Rewind: Australian City Time Capsules

Step back to 1955, when the Gold Coast was a quaint beachside escape, far from the high-rise clusters of today. This film captures a charming era of oceanfront camping, bird sanctuaries, water parks, and a bustling Surfers Paradise strip lined with small shops and businesses.

Back then, the local population of 21,000 swelled to 110,000 during the holiday season, with holidaymakers flocking to this sunny getaway. It's a fascinating snapshot of the Gold Coast on the cusp of transformation – from a sleepy seaside town to Australia's sixth-largest city.

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This excerpt from a 1972 short film features some of the gorgeous displays at the Ballarat Begonia Festival, held at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in early Autumn each year.

Produced by the Commonwealth Film Unit, it uses evocative framing and cinematography to showcase the late-summer sunshine and the colourful change of seasons in the Victorian regional centre.

You might even catch a glimpse of the extensive tram network that once covered nearly 20 kilometres of tracks across the city.

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Australian architecture in the 1940s was marked by evolution and experimentation, with many now-iconic styles emerging in the rapidly expanding suburbs across the country.

This Film Australia clip from 1947 reflects on the buildings that won that year's Sulman Prize, named after the Australian architect John Sulman and awarded annually by the New South Wales Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects.

The selected buildings illustrate a period of transition where modern designs began to challenge the traditional styles. While the clip is specific to NSW buildings, many of the styles, including that of the Art Deco Manly Surf Club, can be seen around the country.

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Journey to the Limestone Coast of South Australia with this 1968 tourism video made by the Commonwealth Film Unit.

With a freewheeling, carefree vibe, it takes us past Mount Gambier's famous Blue Lake in a fabulous 1967 HR Holden sedan and then on to the water in splashing close-ups of waterskiiers enjoying the sunny day.

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This short film Hobart: Life in Australia was produced in 1966 by Film Australia and showcases locals and tourists strolling down Salamanca Place, enjoying lunch by the waterfront and witnessing the hourly Cat and the Fiddle clock display. You can also see the ferries delivering boatloads of people directly into the Hobart Docks, back when travelling on the Derwent was a popular form of transport.

The film was produced as part of a series for the Department of Immigration, marketing Australia as a destination for new migrants from Europe. It's been almost 60 years since then, and Australia's smallest capital city has undergone significant changes. The trams have been removed, the city centre has been developed, and nowadays people visit the Museum of Modern and New Art instead of taking day trips to Cadbury's Chocolate Factory.

Explore Tasmania in 4K

Looking for more?

• Explore a curated capsule of revealing 1970s footage in Off the Record
• Tour Australia in the age of steam with rare railway footage from the 1960s
• Watch Cyclone Tracy: Darwin Christmas 1974 restored to 4K quality

Main image: Ballarat at sunset, iStock. Credit: InSydeMedia