A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN SURREY HILLS AND BOX HILL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, THE CARTER FAMILY, FILM HISTORIANS CHRIS LONG AND MIKE TRICKETT
Who was Norman Carter? Why is his work important?
Norman was born in 1899 in Fitzroy, the youngest of eleven children, and came to Surrey Hills with his family in 1918. They were keen church people and Norman contributed to the life of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Union Road in many capacities over his lifetime. One of his roles was as film projectionist for children’s matinees held in Trinity Hall.
Professionally, Norman was not a photographer; he was an engineer spending a large part of his working life as the head of the drafting office for the State Electricity Commission. He specialized in conveyor belt engineering and was involved with the development of the Eldorado Dredge, the Maffra Sugar Beet and the Yallourn Briquette Works.
Norman’s keen interest in photography began at an early age. He purchased an 8mm movie camera in 1937 and prior to and during the Second World War he began recording both family and local events of note. His precision and eye for the significant were refined through his membership of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society. Some gems show trips to Wattle Park, swimming competitions at Surrey Dive, local school celebrations, and trips to Bill Maughan’s Wildlife Park in North Balwyn. As he was an air raid warden during the war, air raid precaution drills around his Everton Grove home in Surrey Hills, digging trenches in 1942 at Camberwell East Girls School and in the Canterbury Gardens represent rare and important footage of suburban life during this period.
In a project funded jointly by Surrey Hills Historical Society and the Box Hill Historical Society, film historians Chris Long and Mike Trickett have worked with Norman Carter’s original 8mm films, shot between 1937 and the 1950s. These were digitized by Mike Trickett of Geelong, and although not all were salvageable, the compilation provides a significant picture of suburban life in these formative decades. It has been augmented by Chris Long with maps, historic stills and contemporary footage of the sites. Chris has provided commentary, with excerpts from oral history given by Norman’s daughters, Beth and Nancy, now in their nineties.
Our very grateful thanks to film historians Chris Long and Mike Trickett and the Carter family.
FOLLOWING THE SCREENING AT OUR OCTOBER 2025 MEETING, FURTHER SCREENINGS OF ‘FROM PADDOCKS TO SUBURBS’ WILL BE FEATURED ON THE FOLLOWING DATES AT BALWYN LIBRARY, 336 WHITEHORSE ROAD, BALWYN:
1/ Balwyn Historical Society’s first meeting for 2026: 12 February 2026 7:30pm
2/ Boroondara Library Service Australian Heritage Festival events on
Thursday 23 April 7.30pm & Friday 1 May at 2pm.
