[KenRa Films Present: the Kenneth Rankine Home Movie Collection: Reel 2]

Kenneth Carruthers Rankine (1890 - 1968) was a keen amateur cinematographer and filmmaker. This collection of his home movies has been donated to ACMI by Kenneth’s granddaughter. The collection represents a wonderful slice of life in Australia; with contents including scenes of everyday life, major family occasions, holidays around Victoria and views of Melbourne.

This film is made up of two distinct parts, both showing off the beauty and destinations of Tasmania and both capturing the courtship and marriage of the main people in the films, Val and Len.

In the first part, Kenneth uses a series of ‘intertitle’ cards to introduce his viewers to a conversation between ‘Valerie Sparks’ and ‘Len Couchman’ about Tasmania, which is ‘beyond the blue horizon’. What follows is a scenic tour of Tasmania interjected by moments of Valerie and Len sitting on a bench looking out to sea, continuing to talk of Tasmania over the course of a few days. During these chats, Valerie and Len become closer and end the first part of the film with arms around each other’s shoulders.

The second part of the film, title card ‘KenRa Films Present’ appears before we see Valerie and then Len in close-ups followed by title card, ‘Val. and Len. Couchman in’ and ‘”The Sequel” to The Blue Horizon’, thus showing the audience that the single Val and Len of the first film have now married.

As well as showing Tasmania as an interesting travel spot, both parts of this film include wonderful examples of late 1940s scenes - piers, shipping and boats, cars, trucks and Hobarts historic (and no longer used) trams, streets, shops and signs – all of which show the styles of living and working at the time.

Another point of historic interest is that of the fashion displayed by both men and women at the wedding. The bride chooses a cocktail style ensemble in blue rather than a long white dress and she and her attendant (Bettye Rankine Wootton) carry smaller floral bouquet in the style of a corsage. The guests wear low key but elegant outfits, the women in ‘frocks’ and suits that go well with matching hats, gloves, bags, shoes and sometimes corsages and the men in double breasted suits that indicate a particular style of the era.

Another point of interest in the film is the scenes of the operation of the ‘Bridgewater Bridge and Causeway’ over the Derwent River between Bridgewater and Granton north of Hobart and which was fully operational at the time. Construction on the steel vertical lift bridge across the Derwent began in 1939 and completed in 1946. It consists of a long concrete bridge that leads off the end of the causeway, and a steel lifting section just before the northern bank of the river. The lifting section is one of only a few remaining in the Southern Hemisphere, and is the largest of its kind remaining in Australia.

