Dad and Dave come to Gledswood, Parramatta

Australian film : Captain Thunderbolt 1951 | Cinema Art Films 1927-39 | Dad & Dave Come to Town 1938 | For the Term of His Natural Life 1927 | Greetings from Wollongong 1979 | Metropolis 1928 | Picnic at Hanging Rock 1976 | Polish Posters | Posters | Streaming | Strike 1912 | The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906 | Variety 1927 |

Contents

1. Colonial connection
2. Gledswood
3. References

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1. A colonial connection

The classic Australian film Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938) was partially filmed at the historic Gledswood homestead, Camden, west of Sydney. Dating from 1816, the property is a significant early colonial remnant and well represents the aged state of many Australian properties in the years following the Depression of the early 1930s. Though located relatively close to the metropolis of Sydney, Gledswood was able to represent a typical country squatter residence and farm, in line with the main characters who were far from being city folk.

There were a number of successful Dad and Dave Rudd films made in Australia between 1932 and 1940, including the following:

• On Our Selection 1932
• Grandad Rudd 1935
• Dad and Dave Come to Town 1938
• Dad Rudd M.P. 1940

They were directed by Ken G. Hall and starred Bert Baily (Dad) and Fred MacDonald (Dave). All the movies were based on the original characters created by Australian author Steele Rudd (1868-1935). Three are available freely online, and linked in below.

On Our Selection, 1932, YouTube, duration: 84.05 minutes. Presented by David Stratton, SBS. 

Dad and Dave Come to Town, 1938, YouTube, duration: 83.19 minutes. Presented by David Stratton, SBS.

Dad Rudd M.P., 1940, YouTube, duration: 77.05 minutes.

In 2026 the State Library of New South Wales announced the digitisation of an album of photographs taken at Gledswood during the filming of Dad and Dave Come to Town during 1938. The 36 albumen prints are an important record of the film making process and life both in front of and behind the camera during filming.

Film historian Graham Shirley, in a March 2026 Facebook posting relating to the announcement of the digitisation, stated the following in regards to the connection between place, film and photographs:

Cinesound presented the album to Miss E.M. Chisholm, then owner of the Gledswood homestead in the Camden district, where the farm scenes were shot. Her ancestor James Chisholm had bought the property in 1816 and between 1827 and 1855 he built the homestead which appears in the album and film. People whose photos appear in the album include Miss Chisholm, Ken G. Hall, makeup artist Alex Ezard, and some of the cast of 'Dad and Dave Come to Town'. Today Gledswood is a heritage-listed former colonial farm, homestead and winery. The property's pre-1816 history can be found on the Gledswood Homestead & Winery website and Gledswood's Wikipedia entry.

This was the first I knew that Gledswood had appeared in a second Cinesound feature. As you'd know, it was also used in 'The Squatter's Daughter' (1933). I'm now wondering if it was also used for 'Dad Rudd MP' (1940). I have read 'Tim' Bailey's set diary from that film at the National Library of Australia, and while it does mention that the film was being shot in Camden, it doesn't say exactly where (Graham Shirley in Scaysbrook 2026).

The album was presented to Elizabeth Mary Chisholm around 1938 and embossed on the cover:

Presented to Miss E.M. Chisholm as a souvenir of 'Dad & Dave Come to Town' Cinesound Productions Ltd. Sydney.

Cast of Dad and Dave Come to Town, 1938.

Production took place between June-August, with a world premiere on 30 September at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney, at which Bert Bailey received a standing ovation.

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2. Gledswood

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Gledswood Homestead, 1939. Source: SLNSW.

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3. References

Cinesound, Photographs of Dad and Dave Come to Town, album of 36 albumen photographic prints, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney.

Kenyon, J.A., The Masks of Comedy and Tragedy, The Memoirs of J. Alan Kenyon, or Behind the Velvet Curtain, Part 13, On Stage Profiles, Theatre Heritage Australia, 1 June 2023.

Scaysbrook, Camille, Camile's Post, Australian Media Oral History Group, Facebook, 11 March 2026.

Vagg, Stephen, Forgotten Australian Films: Dad and Dave Come to Town, Filmink, October 2025.

Wikipedia, Dad and Dave Come to Town, Wikipedia, accessed 15 March 2026.

-----, Gledswood, Wikipedia, accessed 15 March 2026.

-----, Steele Rudd, Wikipedia, accessed 15 March 2026.

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Australian film : Captain Thunderbolt 1951 | Cinema Art Films 1927-39 | Dad & Dave Come to Town 1938 | For the Term of His Natural Life 1927 | Greetings from Wollongong 1979 | Metropolis 1928 | Picnic at Hanging Rock 1976 | Polish Posters | Posters | Streaming | Strike 1912 | The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906 | Variety 1927 |

Last updated: 15 March 2026

Michael Organ & Graham Shirley, Australia