Bryce Higgins Home Movies Synopsis

This home movie footage, filmed mostly by Ernest Higgins, includes scenes of a family picnic at Mt Wellington, Christmas celebrations, children’s birthday parties, picnics, holidays and other family gatherings between 1909 and 1924.

Curator’s notes

This segment was probably filmed around 1923 or 1924 at the family’s home in Sydney. It is charming because of the Higgins’ family connection to film. These 35mm film strips in the children’s hands were a common item around the Higgins’ family home. According to Ernest’s son Bryce (who is probably one of the toddlers in this clip), the dining room table always had film strips and cans of film on it. Both Ernest and his brother Arthur had their own darkrooms, where they were able to print and develop film at home.

The National Film and Sound Archive has recorded two oral histories with Bryce Higgins in which he recounts his family’s involvement in the film industry.

Notes by Poppy De Souza