Life In Australia: Geraldton.

From the Film Australia Collection. Made by the Commonwealth Film Unit 1966. Directed by Christopher McCullough. The Life in Australia series was made by the Department of Immigration in the mid 1960s to entice immigrants from Great Britain and Europe to Australia, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the West Australian town of Geraldton. 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.

[@adrianfola7894]

I.LOVE AUSTRALIA....from Argentina

[@bronwenewens1198]

I love Argentina

[@t.y.5763]

Adrian Fola I live in Australia Sydney since 2010 for 12 years, I have so many friends, many of them from South America and my many of those South American friends are from Argentina, they are all very kind, polite, good, considerate and comprehensive people.

[@cameraman655]

This Texan has visited Geraldton several times over the years, love it!

[@clairash2004]

As a true Gero person , I loved this immensely

[@andrewdrummond9943]

Hi from Scotland. Lived in Geraldton in 1991. Good town with good people.l visit Australia regularly and it has changed but l am not sure for the better. Great video. Thanks

[@elrondhubbard7059]

Yeah we were going to just freeze the whole place in time so it's always 1991 just how you like, but the physicists said it couldn't be done.

[@andrewdrummond8576]

@@elrondhubbard7059 Nice one. Time marches on but l am a small c conservatives so for me it's about conserving what's good and getting shot of the shit.

[@brettwilkinson9529]

Growing up in the 1960's and 1970's were the best times being a kid.

[@BarryMckockinner]

Brett Wilkinson seems like it

[@jaydentownsend5402]

@@BarryMckockinner Id rather be growing up now than jgrowing up in the pipe dream of the 60s-70s

[@BarryMckockinner]

Jayden Townsend yea you keep telling yourself that

[@markissboi3583]

the best sometime boring no $ but dad took us out fishing or hunting rabbits ducks etc no1 for a lad in 60s.70s🥇👍

[@BarryMckockinner]

Mark Arnott that woulda been the shit growing up like that tbh

[@allycook3926]

Everybody laughed at Newcastle NSW saying it was a hole and no one wanted to live there. Now it has 1.5 million people and half of Sydney want to live there. Geraldton reminds me of Newcastle growing up, even has the tall building they did up. People have found it now and Geraldton is going to be like Newcastle. Especially after it became Rio Tinto’s preferred site for their workers to fly from.

[@bagheera4997]

Quite a decent bush fire going on during the last few sailing scenes... Came to Geraldton in 1973, lived here ever since :) Love the changes of the last 5 odd years.

[@iancarter2441]

I was 11 years old in 1966 and it was 1 year after the the trade embargo with Japan had been lifted and I remember this too, not a Japanese Korean or Chinese car in sight as portrayed in Marine Terrace and it brings back memories of Geraldton that I remember.

[@pollybird7827]

I've been to Geraldton a beautiful place by the sea my husband and I camped there back in 1991 the locals called us mung beans we lived in Darwin and in Bunbury but we went right around Australia and camped in the most beautiful places porcupine gorge Kununurra Broom and lots of other places 🧡🌟

[@YusufYusuf-ti2rz]

What would I give to go back to those days when life simpler

[@yurilemming4130]

These are a great series of films from the early developing Australia, so many good memories to see, thanks NFSA

[@williamupchurch7841]

It's really wonderful to see what Geraldton was long before I was born. Great to see the wind never changed.

[@williamupchurch7841]

It would also be great to see a comparison video done in today's Geraldton.

[@jeanettedall5037]

My home town. What a fantastic time we had growing up there. Loads of good memories

[@robertrob3927]

My home town and still love it

[@iancarter2441]

There is a Geraldton in Ontario, Canada which has a freezing cold winter while Geraldton, WA IS having a scorching hot summer!

