[William Darbyshire Home Movies: Reel 12]

William (Billy) Darbyshire (1903–1979) was a film enthusiast and traveller who emigrated with his parents from England to Australia in 1911. It may have been this early trip that influenced a young Billy to travel the world later in life and film his travels as he went.

First travelling to Africa for work and to various destinations whilst in service during WWII, Billy would continue to travel after the war throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific and North America. It was in this period, during the 1960s, that he purchased an 8mm movie camera which resulted in a collection of films that capture his travels, taking in the sites of the world from Asia to Europe and Africa to the Americas.

The films were originally made using Standard 8mm film. The quality of the film can be a little challenging as it is jumpy, damaged and scratched at times.

This film contains scenes of Billy’s travels on the steamship Southern Cross, in 1960 which travelled between Australia and Europe. It is a little difficult to locate exactly where Billy visits but we can definitely see scenes of England, the Netherlands and Greece. The SS Southern Cross was a modern passenger ship built in 1955 to an innovative design which catered specifically for the tourist trade, starting a trend of ‘aft-engined’ ships, leaving more space for passengers and their needs. The Southern Cross was also the first major liner to have no cargo space, other than for ship’s stores and passenger luggage.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:03:00 views of a shoreline and sea
00:01:14:00 a large ship or ferry being loaded at the dock
00:01:48:00 a large and busy tugboat
00:01:50:00 passengers playing tennis on the deck of a ship
00:02:30:00 South Africa Airways airplane on the tarmac
00:03:15:00 a large fountain in a town setting
00:03:49:00 mountain views followed by a picturesque river flowing through hills
00:04:23:00 passengers travelling from a ship, in what appears to be a large lifeboat, to shore
00:04:51:00 views of a large military memorial in a public square setting.
00:04:58:00 dancers in traditional costume give an exhibition of Greek folk dancing to passengers on board a ship.
00:06:19:00 town houses and buildings overlooking houseboats moored on the banks of a canal, with a sign for Grachten (canal)
00:06:58:00 tramcar in a town
00:07:14:00 a large and crowded beach
00:07:36:00 street scenes
00:08:15:00 keen swimmers in a canal or river
00:08:24:00 a glimpse of a windmill
00:08:50:00 boats, ferries and yachts in a bay
00:09:30:00 a passenger ship arrives at a dock
00:10:54:00 scenes of lovely hills and farmlands, thatched cottages and beaches
00:12:15:00 a ‘Punch and Judy’ tent indicates that Billy is in England
00:14:50:00 a plane is filmed overhead
00:15:15:00 a Greek ‘Evezone’ presidential guard dressed in traditional costume
00:16:16:00 a spectacular view of mountain seen at the end of a street, behind shops and buildings, probably in Greece