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clip 3Clip description
The Dutch construction company Werkspoor Engineering Works is contracted to erect the distillation plant. The camera pans across the worksite and up to the top of one construction where both the Dutch and Australian flags are secured.
As the camera shows the exterior of the hostel complex, the voice-over announces the completion of the 220,000 pound ‘model of industrial design’ equipped with 300 bedrooms and a dining room that can accommodate 500 meals at one sitting. Signs and notices are printed in at least two languages. Recreational areas are provided where workers can play darts, ping-pong and pool.
By October 1952 a 215-foot crane is erected on the site – the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
A 90-acre housing scheme is shown. As a car drives through the newly finished housing block, the voice-over positively concludes ‘the dream is running to schedule’.
Curator’s notes
Newsreels and documentaries around this time were commonly post-dubbed and sound effects laid in the post-production process. The sounds of construction in this clip are a clear example of how prerecorded sound effects are laid down in the editing process to match the images on screen.
