Long amateur 8mm film 1973 JOURNEY TO AUSTRALIA 1200ft

An incredibly beautiful, technically well shot reel of a lengthy trip down under. Fantastic footage, sweeping landscapes, gorgeous flora, brilliant wildlife. A gem of a film over three very long reels running at 18 frames per second; it goes on and on and on. It's three great films in one. Fantastic.

BEGINS

A Qantas plane.

BOAC stairway.

Transfer desk. Arrivals?

Elderly woman walks toward camera.

Shots through airport window.

Shots through plane window. Can see registration letters in wing.

Ace shots inside cabin. Passengers in seats.

Captain apperars. He smiles at camera.

Stewardess.

More shots through plane window.

Inside terminal.

Beautiful shot above clouds through plane window.

Airport. Plane. People disembark.

KLM plane visible through terminal window. Luggage handlers. Family arrives at destination in Australia. Gorgeous weather.

Vintage red car.

Vintage car rally. Vehicles look 1930s.

Open road in Australia. Shots through car windscreen.

Teenager on crutches.

Family eats ice creams.

Granny in park on swing. Really going for it.

Sun hats.

A beautiful riverbank.

Lake Bellfield Project (dam).

A strange hedgehog type creature.

Gran and granddaughter.

Tow elderly ladies in hats (sisters?).

Sign: ‘Wartook Reseevoir’.

A kangaroo.

Gorgeous waterfall.

A kangaroo again.

Three kangaroos.

Six kangaroos.

Amazing rainbow. Stunning shot.

Riverside/reservoir.

Sign: ‘River Murray Commission – No Fishing’

Sign: New South Wales.

P’s Gen: Swan Hill steam boat.

Lovely, gorgeous flowers.

UK gran strokes kangaroo.

Steamboat on the move. Packed with tourists.

General store.

Filming from car: fields, cows.

Some crazy driving.

Pink parrot in cage. Pretty.

Lovely wood paneled house.

Elderly sisters arm in arm.

White picket fence house.

BALLARAT MODERN DAILY

Lovely street scenes. Fantastic cars.

Line of white cars outside church.

Family arm in arm, walk through town.

Crown green bowls. Lots of players all in white.

Grand-dad and kids stroll through park. Cute flower beds.

Sign: ‘Peguin Reserve’

White houses visible over treetops.

Beautiful coastline.

Waves crash upon rocks.

Car journey; camera films through windscreen.

Huge white building: ‘Yakatooon Motel’

Sign: ‘Lemfort Station’

Two old dears stand side by side.

Men stand outside the women’s toilet (a service station?).

The two elderly women emerge.

Tropical tree. Eucalyptus?

Koala in a tree.

They shake the tree. A bit mean?

Footbridge over river. The family cross.

A huge boulder.

Sign: ‘Welcome to Yallourn Works Area’.

Crikey, this is amazing. What looks like an immense open mine, could actually be the moon landing. Very 'Capricorn One'.

This place is massive.

Family takes photos.

A soldier joins them. Officer class. A general?’

Plant in the distance. Huge chimneys bellow. Man in a pink shirt comes down from a viewing gantry.

Aerial shot down onto cars.

Family in shorts and check shirts.

Beautiful bay.

Gorgeous house.

Family on beach.

Home made title card: BALARAT & BEGONIA FESTIVAL

A huge, over-sized telegram about 1 metre x 2 metres: TO MARIE & TOM. CONGRATULATIONS.

A man and a woman hold the huge telegram up against a white wall.

A five tier wedding cake.

Anglican St. John Church.

Bride arrives.

Everyone outside. Very pretty.

Bride and bridesmaid. With family.

Smiling visitors from Britain.

Happy couple in car.

Back home in lovely period apartment.

Women in kitchen.

They prepare meat.

Balcony.

Ace mod living room.

A horse drawn carriage.

Marching band.

‘Bible Truth’ – floral slogan

‘21st Begonia’ flower festival?

A car made of flowers.

Sign: ‘Lovely Garden Open For Inspection’

Huge, floral garden.

Ace shot of family having a barbecue in the woods.

Gravestone: ‘In Loving Memory Of Alfred Hide’ plus flowers (a relative?)

Road sign: ‘BALLARAT’

Traffic at crossroads. A caravan.

Ace of grey car: HOLDEN.

A drive through the country. Sandwiches on dashboard. Neptune road map.

Yellow car: JSM 479.

Picnic by roadside. Food on pretty blanket.

Smoke from barbecue in car boot.

Sign: ‘DUNOLLY’

Goods yard. Carriages.

Silos.

Gran with pomegranates.

House. Garden gate sign: ‘Thistle Do Us’.

Wagon wheels.

Family in lovely old kitchen. Aga style cooker range.

Car on the move. Gorgeous sunset.

Back in lovely 70s apartment. Exposed brickwork in living room.

Waving from balcony.

Big barbecue in woods. Lots of people. Musicians: an accordionist, guitarist etc.

Shots from hilltop across town.

Sign: ‘MOUNT DANDENONG OBSERVATORY’

In the car again. This time along motorway.

Zoo. Exotic birds.

Snakes.

Deer.

Family on bench.

Getting the Barbie going. Al fresco dinner for all.

