'The Nesting place of the Cormorant' was filmed by Charles Percy Mountford, Acting Ethnologist at the South Australian Museum. According to Paul Lawson the purpose of the film was to record the birds in their natural habitat in preparation for the diaromas, installed in 1938. The rookery of the Pied Cormorant in the mangrove swamp was one of six diaromas. The background of the cases was painted by George Whinnen and Robert Waden. The film was later used for the children's lectures, screened on the southern-most room on Level 2. Lawson also mentioned that during the making of the diaroma, students from Adelaide High School helped to make the wax leaves as part of Herbert Hale's public relations program.

Lawson identified the four people that appear in the film as: Paul Francis Lawson (Preparator), Malcolm E McAnna (Preparator), Alan L Rau (Taxidermist) and Herbert Matthew Hale (Director).

According to Paul Lawson, the party arrived in a large boat. They waited until low tide and then paddled a smaller boat to the nesting area. When the party returned from filming, they waited for high tide to load the large boat with their labelled material that included specimens for the diaroma.

The summary is in minutes and seconds. Formats held: Digital Betacam and DVD.

Summary (Time Coded): Taken from Access DVD 3 (AA 228/1/2)

01:30:13 'The Nesting place of the Cormorant, Photography - C.P. Mountford, S. Aus. Museum'

01:35:23 'Sunrise near the mangrove swamps in which the cormorants nest.'
Panoramic view of the swamp

01:48:24 'Shallow water necessitated much pushing and hard rowing.'
Two men push the boat: Paul Lawson in his father's waders stands in the foreground and Alan Rau in the background. Two men row the boat: Herbert Hale in the foreground and Malcolm McAnna in the background.

02:11:14 'A Narrow mangrove creek near Port Gawler is the nesting place.'
Panoramic view of the narrowing mangrove swamp.
Two men standing in a boat using their paddles to punt: Paul Lawson is in the front and Malcolm McAnna is in the rear.

03:09:09 'A mangrove swamp; note the breathing roots and many crab holes.'

03:36:20 'Cormorants in the distance; they fly at our approach.'
View of cormorants flying
Paul Lawson (front) and Malcolm McAnna (rear) standing in a boat using their paddles to punt.
Cormorants take flight as boat approaches.

04:18:05 'The birds nest in the tree tops, and although at home in water, are particularly awkward, and clumsy on the branches.'

04:35:03 'From the tree tops. Home Sweet Home does not apply to cormorant household.'

05:07:24 'The newly hatched chicks are without feathers, and dark grey in colour. They resemble small lizards.'

05:31:07 'The down covered chicks are the most attractive, but attack the photographer should he come to close.'

06:18:05 'Fledglings, unable to fly, seem to spend most of their time quarrelling.'

06:46:09 'Many are in the water, swimming and diving.'

07:10:10 'Watch this dive throughout. Notice the quick intake of air when the bird reaches the surface.'

08:17:08 'After a while, the birds returned. They were nervous at first, but soon became confident.'

09:38:06 'Please to see the last of the intruders.'

09:46:13 'Except one unfortunate chick, who separated from its companions, led our boat into the open sea.'

10:10:20 Film concludes

The original 16mm, silent, black and white film was destroyed in June 2007 due to extensive deterioration.

AA 228/1/1
Format: Digital Betacam
Duration: 10 minutes; 10 seconds
Transfer Date: June 2007
Generation: Copy from original 16mm, black and white, silent

AA 228/1/2
Format: time coded DVD
Duration: 10 minutes; 10 seconds
Transfer Date: June 2007
Generation: copy from Digital Betacam (AA 228/1/1)

AA 228/1/3
Format: access time coded DVD
Duration: 10 minutes; 10 seconds
Transfer Date: June 2007
Generation: copy from time coded DVD (AA 228/1/2)

Documentaries produced by the South Australian Museum, filmed by Mountford