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.
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Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
B2003281
Language
No spoken word
Subject categories
Amateur & Student Films → Amateur films
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Australia - Social life and customs
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Transportation - Australia
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Transportation - History
Crafts & Visual Arts → Nature photography
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Transportation - Social aspects
History → Australia - History - 1945-1965
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Walking
Sound/audio
Silent
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Master
MOV file H264; ACMI Digital Access Copy - presentation
MPEG-4 Digital File; ACMI Digital Access Copy - overscan
MOV file ProRes4444; Digital Preservation Master - overscan
MOV file H264; ACMI External Digital Access Copy