[@robynlynch592]

I'm a 'Gero derro' and proud of it, and even though I don't live there anymore my family still do. I enjoyed the nostalgia of places that I recognised, including the 'new' hospital (now demolished) where my younger brothers and my daughter were born, but try as I might I couldn't see any of my rellies. :-( Oh that's right, non-citizens not included.😞

[@davechristian7543]

i herd of it but never new where it was buddy but now i do haha.. im from south coat nsw

[@tedoneilclark4710]

Beautiful life 😀❤️😀

[@t.y.5763]

yes it was

[@leonotarianni2604]

Love that XK Falcon station wagon

[@mehdio8872]

I love Australia. This amazing land is innately almost spiritually beautiful and will continue to shine as a beacon of hope and stability. :) As a young progressive Iranian, I speak fluent English but my MA in English Literature and Canadian experience don't quite meet Australia's immigration requirements otherwise I'd move to Australia. :) And to all my Australian friends here, people ought to and they will integrate because Anyone who moves to your country and pledges allegiance to that beautiful flag and soil no doubt loves that country dearly and that's why they decide to move there. This doesn't mean that it's easy to give up one's own citizenship to become Australian or any other nationality. I hope my comment will help contextualize the situation and feelings of many an immigrant who decide to call Australia home for good, and for Heart! :)

[@marlikemami2865]

I'm Iranian but Australian born

[@abw48]

@@marlikemami2865 : That means you are Australian of Iranian heritage.

[@karlhorvat9387]

Did I see some bare footed kids in the classroom at 6:46? I've got lots of fond memories of the 1960s, when I was a child and days were long...because I had no responsibilities or deadlines to fret over. Nothing stays the same forever! Cheers.

[@hustlergaming6151]

yes

[@nevilleeastough1496]

The Lady on the switchboard at the Civic Centre at 3:44 is Meryl Murphy who still lives in Geraldton

[@NFSAFilms]

Wow, thanks for letting us know. Wonder if she has seen this?

[@danrobinson572]

NFSA Films do you got a episode on living in Darwin?

[@alansweeney1958]

My home town.

[@heidibarker9550]

Love the place

[@Kicka308]

I lived straight across from beachland school in that time 7 Maley Way watched the hospital being built when i was at GTN high school my bothers still live there not me now ,live in Rocking ham I was the nomad of the family couple trips around Australia before settling in Rocky ...now 72 yrs

[@ChrisJones-ij3xp]

Lovely and gracious video.

[@markissboi3583]

15:33 the old guy drum , from the benny hill show slap slap on head guy 😳

[@mickcarson8504]

Looks like they are the Salvation Army.

[@huyghesvanessa6468]

i m from Mauritius island I have been at geraldton I like this city relaxing and very friendly people w. a is great wonderfull place

[@huyghesvanessa6468]

Thanks a lot.

[@FahrulFahrul]

Nice videos. Iike

[@wtfa2910]

I remember the old days I'm going to church on Sunday always got to keep the people in line No Strays now

[@davechristian7543]

wat do u mean no strays n so on plz?

[@wattsy4468]

So much for turning it into a major city

[@malfabian1690]

1966 population 12000 , population 2016 = 40,000 , and likely to be over 150,000 in the next 50 years , if town planners keep doing a good job it will continue to be a very nice place to live ,

[@joshuastanbury3166]

Was there one done on Newcastle at all that would be a very interesting one to see

[@NFSAFilms]

Hi Joshua. No film from this particular series on Newcastle but the government film units did do a couple standalone films on Newcastle that you may find interesting. Here is our Newcastle playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLYjU0Xph-Gj7EbU3Eqk8lrRmRgwElU5Ot

[@bazzinbulgaria4826]

It's a nice place...although I've never lived there, most of my family have been there for many years.

[@louislawson5751]

Thinking of moving there 😀

[@T.Y.690]

maybe you are better to find a time machine mate

[@stephenhamishdarby2591]

Nice score from Werner Baer (1914-1992)

[@amitpunj1144]

no one in on iphone , lit no one , i wish i was born that time

[@joscelynemaree3787]

This is where my father grew up

[@lordharry423]

lots of manufacturing jobs. Times were good. This film is one of the reasons it all ended.

