Wagga Wagga: Life in Australia, now restored in glorious 4K, captures life in a thriving regional city of New South Wales in the 1960s. Produced by the Commonwealth Film Unit for the Department of Immigration, the film promotes Wagga Wagga as a modern community with space to grow, midway between Sydney and Melbourne.

Through the lives of a factory foreman, a trainee nurse, a local reporter, a farmer and a town planner, it explores work, study, recreation and family life. The Murrumbidgee River, strong community spirit, and ambitious planning for the city’s future are all part of the sales pitch for a new start down under. The meaning of Wagga Wagga comes from the Wiradjuri language and is now officially defined as 'many dances and celebrations', though it was historically known as 'the place of many crows'.

Unique within the series, Wagga Wagga was the only Life in Australia film directed by a woman – Rhonda Small. An Australian filmmaker who worked at the Commonwealth Film Unit from 1958 to 1967, she began as an editor before moving into directing. You can explore more of her work in our YouTube playlist, The Films of Rhonda Small.

The Life in Australia series (1964–66) was designed as glossy promotion for migration. The films promised comfort and prosperity, but with limits: gender roles are rigid, First Nations people are absent, and inclusiveness was not part of the story. Produced in the final years of the White Australia Policy, the films closely predate the landmark 1967 Referendum. Today, they stand as vivid time capsules – revealing both the optimism and the blind spots in how Australia wanted to be seen on the world stage.

Find out more about the Life in Australia series