Life In Australia: Mount Gambier

From the Film Australia Collection. Made by The Commonwealth Film Unit 1964. Directed by Christopher McCullough. Life of a typical Australian family living in Mount Gambier in South Australia in the mid 1960s. The film shows rural, agricultural and manufacturing industries of the area and features the recreational pasttimes of members of the family. The Life In Australia series portrays Australian cities and rural centres as happy, lively places where good homes, abundant jobs, schools, hospitals and amenities provide the foundation for a relaxed lifestyle where sport, shopping, religion and even art combine to create a homogenous and prosperous society. If you have any information about the people or places in this film we would love to hear your comments.

[@OutbackAl]

Wow, what a great time in History. I was just a kid havin' fun. No Work Safe in those days!

[@youtubezombie547]

Just watched this now, I'm in my seventies, life back then was sooo good, none the restrictions we have now, 6 teenagers in the back of ute, just cruising around the suburbs, sometimes you'd have to sit on the edge to let the floor of the ute to cool down before you could put your foot down, coming back from the beach in summer.The weather was better, nothing like it is today, where it just seems to be windy all the time, we had beautiful days often, being a surfer surfing the Spencer gulf, around the Henley Beach area, we'd pray for strong westerlies as that would really pump up the wind waves, this film brings back a lot of good memories, I hate the way my country's is now.

[@m3ekag]

What a gem, never seen this before, beauty!

[@Michellelong9295]

Born and bread mount gambier girl 1986, it's good to see what mount gambier used to be like before I was born. A lot of things have defiantly changed

[@Sabin41]

Wow, having grown up with multiple generations born in the town this is borderline surreal, I didn't live through this time period but I recognise the locations and it's amazing how much it has all changed.

[@NFSAFilms]

That's amazing information. Thanks so much for letting us know. Always good to get the real story behind these films.

[@zofor]

great stuff...we need more.Love the band,The Starliters with a very young Dale Cleves playing his painted red piano.And GiGi's which is now the Vanilla Bean Cafe.Excellent footage.

[@cybersayer]

Great film - that was Harold Allison, later SA Minister for Education treading the boards to front of stage.

[@fioname3495]

Middle Path Natural Health and Awareness and Mum in blue jumper on stage too. Dad still alive and well. 🙏✌🏼

[@Davez621]

Haha - love the little kid sitting in between in his parents in the MG. Imagine trying that today!

[@NFSAFilms]

No not allowed today. But not mum and dad, he's between big sister and her boyfriend. Later on they pick up another of their friends and she sits there too. What are they actually sitting on? The MG has got bucket seats!

[@carinemunro1077]

@@NFSAFilms yes was going to say not mum and dad lol unless they were 10 when they got him !lol

[@Merribella]

I was 10 when this film was made. It was good to be reminded of the world I lived in. I guess it shaped who I am now. I have fond memories. Life seemed so simple back then. I remember the YMCA dances, Dale Cleves, hot chocolate at GiGi, Katchor's Fashions (remember Mrs Katchor?), Holdens, Falcons and Valiants doing laps of the main, the Odeon, Jens Hotel, the Cave Gardens, the bottomless Blue Lake, 'black' limestone houses, the interminably long 17 mile drive to Port Mac chanting 'I can see the tower', the delicious smell of seaweed, mysterious Mount Schank...they were all significant in my formative years. It's interesting to read the comments here. Yes, Mount Gambier has changed. I hardly recognise it now when I go "home". When I was young there was the old hospital and the new hospital. Now the new hospital has gone. The main street has lost it's charm. Where have Fidlers and Sheards and Gem Stores gone? . And like all country towns, the Mount has a drug problem. We live in different times. We have lost our optimism about the future. We have lost our innocence. Hopefully we have also gained tolerance, gender equality, environmental awareness, and lots more choices.

[@fioname3495]

Remember Dingly Dell?

[@steelblue8]

It's really interesting to see this footage, shows how much- and in some ways, how little- has changed in the region. My grandfather was born and raised in the mount, they lived on a farm at the base of mount schank for a long time. He talks about how he used to ride the train down to adelaide for the test cricket matches all the time, and that his boss at ETSA knew he'd always take his annual leave for the 5 day games.

