[Brookes Family Home Movies: Reel 9]

This film shows a schoolboy game of cricket being played on the turf wicket in the grounds of the Glamorgan Preparatory School in Toorak, Victoria. Glamorgan is the Toorak campus of the Geelong Grammar School in Geelong Victoria. The boys wear Geelong Grammar school caps. Behind the cricket pitch we can see the rooftops and chimneys of the grand homes of Toorak. There is a colourfully painted wall behind the cricketers depicting a scene of Governor Phillip raising the flag at Sydney Cove in 1788. A hand painted didactic says:
“Governor Phillip brought the First Fleet to anchor at Botany Bay but raised the flag at Sydney Cove January 26th 1788. This was the first Australia Day.”

We see the Glamorgan Vs Visitors scoreboard, runs being made, catches being taken and 4s being scored.

The film then takes us to a suburban backyard to show a young baby on a rug. There is some lovely footage of the baby trying to crawl, wearing a handmade necklace made from wooden cotton reels. The baby shares the backyard with other children who play on climbing equipment and engage with the baby.

We see a toddler dressed in rompers standing inside a playpen. The toddler pushes the playpen along from the inside, walking out onto a verandah. There is some delightful footage of a baby crawling along a garden path and playing in a container of water.

The film shows children playing and swimming in an above ground backyard swimming pool. They have kickboards and rubber rings which could be bicycle tyres. They take turns somersaulting into the water from the edge of the pool. After finishing swimming, and wrapped in towels, the children eat drum-stick style ice creams.

This film shows good examples of family at-home recreation and play equipment, including climbing equipment and a swimming pool. There are also examples of suburban architecture, children’s and babies’ fashion, baby paraphernalia such as a playpen, school sports playing fields and turf cricket.

This film was originally made on 16mm.

Selected highlights list:
00:01:25:00 School cricket match with painted Australia Day/Governor Phillip scene behind
00:03:52:00 Glamorgan score board
00:05:21:00 School boys playing cricket, umpire (teacher) and painted wall behind
00:06:50:00 Baby with necklace of wooden cotton reels
00:09:08:00 Toddler inside playpen, walking out onto the verandah
00:09:28:00 Toddler crawls across the verandah
00:10:51:00 Toddler in rompers crawling along a garden path to play in container of water
00:14:01:00 Children playing in backyard pool