[John Robertson Duigan Collection]

The John Robertson Duigan Collection is a collection of silent 9.5mm home movies filmed by early aviator and engineer John Robertson Duigan (1882–1951). The collection includes a Pathé-Baby 9.5mm film camera and projector owned by Duigan. The home movies provide an insight into the everyday lives of John and his family in Victoria, including picnics, trips to the Grampians and Colac, family snapshots and aeroplanes of the late 1920s.

John Robertson Duigan (1882–1951) was an early aviator and engineer. With the assistance of his brother Reginald Duigan, John built the first Australian-made aircraft to successfully fly, in 1910 at their family’s sheep station, Spring Plains, in Mia Mia, Victoria. Inspired by a postcard sent from a friend in London featuring a photo of Wilbur Wright flying his Model A aeroplane, John successfully built, tested and flew his own biplane and was one of the pioneering aviators in Australia who paved the way for the adventurous pilots of the 1920s. In 1920, John donated his original biplane to the Industrial and Technological Museum in Melbourne (now Museums Victoria). John and Reginald were commemorated as ‘pioneer aviators’ on a 6 cent stamp issued by Australia Post in 1970.

This collection was donated to ACMI by Martin Hudson.