[@user6667azxc]

You might be thinking of another beach, the one in the film is Shelly beach near Port MacDonnell (down the front of the light house) You used to be able to park your car at the track at the top and scramble down the cliff as the family do.. not accessible now as a fair section of that cliff collapsed about 20 years ago and they had to close the track that ran down to that car park area... Brings back great memories of going down to that beach as a kid :-)

[@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm]

i went there in 1964 i was 8 my grand mother was from that area .

[@andemaiar]

Wow, the Mount sure has changed! I'm a Naracoorte girl, but I've been visiting the Mount since I was a youngster.

[@fioname3495]

My mum ( in blue) and my Dad (striped jumper) on stage. Dad ended up being the local member of state Parliament for 27 years.

[@melianna999]

Great!😊

[@ianmangham4570]

Amazing 😮❤

[@827333]

I visited Lesley L who has a nice farm a bit outside the town 2005. She was really working hard with her kettles and horses. She also showed me this lovely town and a part of the Murray river at Loxton. I had a wonderful time. If nothing had changed I would never have seen her...Carl

[@angelinarosina2727]

Seen this … it’s great 👍

[@lordchickenhawk]

Crikey! .... I went on a school excursion through the saw mills there when I was about 11yo. Brought back memories!

[@ChundyUndies]

i saw this film in 94 when i was in year 4 at reidy park primary

[@Blunasea]

this was enjoyable. times has changed alot

[@marknelson5929]

So great to read all the positive comments from people who know and have lived or still live in the area etc. These old NFSA can be terribly nostalgic, giving us a glimpse of a time we'd like or not to a degree to remember - depends hey where we are in life. Nevertheless they are a rich record of an Australia fast disappearing. On a lesser level I'd love to know if that white MGA sports car 'driven by young David' in the clip still survives!? His family would have had to have been quite wealthy to have bought that MGA for him. Many thanks for the upload, great stuff.

[@NFSAFilms]

Thanks Mark. We appreciate the feed back. No idea about the fate of the MG but yes, not an everyman car for sure - then or now.

[@marknelson5929]

I'm a big fan of these films.

[@NFSAFilms]

@zofor Thanks for the positive comments and the information you have provided.

[@seanq84]

Here is some information I have been given: Wally and Maureen Guster lived in Lansell Street (but looking on Street View, I believe that the house featured could be 13 Renfrey Place). A young Mardi Brown née Hastings, that's Geoff Brown's wife smoking the cigarette at Gigi. They did great toasted sandwiches and banana boats. They watched the man walk on the moon in that little cafe.

[@thomaselliott573]

what a lovely touch of authenticity

[@brettwilkinson9529]

Once again , the thing I noticed most about these beautiful clips , is that no body during that time was fat. Such a better world to live in during that time.

[@anneloving8405]

No bulk soft drinks.

[@ianmangham4570]

No smartphone 😮 ,when I was a teenager you went outside ALL THE TIME 😅 ,now they're just vegetables at home online ordering junk food.

[@Stayfit4health]

Cheers for the info, its fascinating too hear about the past.

[@fredduncan1610]

I was an exchange student in Mt Gambier (Tennison Woods) in 1987. I was able to visit again in 2001 and noticed some changes. However, I was back again in 2016 and noticed that it was starting to change more dramatically.

[@TheXtc1rush]

My great great grandfather is in this, the man on the left. 4:31

[@NFSAFilms]

TheXtc1rush Fantastic! Thanks for letting us know.

[@neusatexeira6977]

ko

[@Bestrockalbum4]

TheXtc1rush that's so cool haha

[@danrobinson572]

NFSA Films I was wondering is there any new videos about the different city’s to live around your country.

[@NFSAFilms]

@hunkie61 Wow that's great that you got to see your Grandfather in this film - what a surprise for you.

[@intimidator4406]

My grandpa would've been 27/28 when they filmed this. He used to talk about how to town was a good place and all that but now he is 81 and he has dementia and now he can barley remember what it used to be like

[@NFSAFilms]

Maybe he would like to see this film?

