[Alexander Sinclair Home Movies: Reel 7]

Alexander Sinclair (21 October 1918 – 3 May 1998) was an amateur filmmaker who lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Evelyn Sinclair for approximately 20 years from 1959 onwards. They lived in Port Moresby for three years, followed by Goroka. He made home movies of life in Papua New Guinea and travels with Evelyn and their friends to the UK, the Netherlands, USA, Melbourne and Sydney throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

The collection of home movies, originally made on Super 8mm film, was donated to ACMI by their daughter Elizabeth Robbins.

This film is shot in New Guinea and features the filmmaker’s family and friends, locals, people gathering in vast numbers for celebrations in various traditional dress, Chinese dragon display, scenic views, and road safety issues. Most likely filmed around Goroka, as the filmmaker lived mainly in Goroka.

Selected Highlights List (time codes from Access Overscan)
00:00:00:00 opens with footage shot around the filmmaker’s home; we see a sign with his name, Alex Sinclair, out the front of the white house; family and friends around the garden
00:03:23:00 car wreck being towed away and off the road
00:04:50:00 filmmaker and friends have a picnic on top of a hill. Local kids come to watch and pose for the camera.
00:05:55:00 along a river, feeding fish with friends, and a nearby wild bird sanctuary or zoo
00:07:29:00 Missionary Aviation Fellowship aircraft at airfield
00:08:32:00 stunning mountain views
00:10:14:00 lunch with friends at a restaurant near the bay
00:11:24:00 traditional Chinese Dragon dance and fire crackers along a town street
00:12:35:00 Lions Club road safety campaign displaying cars salvaged from crashes
00:13:46:00 celebrations of people in traditional dress from various districts; remarkable head dresses and masks made from mud or clay, alongside those made from feathers and woven materials, dancing, building hut demonstrations
00:14:36:00 more truck accidents; local kids come to see, then dance and entertain the filmmaker and friends
00:15:46:00 more stunning views of mountains
00:16:14:00 more ceremonial gatherings of various people and audiences