[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 166]

The Gadsden Company has a long and proud history of manufacture, dating back to its foundation by Jabez Gadsden in 1879. The company pioneered tinplate printing in Australia, and produced the first printed can the country had seen. By 1936 the company had twelve factories spread throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The company’s success allowed two generations of Gadsden family men – Stanley Gadsden and his son Ronald – to pursue their interest in amateur filmmaking (a relatively expensive hobby for the time). The two cameramen captured the family’s children, homes, many of its major events and holidays on film.

A collection of the films made by these Gadsden family photographers has been donated to ACMI by Chris Gadsden (Ronald’s son). The films comprise a fascinating assortment of imagery that provides a window into bygone days and customs.

This is a particularly lovely colour film comprising scenes from Ron and Jess Gadsden’s early life when their children were small, in 1952. They are enjoying life at home (Lansell Rd, Toorak in Melbourne), sitting in the sun with the children, on the beach at Frankston on the Mornington Peninsula and a birthday for one of the girls back at Lansell Rd.

The second half of the film shows school sports at the Geelong Grammar Toorak Campus, ‘Glamorgan’, which Ron films through a round frame.

This film was originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:59:00 Jess Gadsden teaches one of her children to swim in shallows at Frankston beach
00:01:59:00 view of Frankston bay with cliff top houses in the background
00:02:20:00 filmmaker Ron playing in water with his children
00:03:12:00 Jess preparing lunch on a small plate sitting on the beach
00:04:14:00 birthday party at Jess and Ron Gadsden’s home, with family and pony rides
00:06:42:00 sports day for primary school children with onlooking parents and teachers guiding the proceedings