[Maurie Fields and Val Jellay Home Movies: Reel 20]

This film is a vignette of family life in the suburbs, including a backyard barbeque and a trip to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show. There are good examples of men’s, women’s and children’s fashion of the 1960s. This glimpse of the Royal Melbourne Show is a nostalgic journey back in time.

The title on the film can indicates that it is 1966 and Joy’s party.

We see a backyard gathering with adults and children. It is possibly a birthday party. Maurie drinks beer and poses for the camera. He and Val share a kiss and tend to the barbeque. To the amusement of others, one party goer bursts into a spontaneous dance sequence. In the background we see a Hills Hoist clothes line and what could possibly be an outhouse, or outdoor toilet. Handwritten humorous signs are displayed in various locations around the backyard. One sign reads “To Be Seen Stand Up, To be Heard Speak Up, To be Appreciated, Shut Up”.

There is a trip to the Royal Melbourne Agricultural Show. The film shows signage for Peter’s Ice Cream, Coca-Cola and Four N Twenty Snack Bar. A man on stilts walks in front of the Four N Twenty Snack Bar sign. The children eat toffee apples and explore the sights, including the entrance to the animal pavilion at the show.

The film finishes with images of signs advertising Ross Wylie, Graham Chapman and Mike Furber, who were a part of the popular music scene in Australia at the time. There is also a graphic sign which reads “the Up and Coming of Stage Radio, Stars of Sunshine Records”.

Originally made on 8mm film.