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Charles Kingsford Smith flies the Southern Cross from California to Australia

Extract from Cavalcade of Australia: 1901–1951 (1951)

In 1928 Charles Kingsford ‘Smithy’ Smith and Charles Ulm, along with two US crewmen, became the first people to cross the Pacific Ocean by air. They did it in a three-engine aeroplane called the Southern Cross.

Scenes from a documentary which uses archival film to highlight and illustrate the main events that occurred in the history of Australia in the fifty years following Federation. On the celebration of Australia's Jubilee as a Commonwealth, Australian film production organisations, both governmental and commercial, made archival material from their libraries available for this film.

NFSA: 1396113 Documentary courtesy National Film and Sound Archive

Activities

1. What does this short film clip show? Summarise what you see and hear.

2. Does the film appear to have a main purpose or message? If so, what do you think it is?

3. Who made the film clip and when was it made? Use this information to try to work out why the film was made. Does this change what you think about the purpose of the film?

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