[Wallace Clarke Home Movies: Reel 11]

Wallace Clarke was an amateur cinematographer and filmmaker during the 1960s to the 1990s. Wallace was particularly keen on capturing both the Australian landscape and the people who enjoyed it. As well as Australian urban settings and some world travels, Wallace’s films focus on the many hiking and camping destinations that he visited.

Often carrying the credit, ‘A Walkabout Film’, Wallace’s movies indicate that he was part of a nature study and walking group called ‘The Walkabouters Club of Victoria Inc’. The ‘Walkabouters’ formed in 1968 as a result of a Council of Adult Education (CAE), Outback Study Tour to Central Australia. Some of the attendees decided to start the Club in order to continue educative walks particularly around Victoria.

The Club encouraged their resident artists and photographers to capture their activities.

The collection of Wallace’s films was donated to ACMI by his widow Gwenda Clarke and is shot on various formats, predominantly Standard 8mm and Super 8mm film.

This film contains footage of activities at various spots around the Wilson’s Promontory National Park in Victoria, including Sealer’s Cove, Streaky Beach and Pillar Point. The filmmaker shows dramatic views of the sea and rocky cliffs around the Promontory, shots of Tidal River, groups of hikers and hiking trails, people relaxing on the beaches and the lush vegetation of the area.

Originally made on Super 8mm film.

Selected highlights list:
00:00:04:00 Rosella parrots perched on hats of visitors.
00:01:58:00 views over the sea from the cliff face.
00:02:55:00 example of 1970s style ‘flares’ as hiking trousers.
00:03:01:00 rocks and the sea.
00:03:34:00 group of children and adults fishing off the rocks.
00:04:29:00 walkers on a trail high above the sea.
00:05:00:00 hiking through a lush ‘treefern’ trail.
00:06:19:00 on the beach looking through binoculars at the camera.
00:07:32:00 hikers stopped on a wooden foot bridge and then walking thorugh trees and treeferns as well as along rocky paths
00:08:40:00 scenes of wide and wavy beaches and lush vegetation.
00:10:02:00 close up of a ‘bull-ant’
00:10:27:00 fishing from the sand on a beach
00:11:18:00 close up of a caterpillar followed by rocky beaches
00:13:02:00 hikers resting atop a rock
00:13:09:00 smoking a cigarette on a walking break
00:13:31:00 sign for ‘Oberon bay’
00:15:14:00 koalas in gum trees (Eucalypts)
00:16:05:00 close up of red parrot in amongst lush fern forest
00:18:16:00 signs for ‘Pillar Point’ and ‘Squeaky Beach’ followed by walkers going across a footbridge over shallow tidal waters.