[KenRa Films Present: the Kenneth Rankine Home Movie Collection: Reel 15]

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 comprised of two parts. Firstly, travelling on a road tour through South Gippsland from Wilson’s Promontory to Walhalla, Kenneth shows his appreciation of the Australian countryside as he shows the landscape, forests, shorelines and features around him. At times. Kenneth himself appears in the reel on the other side of camera. When at Wilson’s Promontary the footage indicates the style of camping at the time: individual cabins alongside shared facilities likely to have included bathrooms, kitchen and laundry and recreation rooms. Kenneth also shows the old goldtown of Walhalla with its deserted atmosphere. The last part of the reel shows a waterski regatta and speed boats on Albert Park Lake in Melbourne.

Selected highlights list:

(No title)
00:00:00:00 to 00:00:27:00 distant views and roads on the way though what we will come to know is Gippsland.

00:00:32:00 ‘Wilson’s Promontory’ sign, posted alongside the Darby Bridge, its sign and Bob Wootton standing on the bridge.

00:00:38:00 Kenneth Rankine himself looking out over the Darby River.

00:00:45:00 to 00:01:40:00 views of the sea over low lying hills followed by shots of teatree, country roads leading down to the sea, views of the coastline, rocky hills and flower shots.

00:01:42:00 ‘Tidal River’ camping grounds. Just before departing the Prom, there is a lovely view of what appears to be Norman Bay near Tidal River.

00:02:04:00 a sign for ‘Port Welshpool’ followed by views of an estuary at low tide, several piers and fishing boats.

00:02:36:00 a fisherman appears (as indicated by thigh high galoshes) walking along a pier and chatting to Bob Wootton.

00:03:01:00 a sign for the ‘Balook Private Hotel Excellent Accommodation’.

00:03:28:00 after more hillsides and views we see a sign for ‘Bulga Park Shire of Alberton’ (which existed 1855 to 1994; currently Shire of Wellington).

00:04:28:00 sign for Tarra Valley Park appears. In this footage Kenneth has gone to some trouble to capture the Parks, framing his shots of waterfalls, ferns and trees through bracken fronds, branches or rope walks to create a lush feel.

00:06:32 the Corrigan Suspension (walk) Bridge. Shortly after, we are looking down on the Thomson River. Kenneth includes several shots of bridges including the first from which he takes footage of the river below.

00:07:02:00 perhaps foot bridge evident by the scratched initials on the railing. Rail and road bridges are shot from different angles from 00:06:48 to 00:07:02:00.

00:07:10:00 Walhalla Post Office; some deserted and derelict buildings, a shop sign for ‘Agent of the State Savings Bank Guaranteed by the Government of Victoria’ on the door of a derelict Teashop, the Walhalla Station sign on a building which houses old carts with a shot of ‘1903’ on one of the carts, elaborate stone walls.

00:08:11:00 a working timber mill. There are more shots of overgrown brick remnants of buildings in the steep hillsides, rail tracks and old cars.

00:08:41:00 Bob Wootton works a rail lever to move the old tracks. Kenneth has taken views of the town that reflect the almost abandoned state of Walhalla at the time, following the end of the gold mining boom and after the ‘Black Friday’ bushfires that ravaged the State in 1939.

00:08:54:00 program for the ‘A Speedboat and Water - Ski Regatta assisted by the Sirocco Cherokee and Yarrawonga Water Ski Clubs’, held at Albert Park Lake (Melbourne) in 1956. Footage of speedboat racing on the lake follows.

00:10:21:00 a helicopter is filmed flying and hovering overhead.

00:10:30:00 men water skiing; good examples of male swimming trunks. A largish crowd of onlookers and several lakeside buildings.

00:11:37:00 ski jumps.

00:12:40:00 footage of an early display of kitesurfing.