Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Summers Past: Golden Days in the Sun 1950-1970


Australians have an enduring love affair with the sun and the sea. For those who grew up in Australia in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, summer can conjure memories of carefree sunny days by the sea, cricket on the beach and bodysurfing between the flags.

To tap into that vein of nostalgia, the National Archives have developed the photographic exhibition Summers Past: Golden Days in the Sun 1950-1970 to recall the Australian summer lifestyle from days gone by. Almost all the images were selected from the Archives's Australian News and Information Bureau collection. This vast archival recourse is the legacy of nearly half a century's work by Burea photographers who relled off hundreds of thousands of candid snaps of Australians at work and play.

The 'lucky country' they saw through the lens in the 1950s and 1960s was a more innocent Australia - a relaxed and comfortable place where everyone knew their neighbours, happily tended their gardens and seldom locked their doors. 

Summers Past features a host of memorable photographic images including caravan holidays up the coast, cricket on the beach, body surfing between the flags and the finalists in the 1952 Miss Pacific Pageant.

The National Archives’ photographic exhibition Summers Past: Golden Days in the Sun 1950–1970 vividly reminds us of our enduring love affair with the sun and the sea. For those who grew up in Australia in the 1950s and 1960s, the photographs in this National Archives touring exhibition should gently stir memories of idyllic summers spent at the beach.

With the Summers Past exhibition officially opening at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery Wednesday night 8th December 2010, we would like to know: 
What are your favourite memories of Australia in the summer?