[KenRa Films Present: the Kenneth Rankine Home Movie Collection: Reel 6]

Kenneth Carruthers Rankine (1890 - 1968) was a keen amateur cinematographer and filmmaker. This collection of his home movies has been donated to ACMI by Kenneth’s granddaughter. The collection represents a wonderful slice of life in Australia; with contents including scenes of everyday life, major family occasions, holidays around Victoria and views of Melbourne.

This film of the collection is a showcase of the Dandenong Ranges. Kenneth fills this reel with shots that show off the Dandenongs, such as views and vistas, flowers, trees, ferns, lakes and waterfalls. He also includes a house and garden, several towns, a church, a cinema and stores, as well as a train that could be the ‘Puffing Billy’. Kenneth creates scenes of people wandering through gardens and the natural settings to show the Ranges as a lovely destination.

Selected highlights list:

00:00:10:00 title card ‘The Blue Dandenongs’, presented using the car window for effect, followed by scenes of hills and paddocks.

00:01:05:00 cars and a motorbike with side car travelling along a country road amongst which is the sign for ‘Ferntree Gully’.

00:01:44:00 people gathered in a garden including members of Kenneth’s family.

00:02:00:00 old red steam train passing by.

00:04:28:00 Kenneth’s daughter Bettye walking in jodhpurs (which seem to be the choice for women hikers at the time).

00:04:32:00 Lake Treganowan appears briefly before the Monbulk General Store; scenes of the Dandenongs - waterfalls, a creekbed, ferns, looking up through fern trees as well as very tall trees.

00:07:28:00 Sassafras sign and then the Sassafras Cabaret’ building.

00:08:37:00 we see an old shop with adverstising signs such as ‘Robur’ tea.

00:09:11:00 shot of a woman and three children in one of the creeks, looking directly at the camera.

00:09:53:00 Kenneth has his family members attempt to cross a creek on a precarious fallen branch whilst holding flowers.

00:11:03:00 Belgrave and Belgrave pool with swimmers; farmland, flowers, trees.

00:12:20:00 a kookaburra up close.

00:14:05:00 group shot of travellers including soldiers in uniform.

00:14:17:00 stone church at Selby followed by another store, this time a ‘Cash Grocer’.

00:15:45:00 roadside stop for a barbeque where we see Bob Wootton cooking sausages over an old tin container, a great example of the style of picnics of the era.