[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 121]

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 reel shows the Gasdsen family and friends enjoying a skiing holiday at Perisher, a large ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales. A particular highlight in the footage is a glimpse of the Sundeck Hotel which was built in 1959 and rebuilt in 1960 after a fire. The reel ends with shots of skiing, the snow covered mountains and buildings.

This film was originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:59:00 people skiing down a slope only to fall in a heap, laughing in front of the camera
00:02:38:00 strapping on skis alongside the Sundeck Hotel
00:02:56:00 skiers jumping on a ski lift and waving at the camera as they sail by; the camera follows the lift showing it rising with the snow covered slopes
00:03:11:00 a woman and boy we saw earlier, catching the ski lift and waving at the camera
00:00:00:00 vehicle with snow tyres hauling a trailer near some buildings in deep snow