Australian National Film Board

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the New South Wales regional town of Wagga Wagga in the mid 1960s.

Shows new methods in treating those afflicted with mental health issues. Contrasts past treatment regimes where people were locked away out of sight with the new, 1960s, psychiatric ideas of "group therapy" and talking therapy. Also shows practical behaviours aimed at returning patients to productive lives in society and outpatient services.

A documentary about the city of Broken Hill in New South Wales.

The way of life for people living along the tropic of Capricorn in Queensland 1965. Farming and mining are the main industries in this area of Australia and the only way to get around is by road train, train or plane. The hard way of life for these people is portrayed in this film.

A road safety lesson using puppets and animation kindergarten age children.

Instructional film for children, teaching them how to properly ride a bicycle.

In the estuaries and lagoons of the Northern Territory, freshwater and saltwater crocodile are hunted for their hides by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous hunters. This film shows Aboriginal people using age-old hunting techniques to land crocs either for food or for skins. The methods employed by the professional hunters, who earn as much as 3000 pounds during the season, are also depicted, followed by a brief look at how the hides are skinned and prepared before being transported to the leather factories of Sydney and Melbourne.

Original archival synopsis: The Japanese bombed Darwin many times during World War II because it was strategically important target number one in their attack on the Australian mainland. Before the war, Darwin was little known except to the crews of pearling luggers and cattlemen. During the war it become an important air base which contributed much to the success of General MacArthur's island-hopping campaign against Japan. Today Darwin is an aerial port of call for all planes travelling either from Europe or the Far East to Australia. The Darwin touchdown is, in fact, for many travellers the first sight of the Australian continent. The film shows Darwin as it is today (1949), much ravaged by Japanese attack during World War II, but already showing signs of building activity and general recovery. The film indicates the general life of the town and also explains the plan which will make Darwin a model city of which Australia will be very proud.

Canberra, the National Capital of Australia, is a city which has been planned; a place where modern living is enriched by a lovely setting. But the hustling young city of today is expanding and developing, and there is emerging the pattern of the proud city of tomorrow.

Made by the Department of Immigration to entice immigrants from Great Britain, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the South Australian regional town of Mount Gambier in the mid 1960s.

This film about Library services in Australia shows some of the work of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, the National Library with its varied resources and examples of State, University, special and public services suggesting their value in meeting needs for information at all levels. The library movement has become a vital part of Australian life. How libraries have fitted into society all over Australia, from the bustle of Sydney's Kings Cross to the remote outback.

In Australia, children live in the Outback, too far from others to travel to any school. The Australian government has a school with no student only teachers that correspond with their pupils and teach those children at their own pace.

Set to a poetic musical dialogue, this film shows the beauty of Melbourne and gardens as the bride, groom etc gather for a wedding at St John's Church in Toorak (Melbourne).

As a contribution to the cause of road safety Sir Donald Bradman world famous cricketer, played the lead in this film for children. The theme is cricket played in casual suburban small boy fashion, with a narrow street for the oval and a petrol tin for the wicket. Sir Donald comes on the scene and demonstrates the virtues of safety first as a must for those who aspire to play a test cricket for Australia.

This year the Musica Viva Festival will feature content from the NFSA's Film Australia Collection to be screened in the Bang & Olufsen Salon throughout the festival in Sydney. This film Music Camp is one of those films. Directed by R. Maslyn Williams for the National Film Board in 1949. Each year the Melbourne Junior Symphony Concert Orchestra holds a summer camp organised by the National Fitness Council at Point Lonsdale Victoria, for three weeks it provides an opportunity for music students to continue their education over the holiday season.

There was dancing in the street and tea on the river front when the Jacaranda Festival sprung to life in the last week of October in 1949. The Jacaranda Queen was the "most popular and prettiest girl in town" and the whole of the Clarence Valley descended on Grafton for the festival.

A record from the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition lead by anthropologist Charles P Mountford that explores the abundant birdlife and waterways of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Thousands of birds, both native to Australia and from around the world, find sanctuary in the billabongs of Arnhem Land, feeding on the fish, insects and flowers that flourish there. Apart from their beauty, the birds serve the useful purpose of helping to keep the balance of nature in the wilderness areas of Australia’s far north. Close photography makes it possible for some of the more interesting birds to be carefully studied. The film’s soundtrack is perhaps the most unique ever recorded, bringing us the thrilling sound of the voices of thousands of birds breaking the quiet of the virgin bush.

Beautifully filmed in black and white, this classic short film looks at pearling in the late 1940s. It goes on board the boats that work off the coast of Broome, Western Australia, from March to December each year. Crewed mainly by Aboriginal, Malay and Chinese men, they work six days a week from sun up to sun down—replenished occasionally by supply boats that also take away their hauls of pearl shell. The film captures the atmosphere, the detail and the danger involved in the search for shell as the divers in huge metal helmets and layers of clothing under their suits dive two at a time, each with one person tending their airhose and another their lifeline.

Documentary short about job opportunities for British ex-servicemen in post-war Australia.

Can't find what you are looking for? All you have to do is ask. Such advice is not so straightforward when you can't speak the language. By 1951, Australian postwar migration programmes were geared to receiving large numbers of non-British migrants. Considerable efforts were made to overcome prejudice on the part of the predominantly British-derived community towards the newcomers. Double Trouble was an attempt to make the point with humour. Bob and Stan, two Aussie blokes, are magically transported to the streets of a foreign country, where their inability to communicate gets them into a tight spot. They discover that it's not easy being a foreigner in a strange land. The central message in this film is that Australia needs migrants so Australians should make them feel welcome and offer assistance, not complaints.