NRS-4911 | Health education films

Full description

These health education films cover a wide range of topics, including the structure and functioning of key parts of the body (such as eyes/ears, heart, lungs and circulatory system), pregnancy and birth, baby and child care, adolescent development, infectious diseases and other conditions (e.g. tuberculosis, polio, colds and influenza), dental health, fitness and exercise, nutrition, and dangers inside and outside the home (electricity, snakes, spiders and road safety).

The Department appears to have begun purchasing, commissioning and using films for health education purposes by the mid 1930s. (1) The majority of titles were obtained from overseas (chiefly the USA and United Kingdom), but films were also purchased or commissioned locally.

Custody history
The films were culled from a larger collection maintained by the Health Education Division Film Library, and were transferred in 1979. They were deemed obsolete for current educational purposes, but were seen by the Department as 'a remarkable collection', and a valuable resource 'for social historians, medical historians and film makers'. (2)

Endnotes
1. 'Publicity and Propaganda - Resume of 1936 Activities', in Report of Director General of Public Health for 1936, p.47 in NSW Parliamentary Papers 1937-38, p.935. This appears to be the first mention of films and film screenings in the Department's Annual Reports.
2. Director, Division of Health Education to Principal Archivist (undated, c. June 1979, State Records file 79/83).