Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘swimming’

31 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

A

Australasian Gazette – Mermaids Swim Well newsreel – c1931

This newsreel from approximately 1931 shows highlights of the Bondi Ladies’ Annual Carnival at the local Bondi Baths, including excerpts from various races.

Australasian Gazette – Some Sunday Morning newsreel – c1920

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

Australasian Gazette – Sun Worshippers newsreel – c1924

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

Australia Today – Man-Eater newsreel – 1939

Shark attacks on populated beaches are statistically not that common in Australia, but they attract sensational media coverage of the type seen in this newsreel.

C

Chas E Blanks: Families at Seaside, Sydney Harbour advertisement – c1930

This ad is filmed in a home movie style, and features the producer’s own family.

Coruba Jamaican Rum advertisement – 1979

This animated commercial for Coruba Jamaican Rum celebrates the lifestyle associated with the spirit’s origins.

D

Darwin c1926 historical – c1926

This historical and cultural record of Darwin in the 1920s includes valuable footage of the city’s environment and its multicultural population.

A Day at the Beach sponsored film – 1956

A young Australian family enjoys a day at the beach.

Dimpel, Konrad: Manuka Swimming Pool home movie – 1961

This silent 8mm colour footage provides a snapshot of Canberra social life in the 1960s.

The Dream – Days 9 and 15 television program – 2000

A lighthearted live show by Roy Slaven and HG Nelson on the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

E

Evolution of the Australian Crawl documentary – c1952

Swimming champion Andrew 'Boy’ Charlton, who has a picturesque Sydney pool named after him, is one of those interviewed.

F

Four Corners – The First Program television program – 1961

This interview with Olympic swimming champion John Konrads, from the first Four Corners in 1961, leaves us with a better understanding of how a great athlete’s mind works.

From Sand to Celluloid – Two Bob Mermaid short film – 1996

In this visually stunning short film set in the 1950s, a fair-skinned Aboriginal girl gains access to the local swimming pool where Aboriginal people are legally denied access.

G

The Games – Series 1 Episode 8, Rural and Environment television program – 1998

In mockumentary style, The Games charts the progress of the fictitious Logistics and Liaison Division of SOCOG in the run-up to the Sydney Olympics.

Gold Gold Gold: 4 x 100 Metres Men’s Medley Relay spoken word – 1980

Norman May’s dramatic swimming-race call at the 1980 Olympics which has remained close to the hearts of Australians.

H

Holt – Film Re-enactment of the Circumstances Surrounding the Disappearance of the PM sponsored film – 1967

This unedited footage shot by Victorian Police re-creates the unexplained disappearance of Prime Minister Harold Holt from a Victorian beach in December 1967.

L

Last Ride feature film – 2009

On the run in rural South Australia, a former convict and his 10-year-old son get to know each other for the first and last time.

Life Guards at Bondi Beach documentary – c1929

From around 1929, this fragment of actuality footage shows a Surf Life Saving carnival at Bondi Beach.

Little Fish feature film – 2005

In the climax of Little Fish Cate Blanchett convinces a man with a gun that he has a choice about what to do. There’s never really been a scene like it in another Australian film, because guns, once drawn, tend to get used. It’s a powerful message for young viewers used to violent resolutions to complex problems.

Living with Happiness short film – 2001

Living with Happiness is a short animation about our inability to embrace happiness without worrying about its demise.

M

McKenzie, Roger and Kent, Bernie: Around Sydney with a Camera home movie – 1962

Bernard Kent met Roger McKenzie in 1947. Aside from collecting films, they made their own amateur movies such as this travelogue of Sydney’s harbour suburbs.

P

Peach Growing and Canning in Australia sponsored film – c1926

At the time the film was made, the Leeton State Canning Factory employed approximately 250 people and processed 120 tonnes of fruit a day.

Picturesque Portsea Provides Perfect Pageant newsreel – c1926

This clip of the popular beach and pier at Portsea in Victoria vividly captures the beach fashions and social customs of the 1920s.

Prahran 3181: Swimming in the Backyard documentary – 2001

Simple subject matter – life at a swimming pool – captures the social interaction of the regulars and the sense of community.

S

Small Treasures short film – 1995

In this animated short, a pregnant woman imagines the worst domestic disasters befalling her unborn child.

Sons of Matthew feature film – 1949

Sons of Matthew is an extremely vivid depiction of the heroic conquest of the land by Australia’s white settlers.

Sorrento historical – c1922

The many attractions of the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento are promoted in this 1920s footage produced for the Sorrento Progress Association.

The St Kilda Esplanade on Boxing Day historical – c1913

A vivid snapshot of public life on a sunny day at the St Kilda esplanade and foreshore on Boxing Day 1913.

T

Thrill of the Surf documentary – 1949

This short Cinesound documentary from Ken G Hall boasts beautifully filmed visuals, with surfers seen in silhouette and sunlight bouncing off the water.

Turn Around short film – 2002

Director Samantha Saunders refers to her film as a 'girl fantasy’ and it is refreshing to have an all-Indigenous cast in a romantic comedy.

Y

Yolngu Boy feature film – 2000

An entirely untrained Indigenous cast are featured in Yolngu Boy, which aimed to communicate with a wide youth audience.