All other historical footage

41 titles - sorted alphabetically / by year

Fragments, actuality footage, unedited glimpses into our past.

Athol Tier as Napoleon (c1931)

This is a staged comedy and musical performance in which Athol Tier appears dressed as Napoleon.

Boer War: Transvaal Contingent, Queen Street, Brisbane, 1899 (1899)

This piece of actuality footage shot by the official photographer of the Queensland Department of Agriculture, Frederick Charles Wills and his assistant, Henry William Mobsby ...

Boxing 1908: Johnson vs Burns (1908)

Historical footage of an open-air boxing match held at Sydney Stadium, Rushcutters Bay, on 26 December 1908. Canadian Tommy Burns and African American Jack Johnson ...

Cinesound Varieties (1934)

This surviving 18-minute fragment is from an hour-long variety show directed by Ken G Hall and photographed by Frank Hurley for Cinesound in 1934. It ...

Cockatoo Island: HMAS Success Launching (1984)

HMAS Success is launched from Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour, on 3 March 1984.

Cockatoo Island: Newsreel Film of Dockyard Activities (c1939)

This film is a compilation of 11 segments showing activities at Cockatoo Island dockyard, in Sydney Harbour, during the years 1936 to 1942.

Darwin c1926 (c1926)

This actuality footage from around 1926 contains silent vignettes of Darwin and its environment including rail transport, recreational activities, local shop fronts, and the multicultural ...

Efftee Studio Opening in Melbourne: Speech by Frank Forde (1931)

This short promotional film, made by Frank Thring Senior’s production company Efftee Film Productions, records a speech made by Frank M Forde, then Minister for ...

Empire Day Pageant (c1915)

This silent actuality fragment from around 1915 shows people celebrating Empire Day in full costume. It appears to take place in a small country town.

Footscray 1911 (c1911)

This unedited actuality footage of Footscray in 1910 captures street scenes of daily life in the Melbourne suburb. The film is silent, without intertitles and ...

Footscray 1971 (1971)

This unedited actuality footage of Footscray, Melbourne, in 1971 features the suburb’s main streets (including shopfronts, traffic and crowds), a Ferris wheel at the opening ...

George Wallace: Australia’s Premier Comedian (1931)

A comedy musical and dance routine by George Wallace, directed by Frank Thring as part of his Efftee Entertainers series of variety shorts.

Jack O’Hagan: Vocalist Composer (1931)

In his only filmed performance, broadcaster, singer, composer and performing artist Jack O’Hagan recites five of his compositions, 'Carry On’, 'By the Big Blue Billabong’, ...

Les Darcy vs Dave Smith for the Championship of Australia (1916)

Historical footage of Australian Middleweight Champion Les Darcy and Dave Smith training together at Sydney Harbour and later in a boxing match on 24 June ...

Les Darcy’s Last Fight: Les Darcy vs George Chip (1916)

Historical footage of Australian boxing champion Les Darcy and American George Chip at the Sydney Stadium on 30 September 1916. Highlights from rounds one, three, ...

The Maryborough Railway Employees’ Picnic (1938)

This is actuality footage of the Maryborough Railway employees’ picnic held at Scarness, Queensland, on 20 March 1938. Children and families from Gympie, Bundaberg, Kingaroy, ...

Melbourne Chinese Orchestra Selections (1931)

This is from the Efftee Entertainers series of variety shorts and shows eight members of Melbourne’s Chinese Orchestra performing in a film studio.

Melbourne Cup 1896 (1896)

This film documents the 1896 Melbourne Cup horse race including footage of the crowd watching the race.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade: Adelaide (c1911)

This actuality footage of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade features horsedrawn fire units moving through the streets of Adelaide as well as rescue and resuscitation demonstrations ...

Miss Minnie Love in Impressions: Maurice Chevalier (c1931)

Stage performer Minnie Love adopts a French accent and straw hat to present an impression of French musical comedy star Maurice Chevalier performing the songs ...

Naming of the Federal Capital of Australia: The Ceremony (1913)

This silent film footage, by pioneer director Raymond Longford, documents the naming of Australia’s capital city, Canberra, in the official ceremony held on March 12, ...

