[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 161]

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 film is a wonderful snapshot of Jess and Ron Gadsden at the start of their life together, in Melbourne, with other members of the family and with their first child. There are some travel scenes and 1940s fashion.

This film was originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:02:00 looking out across the red rooftop of a house over a waterway and some chimney smoke
00:00:23:00 first introduction to a young Jess Gadsden as she walks up an outside stair near alongside a house
00:00:31:00 Jess Gadsden walking in the gardens of a large country hotel
00:00:48:00 Ron Gadsden wearing 1940s style wide suit pants and jacket standing by a 1940s style car
00:00:55:00 a punt ferrying cars across a river followed by a weir across a broad river
00:01:14:00 a crowd watching rowing races on the Yarra River in Melbourne
00:01:25:00 several ladies hats of the period on show as the wearers view the races
00:01:30:00 Jess Gadsden in matching green hat and coat looking at flowers in a park
00:01:42:00 Ron Gadsden wandering in the Treasury Gardens near St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, enjoying a cigarette
00:02:15:00 brown trams on a wide city street
00:02:30:00 Sydney Harbour Bridge
00:02:45:00 Jess Gadsden and companions dressed in what was called ‘Sunday best’ outfits, 1940s style - complete with hats, gloves and handbags, descending down church steps
00:03:45:00 Ron Gadsden and baby on a blanket
00:04:08:00 Jess Gadsden in wonderful sunglasses and baby with an older women overlooking a beautiful view below
00:04:24:00 a wide sandy beach followed by a holiday resort
00:05:15:00 looking out over the Blue Mountains including the Three Sisters rock formation
00:06:20:00 a gathering of Gadsdens in a park followed by views of autumn trees
00:07:06:00 a wonderful scene of what appears to be the first of Ron’s and Jess’s children with his grandmothers (one of them with a cigarette) dressed in very smart 1940s suits, hats and bag sitting in front of Ron, a building with a double verandah and a beautiful car of the era
00:07:35:00 a long pan shot from a high vantage point above the sea, beach and houses below ending at a look-out point where we see the Gadsden family
00:08:19:00 at ‘old Parliament House’ (as it is now known) in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory