John Robert (Jack) Anderson (1924–1993) was a film distributor, cinema owner and photographer as well as an enthusiastic filmmaker in and around Ballarat in Victoria. Jack developed an interest in film very early at cinema shows and gained his first film experience while serving in WWII, photographing wartime conditions and aircraft involved in the defence of Australia’s north, including the aftermath of the Darwin bombing raid.
It was whilst working in photographic studios that Jack met his future wife, business partner and fellow film enthusiast Marie Bourke. Starting out by hiring films and showing them around regional Victoria, Jack and Marie established cinemas such as the Astor Cinema in Ararat, Bell Post Hill Drive-In in Geelong and the Southern and Northern Drive-Ins and Vegas 70 Cinema in Ballarat. In the 1970s, the Anderson family acquired and restored the Regent Theatre in Ballarat which would then become the first multiplex in regional Victoria.
Along the way, Jack filmed his family and friends activities and outings, horse racing, Ballarat street scenes, motorcycle scrambling and travel scenes on the road – an unusual and wonderful look at life in regional Victoria during the 1940s to the 1960s.
This film has two sequences. Firstly, a debutante ball circa 1960s, where we see the very nervous young couples as they descend a staircase to be introduced to the committee of older people overseeing the proceedings. Jack captures the rigorous nature of a debutante presentation with its strict dress code and rules, and somewhat stultifying atmosphere.
Secondly, Jack captures entertainment at an ice rink that includes several different acts.
This film was originally made using 16mm film.
Selected hightlights list:
00:00:02:00 title cards, ‘Vegas News 70’ and ‘Delighted Debutants’ (sic)
00:00:18:00 the debutantes line up for a formal photograph with their flower posies in the shape of the Freemasons ‘square and compass’ symbol
00:00:39:00 organisers inspecting the debutantes where we see 1960s style hair styles held in place by hair spray
00:00:60:00 dignitories enter the ball in a parade and the women are presented with flower posies as they line up on the stage ready for the debutantes presentation
00:01:32:00 two children appear as mascots, slightly confused
00:01:53:00 the first of the young women debutantes, in their white formal ball dresses, appear on the stage with their partners, young men in formal evening suits
00:02:43:00 negotiating the stairs, no hands on the rails
00:02:58:00 the curtsy and the bow to the dignitories
00:03:54:00 the musicians
00:04:28:00 the Freemasons society symbol above the dancers
00:05:03:00 members of the band playing their instruments
00:05:35:00 stepping through a particularly painstaking dance
00:06:25:00 the formalities over, debutantes and their partners relax at the tables in the ballroom
00:07:00:00 the brass section of the band
00:07:07:00 dancing what appears to be the ‘Pride of Erin’ waltz
00:07:46:00 various skaters performing on ice
00:09:37:00 two ice skaters dressed in a cow costume
00:12:18:00 an ice skater leaping through a ring of fire
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
B2003675
Subject categories
Amateur & Student Films → Amateur films
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Ballarat (Vic.)
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Victoria - Social life and customs
History → Clothing and dress - History
History → Women's clothing - History
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Ballroom dancing
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Ice skaters
Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Recreation areas
Music & Performing Arts → Ballroom dancing
Music & Performing Arts → Costume
Music & Performing Arts → Dance
Sound/audio
Silent
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
MOV file H264; ACMI Digital Access Copy - presentation
MPEG-4 Digital File; ACMI Digital Access Copy - overscan
MOV file ProRes4444; Digital Preservation Master - overscan
16mm film; Master