[@shanelear7878]

What time was this? from what I recall way back when, the hospital was complete.

[@rickeypeace9749]

I love Australia

[@JamesJimmaHarding]

Was this really filmed in the 60s? The picture quality is impressive!!

[@NFSAFilms]

***** Yes that's what 35mm film could look like. Imagine what it was like projected off brand new prints and with out having been compressed to fit on to KZbin. This copy was only from a standard definition telecine not even a good 4K scan which is what is really required to capture the full resolution of 35mm film. Some of the new HD digital cameras can do great stuff but large format film in the hands of professional cinematographers looked beautiful.

[@Cohen64]

***** Most definitely is, that's my granddad at 11:53. - DZ

[@Davez621]

Wouldn't it have been better to upload these at full SD resolution (480p) rather than 360p?

[@steevo9656]

@@Cohen64 which one?

[@danrobinson572]

NFSA Films do you have a video like this about Darwin? I never saw that video.

[@7s29]

I wish our great land was like this today, everything went downhill after 1973.

[@emgrey]

ok boomer

[@jasoncarpp7742]

This looks like an interesting place to live. :)

[@jae1099]

yeah... maybe back in the day when this was filmed. its a shithole now. not worth living there

[@frankmat]

LOL you wouldn't want to live in Geraldton now unless all you want to see are bogans and pot heads.

[@kimora3906]

+frankmat lmao yes

[@jasoncarpp7742]

+frankmat One could say the same thing about places here in the USA. I've visited Los Angeles, and while there are fun places to visit, for the most part, it's not a place I'd want to live.

[@frankmat]

Jason Carpp LOL... Geraldton aint no Los Angeles. Only 35,000 people live there... and seemingly most of them on drugs. It has one of the highest unemployment and meth and ice usages in Australia. It is also a country town.... It is 410 kms (260 miles) from the nearest capital city in Australia... so literally in the middle of nowhere. It averages about 32 degrees celcius in summer (90 F) so it's stinking hot as well. It's one of those places you spend a day there because you have no choice of anywhere else to stay around there... whilst driving around Australia... and then get the hell out of there.

[@ghummanghumman1416]

I love australia I want to see australia but I am poor ......

[@magicdeaths]

Climate tempered by the sea, lol it gets wicked hot out in the mid west during summer

[@mickcarson8504]

Geraldton is so hot in summer, who needs frypans to make omelette frittata.

[@SteveRadich1928]

And bloody windy.

[@annettepaul620]

The MMA plane was Nick name Micky Mouse Airlines When I was a kid in 70's😂😆😆😆😂😂😆😆

[@steevo9656]

Beachlands Primary has not changed much lol.

[@GlowZoe]

no it has not

[@jmc2851]

Lol all the people watching this live in Geraldton, like me.

[@copyth5748]

There's one problem here in Gero, the Fu**ing wind. When I use to do cray fishing out at the islands you couldn't get a week with our the damn wind.

[@TheBonusBlake]

I don't but my dad does

[@danrobinson572]

Is there an episode on living In Darwin?? If so please show it never saw it and I couldn’t find it on the channel.

[@jashugg]

Just type NSFA Darwin into the KZbin search function to find 3 videos from 1949, 1963, 1970.

[@danrobinson572]

@@jashugg ok thanks 🙏

[@davechristian7543]

and now it has 39,489 residents

[@sbiggs10]

just a quick note Geraldton Population 2019 is 33,000

[@leftleaf3590]

@Arna Tabitha In 1950 pop. 7000 . This was filmed in 1966 pop. Exceeding 12000.

[@karenanastasakis2543]

You need to do something about the tying. Doesn’t anyone proof read it as they Can’t spell Abrolhos island which is very important to Geraldton

[@triggertroy8266]

We now have a sporting complex named after John Eden Clarke

[@j3ttmac932]

I was trying to see if I could see my pop

[@the0point]

Windy hell hole in the middle of nowhere.

