Life in Adelaide: Adelaide is a beautifully restored snapshot of South Australian life in the mid-1960s. Directed by James Jeffrey and produced by the Commonwealth Film Unit for the Department of Immigration, it’s part of the Life in Australia series: government-made films created to encourage (mostly British) migration through sunny, idealised portraits of Australian life. 

In this version of Adelaide, the streets are tidy. The people are cheerful. The jobs are plentiful and the sun always seems to shine. From factory floors to football fields, the city appears secure, suburban and deeply self-assured – a carefully staged vision of the good life. The 4K restoration brings out every detail. Letterpress signs. Lacquered hairstyles. The gleam of Holden hubcaps and polished verandahs. It’s a rich and polished view of mid-century Australia, but one with notable omissions. 

Made during the final years of the White Australia policy, the film reflects a narrow version of the nation. There’s no sign of First Nations peoples. No real cultural diversity. No hint of the political and social changes already reshaping the decade. Women are shown mostly in domestic roles, and public life feels calm to the point of sedation. Viewed today, it plays more like a mid-century sitcom than a documentary: a vivid time capsule that shows not just how Australia looked, but how it wanted to be seen.

Made by The National Film Board 1954, this film captures the delightful city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. The city set against a background of hills, owes a lot to its original plan by Colonel Light. The film displays the beauty of its wide streets and impressive public buildings and also features landscape painter Hans Heysen.

Still from Festival in Adelaide (1962), of British broadcaster and naturalist, Sir David Attenborough patting a koala at Adelaide zoo.

Festival In Adelaide is a record of the the 1962 Adelaide Festival of the Arts, where thousands of visitors flocked to see everything jazz performances to a floating ballet on the lake. Sir Malcolm Sargent and the London Philharmonic Orchestra open the programme; Zoe Caldwell stars in St. Joan; the Manhuins give chamber concerts; there is an exhibition of Australian painting, and a production of La Traviata.

From, From the Tropics to the Snow (1962), the still captures a group of ballet dancers in pink and white tutus, dancing in a park in central Adelaide. They are with a pianist and a grand piano.

From wood chopping, to shearing and even a kid's apple packing championship see the attractions from the 1963 Royal Adelaide Show! 

A horsedrawn fire brigade unit drives along King William Street in Adelaide, watched by people from the sides of the street. The camera follows events from a fixed position at one side of the road. The vehicle with the extendable ladder pulls up in the street and firefighters unharness the horse from the ladder. The camera pans across the people on the street then back to capture the firefighters hand cranking the ladder tens of metres into the air. The camera follows the ladder’s extension with a slow tilt shot. Summary by Poppy De Souza. 

This clip shows members of the South Australian Fire Brigade at their Wakefield Street headquarters in Adelaide demonstrating rescue and resuscitation techniques for the camera. Firefighters practise the 'fireman’s lift’ (used to rescue trapped people from a fire), wear protective clothing, run up ladders and jump from fire towers. Summary by Poppy De Souza. 

Made by The Commonwealth Film Unit 1962, the lifeline referred to in the title of this film is the seventy-two inch steel pipe line which carries water fifty miles from Mannum on the Murray to the city's reservoirs in the Mt Lofty Ranges. Before the building of this pipe line Adelaide's water supply from the original dams was insufficient, and the city suffered from seasonal water shortages. Water from the Murray River now provides an adequate all year water supply for the city. Without access to this supply modern city and industrial life would be impossible for Adelaide, Australia's driest capital city.

In this clip, Bernard “Doc” Neeson talks about arriving in Australia for the first time in 1960, and the contrast between Adelaide and the home he had left behind.
Interviewed by music journalist Anthony O’Grady, in August 2013.

Goodwin’s Music Warehouse, 59 Gouger St in Adelaide, offered a range not only of various types of 'Phonos’ but also pianos, player pianos, discs and player rolls. For reasons not immediately obvious they also applied for a patent for their record sleeve, although it seems identical to all the others available.

