The National Archives of Australia will launch its new audio-visual archives management system next week to provide greater public access to its collection of 800,000 audio-visual records.
They include historic footage from the ABC and SBS collections which shine a light into the nation’s past.
Films to be shared at the launch include a 1981 clip of Cambridge Footlights Revue young stars Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie for the SBS Scoop program (perhaps never aired).
Also on view will be an early ABC (colourised) Aunty Jack clip; film of the Maralinga atomic bomb blasts in South Australia; Australian
There will also be Federal Police footage in the wake of Prime Minister Harold Holt’s disappearance and the demolition of the Sydney GPO tower during World War II (showing a distinct lack of OH&S concerns).
Guests will be invited to view film from the collection and tour audio-visual preservation and digitisation facilities at the National Archives’ Sydney repository at Chester Hill.