[@ethana8899]

🤣

[@absoluteplumbing2238]

It almost seems like the people of the time are being shown what life to live from a higher power that has already been through the motions . Yes.

[@kimsanderson3519]

Please can you tell me when this was made? Thanks

[@NFSAFilms]

Published in 1966. Would be shot 1965 /66

[@t.y.5763]

Kim Sanderson these video recordings made in Geraldton in 1966

[@marcopolo3001]

Why Geraldton isn't a bustling city of 1 million people by now is beyond me.

[@steevo9656]

Thank God it is not.

[@cameraman655]

@@steevo9656 Ditto...Bigger is NOT better, quite the opposite

[@martinjenkins6467]

W.A. is hopeless, everyone clings To Perth.

[@hebneh]

The mayor drove around busily in his Falcon station wagon in the beginning of the film, but what happened to his little dog? When he got to the airport, he let his 2 kids and the dog out to watch as he refueled the plane. All three were shown getting back into the Falcon. Then the kids were let off at school - the dog didn't get out - and then he went to the office and strode away from his car. Did the dog stay in the car all day while he did his mayoral duties?

[@leonj5589]

It’s filmed in 1966. Cinema Sins didn’t exist then.

[@leonotarianni2604]

Lol

[@domburton]

Turned into a hot dog.

[@rgarlinyc]

Don't throw at me, but to this day, grown men in shorts look absolutely comical to me, and that's even before I noticed their knee-high socks!😂

[@loomhigh]

These days you see it for different reasons entirely

[@asianmelb]

What's Geraldton like now

[@TheBonusBlake]

Very different it now has a population of over 30000

[@madlad9197]

Vanguard it’s a shithole that’s what it is

[@CovidConQuitTheCensorship]

37,648 current population

[@marcozolo3536]

It could easily be double that if it had a fast train to Perth. Maybe give it a couple more decades and Geraldton can reach 100K

[@opalessmithbh3845]

Update on geraldton everybody does gesr

[@Robochop-vz3qm]

Life was bliss, not a masked karen in sight.

[@Ghostmanriding]

Haha, brilliant, cheers!

[@TheTheTheTheTheThe]

Do you even know what a Karen is?

[@Qaranwadani1993]

@@Ghostmanriding And I am looking at these videos because I am thinking about running away from the Karen's from Canada, but you guys have it worse smh

[@lawdpleasehelpmeno]

Honestly the town looks similar today, almost no development, just degradation.

[@allycook3926]

You haven’t been here lately then. 2022 population 50,000 and the city has restaurants, marina, developed foreshore and they are building a new hospital. This is a great place to live. You haven’t lived in a big city it’s awful, here 10 minutes to work and you can afford a house right on the beach.

[@johnpro2847]

6:45 looks like 3rf world kids with no shoes !. good news is showes are super cheap now

[@lastofthev8interceptors411]

no self respecting kid wore shoes back then when they weren't made to, we weren't that soft

[@omeirkhan3019]

Australia is a safe heaven for English

[@WajidKhan-fc8hm]

And today Australia population is 24.13 million

[@woodie0044]

Should be compulsory viewing for everyone living in Geraldton today.

[@woodie0044]

+tobagotb10 :) thanks for your response. My point was really one of education, information and history. As a proud citizen of the City of Geraldton I love where I live and I only hope others understand where our community has come from and the challenges we will always have. Great film isn't it?

[@pisstinpete4700]

Wouldnt that bloke smell like petrol? A nice place and 3000 miles from anywhere

[@NumberNeverLie]

All the women had really short hair!

[@peterlatty4187]

Shut the bloody door dad!

[@fordlandau]

Geraldton? No one has heard of it

[@marcopolo3001]

One day Geraldton might be 300,000 strong. Currently it is past 40,000 with faster rail links, and the rising importance of Perth and WA to the Australian economy, who knows in 30 more years.

