[Douglas Wilson Home Movies: Reel 1]

Douglas Wilson (1919–1980) was an amateur filmmaker whose films are a snapshot of Australia in the 1950s to 1960s. Douglas’s home movies captured aspects of life in Australia’s major cities as well as in regional areas, often with a focus on public areas, transport or infrastructure projects. A collection of his films has been donated to ACMI by a member of Douglas’s family.

This film is mostly focused on the Snowy Mountains Scheme in New South Wales, an integrated water and hydro-electric power utility constructed between 1949 and 1974, located in Australia’s Southern Alps.

There are also some scenes of travel around Brisbane in Queensland.

Frequent title cards assist the viewer with detail, particularly regarding the workings of the hydro Scheme.

Originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:10:00 title ‘Snowy Mountain Scheme 1957’
00:00:22:00 the Snowy Mountain Authority buildings
00:00:44:00 title card ‘Guthega Dam’ followed by views of the dam
00:01:45:00 views of the accommodation buildings
00:02:00:00 title card ‘Guthega Power Station’
00:02:14:00 several views of a large cement pipeline
00:02:55:00 title card ‘Island Bend’
00:03:11:00 a four wheel drive vehicle at the site
00:03:19:00 a Pioneer Express bus waiting for passengers
00:03:22:00 sign ‘Snowy Mountain Lookout’ followed by wide vistas of the mountains
00:03:44:00 title card ‘Adaminaby Dam’
00:04:03:00 trucks working in a quarry and the clearance of trees for the workings of the Scheme
00:04:50:00 workers atop a tower construction
00:05:15:00 sign for the contractors, ‘Etudes Et Enterprises’ at the T.I. power station
00:05:31:00 title card ‘Tumut Ponds’
00:05:48:00 mouths of tunnels into the mountainsides
00:06:27:00 title card ‘Cabramurra’
00:07:41:00 title card ‘Cooma Airport’
00:07:45:00 airplane for Butler Air Transport
00:08:14:00 title card ‘Queensland 1957’
00:08:19:00 Brisbane City Hall
00:08:50:00 title card ‘Mt Coot-Tha’
00:09:14:00 title card ‘Brisbane River’, followed by views of the river
00:09:55:00 ‘Koalas at Lone Pine’ followed by a koala sitting on a dog’s back, and kangaroos
00:10:35:00 ‘Glasshouse Mountains’
00:11:00:00 ‘Long Island’ and a map of the coast of Queensland showing the location
00:11:20:00 beach scenes and an open four wheel drive modified to take passengers from small boats to the shore and on to the holiday huts
00:12:24:00 fishing scenes and wooden boxes full of fish
00:12:40:00 title card ‘Visit to South Molle’
00:13:57:00 title card ‘Visit to Happy Bay’ followed by views around the beach and bay area
00:16:08:00 title card ‘Departure of Guests’ and the holiday visitors are taken on the modified jeep to a small boat, bound for the ferry