Share
Clip description
Dominic McGooley (Gordon Chater) fishes from the old Balmain wharf as the opening titles are played out against a backdrop of Sydney Harbour, with a noticeably lower city skyline than the one we see today. Only the Harbour Bridge’s familiar coat-hanger shape is instantly recognisable.
Curator’s notes
Anyone old enough to recall seeing this production when it was first aired in 1966 remembers above all the opening sequence with that postcard image of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It’s a great visual record of the city skyline as seen from the west, before Darling Harbour and the towers of the CBD and North Sydney changed it forever. The Opera House, tucked behind the bridge, was in phase two of its construction. If you look carefully in the upper right-hand corner of the frame as McGooley limps up the hill from the wharf, you’ll see the tips of two giant cranes that were used to lift the famous sails into place.
Given that Australian audiences weren’t used to seeing Australian comedies on television, these opening credits certainly set the scene. The fact that McGooley is fishing right under a ‘No Fishing’ sign also tells us of his larrikin character.