Adelaide Paralympic legend Libby Kosmala in action in the 1970s and 80s.

At 72, Rio 2016 was her 12th Paralympic appearance.

These are highlights from the collection of Paralympic films shot by Adelaide dentist and amateur filmmaker Don Worley.

The collection includes almost 10 hours of footage which helps chronicle the development of the Australian and international Paralympic movement from a time when such material is incredibly scarce. 

This compilation includes footage from the following events:

— Arnhem 80 – Arnhem, Netherlands, 1980 (NFSA ID: 1461889)

— Toronto Olympiad for the Physically Disabled – Toronto, Canada, 1976 (NFSA ID 1461959)

Behind-the-scenes at Paralympic events in the 1970s-80s.

These are highlights from the collection of Paralympic films shot by Adelaide dentist and amateur filmmaker Don Worley.

The collection includes almost 10 hours of footage which helps chronicle the development of the Australian and international Paralympic movement from a time when such material is incredibly scarce. 

The Australian Paralympic Committee (APC) has found that Worley’s is possibly the only footage in the world to survive from some of these early sporting events for people with a disability.

This compilation includes footage from the following events:

— World Games for the Disabled – Heidelberg, Germany, 1972 (NFSA ID: 1462044)

— Commonwealth Paraplegic Games – Dunedin, New Zealand, 1974 (NFSA ID: 1461877)

— Toronto Olympiad for the Physically Disabled – Toronto, Canada, 1976 (NFSA ID 1461959)

— VII World Wheelchair Games – Stoke Mandeville, UK, 1984 (NFSA ID: 1462104)

— Australian National Wheelchair Games – Adelaide, Australia, 1973 (NFSA ID: 1462041)

— Arnhem 80 – Arnhem, Netherlands, 1980 (NFSA ID: 1461889)

The Woman Suffers was filmed in South Australia and opened in March 1918 at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, to rave reviews.

This clip shows Ralph Manton (Roland Conway) taking shelter at Kooringa Station after the road to Melbourne has been blocked by flood. Ralph takes a shine to Joan Stockdale (Evelyn Black), only daughter of the owners of Kooringa, and she to him. Joan takes a photograph of him and surprises Ralph with a locket, containing both their pictures. Ralph professes love to the young woman and they kiss by the river. Summary by Paul Byrnes. 

The Woman Suffers was filmed in South Australia and opened in March 1918 at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, to rave reviews.

Joan (Evelyn Black) has thrown herself in the river and drowned rather than bring disgrace on her family. Her mother (Ida Gresham) finds her suicide note too late, and faints. Philip (Boyd Irwin) finds her body in the river, still clasping the locket with a picture of Ralph Manton. Philip vows to avenge his sister’s death. Summary by Paul Byrnes.

The Woman Suffers was filmed in South Australia and opened in March 1918 at the Theatre Royal, Adelaide, to rave reviews.

This clip shows Philip (Boyd Irwin) bringing Marjory (Lottie Lyell) home after a day’s outing, during which they have become lovers. Mrs Manton (Connie Martyn) sends her to her room for being so late home. The next section of the film is missing – during which Marjory realises she is pregnant and that Philip has probably abandoned her. According to the written scenario, lodged by Longford at the time, Marjory in despair buys medicine at the chemist, prays for help, and throws herself on the bed sobbing. Mrs Manton hears her sobs and enters the room. The extant footage begins again with the letter to ‘Jack’ – the fake name that Philip is using. Mrs Manton reads the letter and realises her daughter is pregnant. Their argument alerts Ralph, the brother, who demands to know the name of her lover. Marjory refuses to tell him. Summary by Paul Byrnes. 

Take a trip down memory lane into the suburbs of Adelaide. Christmas in Australia is a mid summer festival, with temperatures rising high. Over the years many of the traditional northern hemisphere Christmas customs have been modified to fit the climate. Cool drinks have taken the place of hot refreshments and much time is spent out of doors but the spirit of Christmas is unchanged and Santa Clause still arrives with snow glistening in his beard!