[Douglas Wilson Home Movies: Reel 2]

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 captures some of the highlights of Sydney in 1962 – the harbour and bridge, memorials, gardens, building sites and streets and historic houses, as well as people working, fishing, playing bowls, sailing and catching ferries. There is a focus on traffic and cars around the inner Sydney area such as a wonderful scene of a double decker bus and taxis of the era.

Originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:10:00 title ‘Sydney 1962’
00:00:14:00 a man is wandering around the Sydney University campus
00:01:00:00 views of Sydney whilst driving through traffic
00:01:34:00 Lennox Bridge at Parramatta.
00:01:44:00 a sign for Windsor followed by footage of historic houses
00:03:22:00 Sydney Harbour Bridge and ferry
00:06:31:00 Sydney Anzac Memorial
00:06:46:00 City Bowling Club
00:07:09:00 Sydney ‘El Alamein Memorial Fountain’
00:07:20:00 scenes at ‘Vaucluse House’
00:07:54:00 yachts sailing around the harbour
00:08:38:00 an Ansett seaplane at a pier
00:08:48:00 people fishing of a small pier
00:08:56:00 Sydney double decker bus and taxis
00:10:30:00 Rural Bank of NSW building
00:11:20:00 large excavation at a building site leaving a narrow house standing to the side
00:12:05:00 ferry ‘Kooleen’ followed by scenes shot from a boat or ferry of the harbouside