[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 162]

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 shows scenes of sea and shoreline – and the people enjoying them – at Phillip Island, Victoria, in the late 1940s.

This film was originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:00:00 footage of the sea and coastline, with waves breaking onto a rocky outcrop
00:00:47:00 people on a headland above the sea, with a stairway down to the waterline (at ‘The Nobbies’ area of Phillip Island). The film continues with more footage of coastal features and surging seas.
00:02:47:00 people (photographed from the rear) on a rise, looking out to sea
00:03:10:00 people riding distinctive boards in the surf (boards have an upward curve at the front
00:03:50:00 a very young child building sandcastles on the beach
00:04:09:0 people sunbaking and relaxing on the beach
00:04:18:00 man and young child walking along the shoreline with a large yacht in the background
00:04:32:00 people laying on the beach – details of 1940s swimming fashions and sunglasses
00:04:58:00 people in the water, with a large steamboat in the background (this could be a vessel of the ferry service to Phillip Island, which originally began in 1878 and switched to a car-ferry service in 1933)
00:05:06:00 a young child with an adult male playing in the shallows, building (and destroying) sandcastles