[@thomaselliott573]

@@NFSAFilms that is a great idea. If he was my grandpa I would show it to him often. It is surprising what lies in the memory

[@carinemunro1077]

we had a house in millicent not too far from mt gambier....my husband lived there for work , while i lived in victoria.. Mount Gambier is still pretty rural and still a bit remote..but its very pretty in that region and i enjoyed going there on holidays...sadly my husband died and i had to sell the house there. If you like rural life its the place to go.

[@vkobi8208]

Mount gambier got a little bit more modern

[@827333]

The film really shows a time just before a lot of changing. I guess the textile industry disappeared, unfortunately, like in Sweden where I come from. Maybe cheese producing is back? Boys and girls were strictly separated, and women were expected to stay home, in films at least. In reality many worked (textile ind.) The Starliters play guitar music like Shadows, with no singer. But you can see a Beatles-poster on the bed of the sleeping young boy. And so on... I visited Mt Gambier in 2005...

[@marcopolo3001]

Wow so many true blues back then, makes it a crying shame to see where things ended up today.

[@kendalson7817]

Cute town. Love the car too.

[@blake.henderson]

the narration in these videos is hilarious

[@HARUDDUCK]

The little kid is one of the nicest blokes you'd want to meet, an

[@mattyo30]

great

[@pjchbott]

This is Walter and Monica Guster. their only child Maureen who married one of the Goulden boys from Mount Shank. They had a Corridale Sheep stud at Kongorong. The house they lived in Mt Gambier was next to the radio station in the middle of town and was a Tudor cottage style. They did not have a son! He was not a builder, Maureen was a librarian in the library on Penola Road near St Paul's

[@timosh78]

mount gambier is the best town in australia and has the most sport

[@jeremyfitzpatrick9160]

Such a beautiful place. It's beyond me why it's not heaving with people

[@Aussiecarstech]

The house looks so different now it’s located at 13 renfrey place

[@melianna999]

No fat, all elegant, men in shirts, lady in dresses, no tattoo, no piercing metals no half-naked girls on the streets. And ..wow sunday morning for many people ment mass in church. Definitely from God - time ,good-time; Australia went into devil -time ,scary time. Seems God does some correction in the world RIGHT NOW. It is just the beginning... God bless you and protect you all. Recommend short prayer given from above recently: -"Lord, have mercy on us, the sinners. "

[@shirleycunningham3626]

WOW! WOW! Just gotta be Wally Guster & wife -Maureen? Wally was actually President of Corriedale Association Sth East branch for many years I Was secretary. Yep this film had to be in the 50-60's I'm guessing.

[@melianna999]

1965 MCMLXIV in roman numerals / check end of film/

[@Gussa1]

my favorite part of the video was when zigzag said “it’s gambien time” and then proceeded to guess mt Gambia all over the place

[@wajidali-yp4nl]

Australia is gr8 place to live...

[@melianna999]

not even one person agree with you in 2023. Sad. NOT from me as well.

[@NFSAFilms]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You might be interested in our South Australian Time Capsule on our website nfsa.gov.au/blog/2013/07/04/south-australian-time-capsule/

[@Tohighoffhope]

Whoa, back then the sun actually came out.

[@jhcoriginals4025]

No joke I lived in that house at the start in 2007

[@NoosaHeads]

A wonderful time for Australia. No guilt, no excuses, no apologies. The people were honest, hard working and proud of what they'd created. Then the SJWs came along and ruined a great country.

[@trackdusty]

Well said, Ian.

[@danrobinson572]

At 14:54 was that ac /dc performing at that concert?? 😂

[@anneloving8405]

Family had a sheep farm near there,its now part of a winery i think...

[@zofor]

The band is "THE STARLINERS"

[@Paisly17]

The boy had some Beatles posters in his bedroom 😉

[@David_P132]

The mighty MG A - miles better than the boring MG B.

[@MayadIdub]

This was how Australia was like? How did it become like it is now?

[@samvodopianov9399]

time

[@trackdusty]

@@samvodopianov9399 Mr "No Idea". Obviously talking about a country of which you aren't familiar or a part of.

[@samvodopianov9399]

@@trackdusty I live in South Australia genius. Im the son of immigrants

[@trackdusty]

@@samvodopianov9399 "I live in South Australia genius. Im the son of immigrants." What do you want, a medal? A son of blow-ins with a Balkan peasant's concept of causality.