[@bazzinbulgaria4826]

fordlandau...do you often refer to yourself as "no one" ?

[@meganlowry7585]

Australia was the golden land when I was a girl. It was, really and truly, the closest thing to a latter-day Eden. People were, for the most part, content with their lives, and there was a sense of security, of hope and of neighbourliness. We were proud to be part of the British Commonwealth. We made no apology for embracing Christianity. Were one willing to work and to obey the laws, one could enjoy a lifestyle unsurpassed elsewhere. Those of my generation know this full well, and we grieve now for what is past. Elitists have transformed Australia into a multicultural sty. They backstabbed us by throwing wide the gates and rolling out the red carpet for unwanted and unwashed outsiders. Those who fancied themselves our betters bade welcome to a divisive alien presence that coarsens society and has nothing to offer that we either need or desire. Quite the contrary. The societal effect of globalism is best likened to gangrene, both in terms of culture and of the economy.

[@matts5105]

Megan Lowry, the world will be a better place when you and people like you have left this earth.

[@cookiesandcream2828]

Megan Lowry You need to chill woman. The younger generation, from multiple cultural background, are paying for your senior benefits and services. Australia has no room for racist and disgusting people like you. You yourself weren't originally from this land.

[@orpheusalmirante2853]

And people are waking up to the fact that our so-called 'leaders' have betrayed us and our complicit in the third-world invasion and the Chinese buying the land out from under us. But it's probably too late by now

[@louiswills475]

AquaticBoardwalkEngineer. The announcer sounds english the people in geraldton look like poms.

[@louiswills475]

5:57 is that a man dressed up as a 🚺 with looks to be wearing a beatles style hair cut.

[@wilsonsothernames]

Ooooh so lily white is the people they showed and not showing the very present local black population. Lol check out the small beer and extra small for the lady at 14.59

[@danielcummings3052]

The narrator sounds Aussie, just like me.

[@marerepotaka870]

This doesn't show all of Geraldton, I don't see one single First Nations people in this. Was there a race issue back then in Geraldton?

[@NFSAFilms]

The government films from this time shamefully omitted First Nations people and culture in most films dealing with "general" Australia. Where Indigenous people were included they were regarded more as a novelty and represented as a redundant culture. Other films would treat them as a "specialty" subject. In later years the film units would have a more holistic approach and also make films reflecting the true historical aspects and circumstances of First Nations peoples.

[@sandrataylor5063]

It doesnt portray the countryside life either, only the "townie" perspective of Geraldton, and the rather more affluent parts, not the hub it was for agriculture

[@_____J______]

In 1901 one of Australia's first acts as a nation was to introduce the so-called White Australia policy to exclude non-Europeans from Australia. Under the policy Melanesian slaves and their families were forcibly repatriated, severing centuries-old family and commercial links between Aboriginal Australians and Indonesia. The policy had also a severe effect on Aboriginal people. It led to widespread segregation and racism which most of Australia only learned about after Charlie Perkins' 1965 Freedom Ride: Desperately poor living conditions on fringe settlements. Missions on which white managers controlled every aspect of Aboriginal people's lives. White people convinced of their racial superiority. Exclusion of Aboriginal people from the basic amenities of a country town. Source: Do we have apartheid in Australia? - Creative Spirits, retrieved from www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/do-we-have-apartheid-in-australia

[@lorenzomagazzeni5425]

Not any obese child or adult to be seen. And that lovely Ford Falcon station wagon... Made in Geelong I suppose, before THEY decided to destroy the auto industry. Ciao.

[@NumberNeverLie]

All these people talking about the good old days, this video looks so boring to me! I would hate to live somewhere like this, ugh, give me melbourne or sydney any day

[@steevo9656]

happily oblige you.

[@NumberNeverLie]

@blue heeler ugh I couldn't handle it, yeeted myself the fuck out. Quarantine was a party compared to living in melbs.

[@NumberNeverLie]

@blue heeler NT for the moment, just gonna head wherever the wind blows me