Red Cross Activities During and After WWI (c1919)

Female Red Cross volunteers prepare food, bake bread and cakes, darn socks, spin wool, and make knitted dolls. Soldiers work with leather and create wooden ...

Scenes of Queen Street and Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, 1899 (1899)

This actuality footage, shot in 1899, shows electric trams in Queen Street, Brisbane with the Treasury building and Victoria Bridge in the background.

Sorrento (c1922)

The many attractions of the Victorian seaside town of Sorrento are promoted in this 1920s black-and-white footage produced for the Sorrento Progress Association. Sorrento’s beautiful ...

South Sea Islanders Cutting Cane, 1899: Nambour, Qld (1899)

This clip of actuality footage taken in 1899, is one of the few pieces of film footage of Melanesian labourers cutting cane in Queensland. The ...

St Kilda Esplanade c1912 (c1912)

This short piece of actuality footage shows people at St Kilda in approximately 1912, including at the entrance to Luna Park, Daylight Pictures Cinema and ...

The St Kilda Esplanade on Boxing Day (c1913)

This fragment from a silent documentary or newsreel item takes an observational look at the St Kilda esplanade and foreshore on Boxing Day 1913. People ...

Stan Ray and George Moon Jnr: Specialty Dancers (1931)

Entertainers Stan Ray and George Moon Jnr perform a tap dancing routine as part of Frank Thring’s Efftee Entertainers series of variety shorts.

Sydney Tramways (c1928)

This silent black-and-white footage shows how the tram system in Sydney handles large crowds. It features various sporting and leisure events including the Sydney Cup ...

Talkie Season Opens: Wintergarden Theatre (c1929)

This silent historical footage shows the Wintergarden Theatre (now demolished) in Rose Bay, Sydney, as it prepares for the screening of talking pictures. It also ...

Tasmanian countryside, Hobart and Tasmanian Tiger (c1932)

This black-and-white actuality footage contains scenes of the Tasmanian countryside, Hobart city and a Tasmanian Tiger in captivity.

Tasmanian Tiger Footage (1932)

This silent black-and-white footage from 1932 contains some of the last known moving images of a living (now extinct) Tasmanian tiger (thylacinus cynocepalus or thylacine) ...

Thursday Island and Merauke, Dutch New Guinea (c1925)

This 16mm actuality footage was recorded during the filming of two back-to-back feature films – The Hound of the Deep (1926) on Thursday Island and ...

Training at Rushcutters Bay (1908)

Historical footage of heavyweight boxer Jack Johnson at Rushcutters Bay in front of a small crowd as he prepares for his fight with Canadian world ...

Voice of a Nation (c1918)

This silent actuality footage from around 1918 captures returned Australian soldiers marching through a city street. It features soldiers on foot and horseback and scenes ...

Wheat Harvesting c1925 (c1925)

These segments of historical footage from the 1920s cover a variety of subjects that reveal glimpses of Victorian life including: street scenes in central Melbourne, ...

Wheat Harvesting with Reaper and Binder at Jimbour, Qld (1899)

This actuality footage shows a horse-drawn Buckeye brand reaper and binder harvesting a wheat crop while labourers stack the wheat sheaves.

Whitlam – Visit to Bendigo and Eaglehawk (1973)

In Bendigo, assisting with the Labor Party’s campaign for the May 1973 Victorian state elections, Gough Whitlam opens the 2nd Eaglehawk Dahlia and Arts Festival ...

Whitlam – Visit to the Philippines (1974)

From 28 January to 13 February 1974, the then prime minister Gough Whitlam undertook a six-nation tour of South-East Asia. This current affairs program details ...

Wirth’s Circus Film (c1925)

This silent actuality footage shows circus proprietor and ringmaster Philip Wirth and his trick pony, Earl Dudley, as it performs a range of tricks in ...

WWI Troops Embarkation and Charity Bazaars, Sydney (c1915)

This silent actuality footage captures various aspects of the domestic war effort in Australia during the First World War, and the people’s relationship to the ...