Jazz-Age Victoria on Video

Some nice old footage came my way from Glenn Parfitt, the Energizer bunny who powers the wonderful Royal City Music Project. Glenn’s grandfather was one of the principals in Parfitt Brothers Construction, a firm that built many of the city’s landmarks.

First is a scene of the Inner Harbour in 1929, shot from on and around the scaffolding-clad tower atop the service station at the corner of Government and Humboldt (now the tourist info centre):



The second was taken at the corner of Fernwood and Gladstone, across from today’s Belfry Theatre (then a Baptist church) and the Rennie & Taylor bakery (later Weston's), built by Glenn’s grandfather. I love the old vehicles in this one, and the #3 streetcar:



Many thanks to Mark Dusseault for turning me on to these clips. If you’re keen for music videos, Glenn’s site also has performance footage of legendary local bands such as The Pharoahs and The Exls – and Skylark on the 1970s TV show The Midnight Special, with David Foster on keyboards.