Finally. at Port Arthur the camera focuses on the crumbling masonry and ruins of the buildings which seems to capture the awful history of the site.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:02:00 pre-title certificate - ‘Victorian Amateur Cine Society’ for ‘Beyond the Blue Horizon’ being ‘awarded a prize in the Best Five Films Competition 1948’
00:00:14:00 title ‘KenRa films presents’ followed by a woman who winks at a man standing near by
00:00:35:00 title ‘Valerie Sparks and Len Couchman in’
00:00:46:00 title ‘Beyond the Blue Horizon’
00:01:15:00 Valerie and Len on rocks looking toward the sea and Valerie uses binoculars to look at the horizon.
00:01:29:00 using film intertitle cards, Len and Valerie have a conversation about Tasmania, beyond the blue horizon.
00:02:36:00 filming from a ship as it sails into a harbour
00:03:02:00 luggage label for Devonport, Tasmania
00:03:10:00 flowers, shrubs and bay views
00:03:45:00 a military ship or tanker sails by
00:03:48:00 several views of town streets
00:04:04:00 a 1940s style motorcycle followed by a steam train pulling into a station
00:04:31:00 an electric train moves along a track and a narrow ravine
00:04:52:00 Stanley Post Office and Shaw’s Commercial Hotel Est. 1847, Tasmania
00:05:05:00 views of older style buildings, deep verandas, horse drawn carts and vintage cars
00:05:50:00 a dramatic view of a wavy wide bay with across to a high hill and rocky cliff alongside a town, followed by bluestone older buildings
00:07:20:00 Burns Hotel
00:07:50:00 a woman rides a bicycle (pushbike) up a windy street
00:08:06:00 large smoking factory near the sea
00:08:13:00 horse and cart travel along a road followed by a railway crossing through which a steam train rolls
00:08:27:00 luggage tag for Ulverstone and signs for Burnie, Stanley, Smithton in Tasmania
00:08:32:00 views of Ulverstone township including Furner’s Hotel, followed by views of waterways and bridges and a steam train packed with logs
00:10:00:00 Valerie wears some spectacular 1940s style shoes
00:10:59:00 Len shows Valerie a map of Tasmania which includes the notation ‘unsettled land’
00:11:20:00 intertitle card ‘Today we go to Launceston’
00:11:38:00 views from a higher vantage point over Launceston followed by historic buildings and public gardens
00:12:22:00 trams travelling along streets interspersed with trees and flowering bushes
00:12:48:00 people travelling on bicycles and lovely vintage cars on a busy street when a dog and cat enter the roadway just narrowly missing the traffic including a tram
00:13:07:00 an old fashioned red public telephone box, followed by street scenes including some of the fashions of the day and a ‘Hail Bus Here’ sign
00:13:40:00 a horse and cart travelling along a street
00:13:45:00 views of Holyman House, a significant art deco style building designed by Roy Sharrington Smith and built in 1936 to house the company’s businesses in aviation, shipping and road vehicles.
00:14:07:00 older style street verandas with shop names, multi-seat vehicles that appear to be taxis or mini-buses operating between Launceston and Queenstown, under the name ‘Sullivans’
00:14:22:00 Astor and Majestic theatres
00:14:57:00 views of public gardens including the Val d’Osne Fountain in Prince’s Square, Launceston in Tasmania
00:15:49:00 a working man walking down a street alongside some wooden utility poles or ‘telegraph poles’ as they would have been known at this time
00:16:23:00 King’s Bridge, Launceston, Tasmania
00:16:40:00 views of the ‘Cataract Gorge’ and ‘South Esk River’ in Launceston
00:17:45:00 two peacocks followed by women smiling at the camera with an (unsmiling) baby, flowering shrubs
00:18:10:00 same baby with an elderly chap
00:18:15:00 views of flowering shrubs trees and a rapidly flowing river as it travels through high rocky banks and overlooking a people at a swimming pool which has been constructed as part of the river
00:18:50:00 scene switches back to our narrators Len and Valerie who are now embracing as part of the narrative
00:19:00:00 scenes overlooking mountains from a high vantage point
00:19:20:00 a woman walks toward a 1940s style car parked on a gravel road by a brick memorial or historic marker on top of a mountain
00:19:45:00 a windy dirt and gravel road travels through rocky mountainous terrain
00:20:10:00 Len gazes upon Valerie and Valerie winks at the camera before we see the title card ‘The End’
00:20:19:00 title card ‘Kenra Films Present’ appears before we see Valerie and then Len in close ups followed by title card ‘Val. and Len. Couchman in’ and ‘”The Sequel” to The Blue Horizon’.
00:21:05:00 Kenneth’s daughter steps out of a car in a 1940s style yellow dress with matching black gloves and hat
00:21:12:00 guests at a wedding include Kenneth’s daughter and son-in-law the Wootton; guest are wearing some wonderful hats and outfits of the era
00:21:23:00 the bride, Valerie of the ‘Beyond the Blue Horizon’ arrives in a blue suit and matching hat with full face netting, followed by the bride and her father posing on the steps of the church a close up
00:21:43:00 Len and Valerie leaving the church
00:21:49:00 guests in 1940s wedding fashion leaving the church followed by Bettye Rankine Wootton standing next to the bride whilst being covered in confetti – Bettye is likely to be the ‘Matron of Honour’ in the bridal party. Bettye carries her floral bouquet as a corsage on her bag.
00:22:06:00 Bettye not quite happy about being covered in confetti by her mother who is wearing an impressive fur around her shoulders and the bride and groom step into a wonderful 1940s style car
00:22:22:00 title card appears, ‘And for the Honeymoon? Yes - Tasmania’
00:22:23:00 passengers boarding a ship includes Valerie and Len on the walkway with their tickets and members of the Rankine family bidding farewell on the dock
00:23:15:00 scenes of the ship as it sails and Len and Valerie on board including being shown the shores of Tasmania by the captain or another senior ship’s officer
00:24:29:00 disembarking from the ship followed by a steam train at a station and then scenes of the train as it travels
00:25:10:00 title card for ‘Hobart’ followed by busy street scene and many great examples of 1940s style city dressing
00:25:30:00 brands of the era such as T&G Building, Kodak, Bushells followed by several scenes around the city showing people, streets, trams and cars
00:26:28:00 dockside scenes including a large passenger ship and a tugboat named ‘Melba’ at Queen’s Pier
00:26:40:00 1940s style trucks, street lights, a crane and a sign for IXL jam
00:26:49:00 particularly lovely large boats or ferries alongside a pier, a ferry moving across the harbour, sacks stacked on a dock and a dockside worker or truck driver in a work apron
00:27:10:00 wonderful examples of 1940s style transport in Hobart – a green bus drives across the dock, followed by a green tram in a street and more street scenes around Hobart
00:27:19:00 the Government Tourist Bureau building in Hobart
00:27:51:00 the Scots Uniting (Presbyterian) Church in Bathurst Street, a rotunda in a public park and a passenger ferry leaving Queen’s, Pier Hobart
00:28:28:00 views of Hobart Harbour – a yacht in sail, a steam train along the banks, waterways and lush greenery, a public park with Val and Len strolling among the flowers, moored boats, houses and buildings along the shores.
00:30:39:00 the Bridgewater Bridge and Causeway over Derwent River near Hobart, followed by title card ‘The floating concrete bridge’
00:31:50:00 views around the Causeway before the lift section of the Bridge can be seen being raised for a large yacht that sails through the locks below before the lift section is lowered again and cars and trucks pass through, filmed from different angles.
00:32:43:00 title card ‘Old Buildings at the Cascades’ (1984)
00:32:53:00 the ‘Cascade Brewery 1924 1927’ followed by other old and lovely buildings at the site and a tram going by, bluestone, chimneys and multi-storeys and an old steam train
00:33:44:00 title card ‘Richmond - The oldest Bridge in Australia (1823). The oldest R.C. Church in Tasmania (1825)’
00:33:55:00 after seeing Len and Val strolling along a country path we see several views of the historic Richmond Bridge at Richmond in Tasmania, which is the oldest stone span bridge in Australia and was constructed using convict labour in 1825
00: 34:13:00 St. John’s the Evangelist Catholic Church also in Richmond followed by title card ‘Around Eaglehawk Neck’
00:34:50:00 views from a lookout into rocky ravines and cliffs to the ocean
00:35:42:00 title card ‘Port Arthur’ followed by many views of crumbling masonry and the remains of historic buildings and including a warning sign against admittance to the unsafe ‘Penitentiary Buildings’.
00:38:30:00 title card ‘New Norfolk – The Oldest Church in Tasmania – Bush Inn (Oldest licensed hotel in Australia), after which we see the old church with its stained windows, the Hotel and a wide waterway which may be the ‘Meander River’
00:39:24:00 Len asks ‘Well what did you think of it all?’ on another intertitle card to which Val answers ‘Marvellous – and I am so happy’, after which she winks twice at someone off camera, before title card ‘The End’.