PERSONAL RECORD. BLACKIE, N W. WE GO TO TAURANGA FOR THE KIDDIES AUGUST HOLIDAYS 1937

This is a silent black and white home movie documenting a family holiday to Tauranga in 1937.

The film opens with a handmade intertitle that reads ‘We go to Tauranga for the Kiddies August holidays 1937’. The first few shots are of the children outside their house. There are scenes of a paddle boat on a river, a town square with a clock tower, unpaved roads through native bush, a crashed car and sheep on a road. There are scenic views and a shot of the children playing and posing for the camera. The film shows the children riding donkeys on a beach, sand boarding, playing on a playground and various scenic views of the ocean and waterfront.

A young blonde girl gets dressed. Her clothes are laid out for her and she proudly shows off her bonnet. She dresses herself, and is helped by a woman out of frame.

The film shows scenic views filmed from a moving train. This is followed by shots of a group men on a boat fishing and seabirds flying.

We see two children playing with a black cat in a basket. There are shots of the family walking through the bush past a house, and playing with a tame magpie. The home movie switches to colour film, and we see colour footage of a group of adults and children touring a garden.

The film shows [girl guides] outdoors on a sunny day performing exercises, playing and dancing.
There is footage of a red propeller plane being started and then taking off. This is followed by footage of two adults and two children in a garden. Once again, there are scenes of the children riding donkeys on a beach and playing on a playground. There is a shot of a hand erasing the numbers ‘14-0491’ that have been written in the sand. We see two of the children playing in a park, and two women walking with a toddler in a blue coat.