[Brookes Family Home Movies: Reel 10]

This film comprises a slice of family life in suburban Melbourne.

The first scene shows children playing in their backyard under a homemade cubby house constructed of bed sheets, cardboard and possibly curtains. They play with long pieces of bamboo cane, running and dancing around the cubby house. We can see what is probably the rear of the house which is a mid-century modern style. The film shows backyard play equipment such as monkey bars and swings, and neighbouring houses appear in the background.

A young child dressed in cute overalls plays with a colourful ball and is joined by their mother and siblings. There is some lovely footage of the child standing on the garden path surrounded by flowers. A butterfly joins in as the toddler stops to pick some flowers.

The film shows some backyard above-ground swimming pool action. Children enjoy themselves duck-diving for coins, wearing diving masks and somersaulting under water. We see a delightful interaction between siblings as they sit in the sunshine and eat biscuits together.

We see a young child standing beside their mother. She is gardening dressed in her full-piece 1960s swimming costume.

Three children play together in a wading or paddling pool, filling it up with water from the nearby garden hose. They take great delight in creating a flood, squirting each other with water, splashing and jettisoning the water into the air. They play piggy-back in the pool, use plastic kickboards and sit in an improvised plastic boat.

The film shows scenes of children swimming laps in an outdoor inbuilt swimming pool which could be at St Catherine’s School, Toorak. We can see some impressive buildings in the background which could be a part of the school or neighbouring houses.

There is a lovely scene of a young boy riding his tricycle along a leafy suburban street, lined with large houses. The street could be Cleeve Court in Toorak.

We see a young girl playing on a swing surrounded by a beautiful garden in full bloom.

The film finishes with a trip to the country for horse riding lessons. We see the horses being saddled up while they stand under a Hills Hoist clothes line, and the children are taken through their rising trot and cantering paces. The horse riding instructors use wooden sign posts and mallets to mark out a course for the young horse riders.

This film shows great examples of fashion, including swimwear, children’s recreational activities including horse riding and swimming, play equipment, toys and architecture typical of the era.

Originally made using 16mm film

Selected Highlights list:
00:00:56:00 Children playing with long pieces of cane with mid-century modern house in background
00:03:36:00 Small boy and a butterfly on a garden path
00:05:29:00 Brother and sister sit by the swimming pool eating biscuits
00:07:43:00 Mother goes for a swim – good example of swimwear
00:08:35:00 Three children play in a wading pool
00:09:56:00 Children swim laps in an outdoor pool, perhaps at St Catherine’s School, Toorak
00:10:26:00 Children dive into an outdoor pool as above
00:10:37:00 Boy on tricycle riding down a street lined with grand houses, perhaps Cleeve Court, Toorak
00:11:25:00 Children play in wading pool with kickboards and improvised boat