[Brookes Family Home Movies: Reel 4]

This film opens with shots of snow-capped mountains, Mt Spion Kopje and Mt Bogong, as a backdrop to the surrounding green bushland. Cutting a swathe through the bush is a dirt track lined with electricity transmission towers.

On the mountain, we see children and adults learning to use their skis. There are lots of falls and numerous attempts to stand up again. There is some sled action on a type of sled typical to the era, and a big home-made metal sled with steering. Everyone herringbones back up the slope. Using the rope tow and ducking under the return rope .

We see skiers ski in front of a building with the signage “Ski School”.

There are lovely individual scenes of a man and a woman skiing past the camera dressed in the ski fashion of the day. A group of people practise their ski moves in front of the “Falls Creek Comfort Station”.

Colourfully dressed children navigate the ski slopes, and an elderly man dressed in a coat and feathered trilby-style hat tries his hand at skiing.

We see a lovely scene of the family as they take a break from skiing to have a picnic sitting in the snow. They have their thermos flask, sandwiches, and cordial.

The film shows people being towed uphill and past a building with “ski lodge” signage.

There are various scenes of skiers congregating together on the slopes and wide shots of them skiing in across and down the slopes.

The final part of the film shows what could be accommodation Bogong Village. The village was originally constructed by the Victorian State Electricity Utility Commissions (SEC) from the 1930s and 1950s to house workers on the Kiewa Hydro Electric scheme.

We see historic vehicles c1950/ 1960 with Victorian registration plates beginning with HEW: 4, parked in the street at the front of the houses. There are images of people as they walk down the street with the mountains in the background.

This film shows good examples of fashion, ski wear, and ski techniques in the 60s. Ski Lodge architecture, Bogong Village architecture, vehicles and Falls Creek and Bogong Village landscapes are also a great historic reflection of the era.

Originally made using 16mm film

Selected highlights list:
00:02:00:00 Title “Falls Creek 1960”
00:00:32:00 Snow-capped mountain with tree covered slopes in the foreground
00:01:26:00 A young boy struggles to get to his feet after a fall
00:01:35:00 A young boy stands with his skis over his shoulder in the snow
00:02:09:00 A young boy plays in the snow beside his stocks. A good example of children’s fashion
00:03:38:00 A young boy going down the hill on a sled
00:04:02:00 A young boy going down the hill on a sled in front of the ski school building
00:04:25:00 A woman skis passed the ski school building
00:05:23:00 Close up of above
00:06:41:00 A man skis down the slope. A good example of ski fashion
00:11:01:00 Ski school participants learn to parallel ski
00:11:39:00 Film title “Falls Creek 1961”
00:11:44:00 A group of skiers stand around a ski run with a hut or lodge on the mountain as a backdrop
00:11:54:00 Ski lodges against a blue sky and snow-covered landscape
00:12:55:00 Two stylishly dressed young boys wearing goggles and beanies walk past the camera on their skis
00:13:06:00 “private lessons” sign stands in front a building with skiers moving past
00:13:20: 00 A small girl joyfully skis past the camera
00:13:51:00 Two boys ski down the hill from a lodge
00:14:16:00 A young boy dressed in in red skis down the hill past the camera
00:14: 30:00 An elderly man dressed in his trilby-style hat is trying to ski
00:15:36:00 A family picnic in the snow
00:16:34:00 Two boys hitch a ride on the ski tow
00:17:36:00 A man is towed past the ski school lodge
00:18:22:00 A man in a cap and sunglasses preparing to ski
00:23:45:00 Blue skies and a congregation of skiers
00:24:06:00 Houses and street scene of what could be Bogong Village
00:24:31:00 Houses and street scene of what could be Bogong Village with snow-capped mountain in the background