Huge sign in stones on grass: ‘CAR PARK’)

Shots from high above onto floral path.

Farmland?

Granddad has bucket. Off to pick fruit?

Cattle in enclosure.

Sign: ‘Mount Alexander Koala park)

Koalas in trees.

Gorgeous shot children playing in bright red. Clamber over boulders.

Stop off by coast – more al fresco eating. Thermos flasks.

Waves crash on rocks. An escarpment out at sea. Amazing coves. A beautiful bay.

Fletcher & Jones department store.

Sign: ‘F.J. Plus – skirts, slacks, dry cleaning, repairs’

Sign: ‘CLUB WARRNAMBOOK PLAUGROUND 1963’

Beautiful scenery.

Girl holds hands.

Small barbecue with kids.

Gorgeous floral close-up.

Gran holds a bouquet.

Sign: ‘SOVEREIGN HILL HISTORICAL GOLD MINING VILLAGE’

Several stores: blacksmith, wheelwright, stables, hotel etc.

Cobb & Co. coach office.

Woman departs outdoor toilet and rearranges trousers.

Scaffolding.

A horse turns a milling wheel.

Notice: prosecution for gold theft.

Pan handling.

Cowboys on horseback.

Home made title: ‘WEST YALONG SOUTH WALES’

Caravan. Lovely car.

On the road again.

Man gets into tractor. Starts ploughing.

Females by garden gate.

Family onto back of flatbed truck.

Sign: ‘GUNDAGAI CARAVAN VILAGE’

Open road.

Statue: ‘TUCKERBOX’

Kiosk shop.

Sign: ‘ AUSTRALIA CAPITAL TERRITORY’

Sign: ‘Canberra 25 miles’

Family inside church.

War memorial – poppy wreath.

A grand boulevard.

Huge brick building – Parliament?

Shots through windscreen. Across cute bridge.

Country road lined with tree after tree after tree.

Sign: ‘JEMMY’S POINT RESERVE’

Beautiful landscape.

Immense river.

Family and dog leave a house.

Home made title: ‘New South Wales’.

Cars pull up at lakeside.

Canoeists on lake.

Pan across lakeside building.

Car on open road.

Sign: ‘DRIVE-IN TROPICAL FRUIT FARM’

Gran and granddaughter amend banana trees.

Beautiful, colourful shots of plant life.

Road sign: ‘QUEENSLAND’

Amphitheatre – family in stands wave at camera.

‘MARINELAND’

Two seals perform. Up ramp. On boxes.

Handstands.

A dolphin wears a garland.

A dog up on its hind legs pilots a boat.

A leaping dolphin.

Darts through air to retrieve fish at end of man-held, long sticks.

Amazing – dolphin surfs backwards on tail while upright.

They put out a fire – a bit odd.

Five leap in formation.

Ace clothes on folk ion the crowd.

Elsewhere: gran tries throwing a boomerang in a field that has a massive sign in the shape of a boomerang. A boomerang academy?

A walk along a stream.

Restaurant. Ace gingham tablecloth.

Verdant countryside. Rolling hills.

Close up on foliage.

Waterfalls.

Man and two women on viewing balcony.

Steam rises from hillside.

Through gate.

Sign: ‘ENGLISH GARDEN’

More great waterfall shots.

New tower blocks on beach – a holiday resort?

Lovely shots of sea coming in.

Boy in swimming trunks walks toward camera.

Great footage of rolling waves.

Sign: ‘BATHING RESERVE – SURFER PARADISE’

Zoo. Two crocodiles.

Koala bear in tree. Scratches ear with hind leg – very acrobatic.

Huge tortoise. Girls stroke him.

Koala again. Eats leaves.

Parasol.

Families on white, sandy beach.

British gran lies on pink/red, stripy towel.

Bird display. Enclosure full of different bird species.

Bird tables.

Peacocks.

Gran holds aloft a tray of birdseed and lovely, colourful, tropical birds flock around her. Fantastic image.

A man (husband?) puts another tray on her head. More birds come. Funny.

The children join in.

Brilliant shot of all the ‘audience’ forming a wall of tray holders with lots and lots of birds swooping in for dinner.

Tropical garden.

Flower close-up.

Tall palm trees.

Swimming pool.

Gran is holding and stroking a koala.

Home made title: ‘BRISBANE’.

Noticeboard: ‘MOUNT GRAVATT ASSEMBLY OF GOD’ – a church.

Car across a very wide river bridge. It seems endless.

Back at the house.

Wise shot – beautiful. Telegraph pole and phone lines stretch into the distance. An iron bridge and urban cityscape meet the horizon.

Yellow car. White house.

Man with moustache in bare feet. British gran’s son? Reason for her visit?

Apple tree. Banana tree.

Old hitchhiker with backpack walks past. Very forlorn.

Huge caves.

White cockatoo in hand.

ENDS

Standard 8 (not super 8 ). Silent. Colour. (3 x 400ft reels).

An amazing adventure, evocative of more innocent times past. The world seem so much bigger back then. Grab these cine gems while you can.

Please see my other items for further amateur films, westerns ('Buffalo Bill' etc), educationals, wildlife reels, travelogues, train films, Jacques Cousteau, shark reels, cult drama (The Sweeney etc.), spools, empty cases with reels etc. .

Thanks for looking.