[KenRa Films Present: the Kenneth Rankine Home Movie Collection: Reel 11]

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 is a scenic tour of mostly seaside places, from Sydney Harbour and Port Phillip Bay to a brief look at Phillip Island. The Rankine family members feature and are joined by Bob Wootton late in the reel who contributes to their roadside picnic by cooking meat on a barbecue over a fire in a tin. Kenneth uses individual title cards to clearly point out the locations he is filming and fnishes sunset scenes. Kenneth also uses title cards to introduce each sequence.

Selected highlights list:

00:00:12:00 ‘Sydney and the Harbour’, views across the Harbour to residential areas; Kenneth appears to be filming from a vantage point on the water.

00:01:07:00 Harbour Bridge followed by shots of ferries and dockside buildings; a larger ship comes into view as well as Fort Denison Island and a longer shot of the Harbour Bridge.

00:03:20:00 ‘Manly’, the pier and some buildings.

00:03:40:00 shops and shoppers with the camera taking in the view down to the Harbour; beach scenes and a large ship in the distance.

00:04:48:00 ‘Blue Mountains from Echo Point’ is followed by dramatic views over the mountain ranges and rock formations.

00:05::39:00 the Rankines meeting some other travellers along a walking track.

00:05:51:00 scenes of a sports club and members relaxing, the men are in blazers.

00:06:16:00 ‘The Cascades Leura’, waterfalls, a footbridge and Mrs and Miss Rankine splashing at the foot of a waterfall.

00:07:41:00 a band playing in a large rotunda Spanish exhibition dancing for onlookers; this sequence also shows good examples of vintage bathers.

00:08:32:00 ‘St Kilda’, the St Kilda Botanical Gardens.

00:09:17:00 scenes looking across Pier Rd to the St Kilda Pier, kiosk and a yacht followed by shots of swimmers.

00:10:07:00 ‘At Elwood’ shows more examples of vintage bathing costumes with a beach coat and caps and launching a sail boat straight from the sand.

00:11:14:00 ‘At Mid Brighton’ small craft bobbing in shallow waters followed by a yacht race and Kenneth’s daughter with binoculars looking on.

00:13:07:00 ‘At Sandringham’ shows another sequence of swimmers, people sunbathing, sailboats and diving from what might be an old piece of a jetty, sitting on rocks on the shoreline; there are bathing boxes in the background on the beach.

00:16:50:00 a small boat being hoisted down from a shed and rolled on tracks into the water.

00:18:00:00 onwards we see the Rankines joined by Bob Wootton who contributes to their roadside picnic with his meat patties/ burgers, barbecued over a fire in a tin.

00:18:32:00 ‘Phillip Island’ is introduced with a postcard before coastal views and several shots of koalas in trees, the family wandering along a road.