[Gadsden Family Home Movie Collection: Reel 39]

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 the Gadsdens gathering at Surfers Paradise in Queensland, for Easter in 1987. We see swimming and general beach activity, surfing and paddling in the waves. There is an Easter egg hunt in the holiday house yard and we also see the a barbeque on a 1970s three-legged hotplate and beers being drunk from ‘stubby holders’.

This film was originally made using Super 8mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:07:03:00 cooking on a 1970s three-legged barbeque