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Mr Kelly's home movie

Mr Kelly's home movie

Tour to England and Switzerland, 1930

A black and white image of an ocean liner, taken from a movie. The ship is seen with its bows closest to the camera. It appears to have several smaller vessels around it. The ship has a dark- toned hull and light-toned superstructure. It has two tall masts, one near the bow and one near the stern. There are two funnels emerging from the middle of the superstructure. A dock and some buildings are visible to the right of the ship. In the foreground of the image is open water. Clouds can just be made out in the sky above the ship. A wisp of smoke can be seen issuing from the ship's rear funnel.

Team manager William Kelly made this silent home movie of the 1930 Australian cricket team tour to England and Switzerland. The film captures the cricketers' visits to ports, including Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Egypt and Italy, where they broke their long sea voyage from Australia to England.

Take a look at Mr Kelly's home movie (MP4 3.2mb) duration 1:37
Courtesy: National Film and Sound Archive.

Touring overseas has been a part of life for Australian cricketers since the late nineteenth century. Tours promise cricketers top quality competition, the honour of representing their country and an opportunity to visit new places and meet new people — chances to see the world.

A group of six Australian cricketers walking in front of the Taj Mahal. They all wear yellow and green uniforms with 'Australia' emblazoned across their chests. They walk toward the camera and away from the Taj Mahal which is in the background. Indian men in uniforms and casual clothing walk at either side of the cricketers. The ground is covered in paving tiles. Areas of mown grass can be seen to the right of the group. Trees can be seen in the left and right background. The four towers of the Taj Mahal are visible, as is its central dome. The sky in the photo is blue and free of cloud. Each person in the photo casts a dark shadow on the ground.


Right: 'The immensely talented Shane Lee in Agra, having taken in the magnificence of the Taj Mahal, strides back to the team bus.' Courtesy Steve Waugh.

View a slideshow of Steve Waugh's encounter with India