[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 135]

The Gadsden Company has a long and proud history of manufacture, dating back to its foundation by Jabez Gadsden in 1879. The company pioneered tinplate printing in Australia, and produced the first printed can the country had seen. By 1936 the company had twelve factories spread throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The company’s success allowed two generations of Gadsden family men – Stanley Gadsden and his son Ronald – to pursue their interest in amateur filmmaking (a relatively expensive hobby for the time). The two cameramen captured the family’s children, homes, many of its major events and holidays on film.

A collection of the films made by these Gadsden family photographers has been donated to ACMI by Chris Gadsden (Ronald’s son). The films comprise a fascinating assortment of imagery that provides a window into bygone days and customs.

This film shows a sports or games day, involving a large group of young people, taking place in a garden outside a brick house. The footage shows a large group of people playing various games in a large garden. Some are playing golf, others are playing ‘tenniquoits’ (also known as ‘tennikoit’) where a rubber ring is thrown over a tennis-like net that separates the players. Some of the participants wear striped blazers, others wear blazers that bear a badge or crest - these may be a form of uniform or ‘club colours’ that distinguish two teams.

This film was originally made using 16mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:55:00 a race is held, with the female-only contestants running the length of a lawn, and stooping to retrieve balls in the grass, which they put into waiting buckets
00:01:21:00 a man (standing in front of a garden hot-house or conservatory) is reading from a sheet in his hands, and appears to be directing events, as others around him move away
00:01:29:00 another race – again with contestants picking-up balls and putting them in buckets – this time includes male and females
00:01:39:00 we see four players of ‘tenniquoits’ – two each side of the net – with a game in progress as a race finishes behind them in a nearby area of the garden
00:01:48:00 a group of people (three women and three men) stand in front of a house that the garden surrounds, probably watching the golf putting that the camera soon shifts to
00:01:59:00 another ball-gathering race is run
00:02:24:00 in another race, the camera stays on a considerably older man – in a suit – running against children and youths
00:02:46:00 we see close-ups of the faces of some of the young people, as the camera moves among them
00:03:08:00 tennis players shake hands across the net
00:03:10:00 a prize-giving ceremony takes place; contestants approach a young woman and receive a small wrapped box, while others applaud in the background