at Bondi Beach enjoying the first day of real summer weather of the season.

Australasian Gazette – Annual Christmas Treat c1925

This segment from an old cinema newsreel shows Christmas celebrations for children at the Victoria Barracks in Sydney, including a live puppet show and Father Christmas handing out presents.

Australasian Gazette – Armistice Day, Melbourne c1925

This newsreel clip from about 1925 shows the crowd gathered on the steps of Parliament House, Melbourne, for Armistice Day. 'The Last Post’ plays after two minutes of silence.

Australasian Gazette – Parliament Opens the New Session 1925

In this newsreel from 1925, the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Dudley de Chair, arrives by car to open Parliament House in Melbourne.

Australasian Gazette – Ship Building as Hobby c1925

In this 1925 newsreel, builders of model passenger liners sail their boats on a pond in Moore Park, Sydney.

The Popular Sport of Surfboarding 1925

An early newsreel of pioneering surfboard riders at Bondi Beach in Sydney in 1925.

Australasian Gazette – 10,000 Miles around Australia c1926

In this Australasian Gazette newsreel from approximately 1926, Mr and Mrs F Dean arrive in Melbourne after their Shell-sponsored trip around Australia by touring car.

Australasian Gazette – 70,000 Pounds Production Nears Completion 1926

This newsreel clip from 1926 shows a scene from For the Term of His Natural Life in production at the Australasian Films’ Bondi studio in Sydney.

Australasian Gazette – Clive Barass, Australian Champion and Leader of the Troupe c1926

In this silent black-and-white footage, Australian champion diver Clive Barass and his troupe perform at Clifton Gardens Baths near Mosman, Sydney.

Australasian Gazette – Master Pictures Lead the Way 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.

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