[@samvodopianov9399]

@@trackdusty You said I have no idea about a country I was born in and lived in most of my life. Bugger off. What the heck do you even want? Why'd you start this?

[@redplanet7163]

No hats for the sun, no seat belts in the cars, no protective eye wear in the mill, no ear protection at the quarry, aahhh, those were the days...

[@melianna999]

It is called democracy. Long forgot in Australia.

[@ChundyUndies]

Mr boreham and Mrs whelan's class

[@destined2sleep]

I am so sorry...

[@MrRandomman112]

Water skiing took place on the Valley Lake. Wally Guster uses the wrong name it is not Browns Lake.

[@СветланаДятчина-й2ф]

В эпоху 60-х женщины были ухоженными, стильными, с прелестными стрижками и прическами...как жаль, что мода аля-60-е осталась у королевских особ, а простолюдинок приучили одеваться в сланцы, майки, чудного покроя блузки и платья со спущенной линией плеча либо с рукавами "летучая мышь", уродующими фигуру...как жаль, что на голове женщин теперь можно увидеть лишь незатейливые хвосты, либо в большей части распущенные сальные волосы... как жаль, что невысокие символические заборчики у жилых домов стали заменяться на высокие заборы, закрывающие фасад дома и цветы. Спасибо за видео.

[@NFSAFilms]

пожалуйста

[@maggotdog]

8:16 !!!!!!!!!!!!!! CALL WORK HEALTH & SAFETY RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@andemaiar]

Haha, we need a photo of how the old hospital looks now.....

[@TheXtc1rush]

@Stephen Rrency well is destroyed now lol

[@leesmartin]

@OutlawMCC Yippee! What hasnt?

[@samuelhoffmann162]

My grandfather helped build the hospital

[@Stayfit4health]

We have the largest pine forest in Australia, its just a pity we have sold 60% of it to overseas investors!

[@melianna999]

We sold everything what's possible.

[@fsfer]

ha "well atleast someone liked that hat".. perfect.

[@andyrob3259]

So this movie is to blame for the farm door policy we have in having a 'any migrant will do' attitude with no standards and no responsibility?

[@jorjamoule6775]

hey andrew my dad was one of those migrants with a GREAT attitude and VERY HIGH standards where in this film did you get that perspective from?? did you live there during this time that isnt showing something,I was born there in 1960 and i had a great childhood. with hardworking parents. tells us your background so we can compare!

[@pjchbott]

the beach is at Carpenter's rocks, and the island of was called the wreck

[@camerinridge9586]

pjchbott it looks like carpenters rocks but I don’t think it is

[@PapaRoadie]

Lol what video were you watching?😂😂

[@tahliagrace2543]

What school is it

[@nathantana2202]

Reidy park

[@ACitizenOfOurWorld]

​@@nathantana2202 And this is the exact spot at 4:14 www.google.com/maps/@-37.8338281,140.7707124,3a,75y,155.7h,87.38t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8lhTrZgB1p8v6Yt37W9ORA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[@footy2rock]

I went to that school for 1 year in 1977 grade 2 lol

[@aadbam131]

David's an old man now lol

[@pjchbott]

thats the beach,

[@trackdusty]

The "NFSA" logo should be a quarter of what it is.

[@Arlee777]

9:11 That's a bit rude lol

[@Lieu3C4]

No more me puddup wid Chad. Amigree tomorro.

[@intredastingvideos9365]

We could have still had this if it weren't for those pesky boomers.

[@nijinsky1000]

Steeped in ignorance and hiding behind the “White Australia” policy. Its as depressing as it is comical. You needed “ big muscles and cast iron toes” ( trying to attract young boys into a career in depleting the area of trees. ) And the cultural addition of the theatre. A token gesture of sophistication when the word could hardly be spelt. With the addition of the music it’s like a documentary about a very large asylum. Appropriately, for whites only.

[@thomaselliott573]

Back in the good old days when you would be beaten into a pulp for being a whingeing whining piece of crap

[@Guitarbarella]

Many of those whites were actually descended from the oppressed, starved and dispossessed Irish not to mention European migrants so shut your cake hole and stop being a racist.

[@roderick2105]

What a pain in the arse you are!!

[@Lesser2x]

when the town was good before door dash 🦘🦘🦘🦘