diaries

Not being an avid diary keeper, there is however, the occasional diary of a trip, such as that of 1955 around half of Australia for the NSW Board of Architects’ Bursary.

During retirement Ross Thorne has written some memoir items and these will be added to this site from time to time.

travel films

Some travel films from the mid 1950's.

Central Australia - 1955

From the illustrated diary 'of a NSW Board of Architects’ Bursary Trip to Northern and Central Australia, 1955' - a view over the Olgas towards Uluru in 1955. The diary contains many original photos of landscape and architecture.  

 

Illustrated diaries

 
 

Diary of a NSW Board of Architects’ Bursary Trip to Northern and Central Australia, 1955.

Ross Thorne (illustrated with photographs taken during the trip)

Previously unpublished; 78 pages, 194 photographs / diagrams  

For two months in 1955 the author and a companion travelled in an ex-army Land Rover over the rough tracks of northern Queensland, the Barkly Tableland, and Central Australia, recording on film and diary, the cattle stations, buffalo shooting and later-to-become tourist destinations of the MacDonnell Ranges and Uluru. The tour finished at Cooper Pedy (before returning home).

File size 41.4MB

  
 

Travel Films (on DVD)

 
 

Gulf Country (1955)

This 16mm, professionally-recorded sound film, was a part outcome of an architectural bursary research trip from Cairns, to Normanton, Mt Isa, across the Barkly Tableland to Darwin, Alice Springs and Cooper Pedy. Film photographed aimed at recording the general environment of an area such as the Normanton-Gulf Country on the Cape York Peninsula, as recorded in this film. It includes the township, cattle stations, and wild-life at water holes. It supplements a portion of the 1955 diary, also on this web-site. (DVT-61)
order this DVD

Flight Across South America (1957/2000)

Flight Across South America (1957/2002) is a tourist, colour, sound film photographed on 16 mm “Kodachrome” in 1957 and completed in 1960. Glimpses included are of Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Cuzco and Machu Picchu. The music track was by Manny Pearce playing impromptu to the film. (DVT-62)
order this DVD

Gulf Country
DVT-61

South America
DVT-62

 

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