The Commonwealth Film Unit (CA 1670) operated from 1940 until June 1973. The Unit was also known as the Film Division. Until 1950 it was part of the Department of Information and from 1950 until 1973 it was part of the Australian News and Information Bureau. In 1973 the Film Unit was superseded by Film Australia (CA 1669).
The Commonwealth Film Unit, which operated from Sydney, was the successor of the Cinema and Photographic Branch (CA 5301) located in Melbourne. The Film Unit was created in 1940 to coordinate government and commercial film activity and to mobilise the production of film for the war effort. While the Melbourne branch continued processing non-theatrical film, by the late 1940s the Sydney branch was the focus of all film production. In 1954 the Melbourne branch closed.
The Unit's records are held by the National Archives in Sydney.
Some film among the Unit's film collection is kept as tri-separation positives (ie in cyan, magenta and yellow), made largely contemporaneously with the actual production to ensure preservation of the colour of the film. Where only the tri-separation positive exists special arrangements will need to be made to help you view the film. Please ask our staff for assistance.
The file holdings of the Commonwealth Film Unit include post-production scripts and film production files. These can assist in understanding the development and final form of the film, and may include information such as production notes, distribution arrangements and special screenings. Administrative files can also be used to find details of staff, management, finance or equipment.
 | Post production scripts | 1946– | C1136 | ||
| Film production files | 1945–65 | SP1265/1 | ||
| General correspondence files | 1940–43 | SP109/14 | ||
| General correspondence files | 1948–64 | ST3469/1 | ||
| General correspondence files | 1962–69 | SP1716/1 | ||
| General correspondence files | 1962– | SP1673/1 | ||
| General correspondence files | 1962– | C133 | ||
| Index to correspondence files and articles on Stanley Hawes and the Commonwealth Film Unit | 1964–71 | C134 | ||
| Outward correspondence and working papers | 1945–46 | SP109/15 | ||
| Various files on Australian National Film Board | 1957–73 | NA1980/33 | ||
| Minutes and agenda papers of Australian National Film Board | 1965–72 | C135 | ||
Sound holdings include musical scores, musical recordings and audio location recordings. The range of recordings is diverse and includes classical theme music, interviews with prominent Australians and the opening of Sydney's Gladesville Bridge in 1964.
You can obtain more information about the record series listed above (and the items within the series) from RecordSearch, the Archives database. Follow the links in the series lists to go directly to information on that series. You can also use RecordSearch to find out about the agencies that created the records and to locate more records on your subject. You might also explore PhotoSearch to find out if there are photos pertaining to your subject. RecordSearch and PhotoSearch are available online or in all Archives reading rooms. Reference staff are available in the reading rooms to help you, or email ref@naa.gov.au. Comments or other feedback can be sent to archives@naa.gov.au updated September 2000