Shot by an unknown visitor, this gorgeous, silent color movie shows a trip to Tahiti in the 1960s, including shots in Vaitape, Papeete, Paea and elsewhere. It’s possible this film was shot to create a documentary or industrial film, or simply that it is a well shot amateur home movie.

Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, the South Pacific archipelago. Shaped like a figure-8, it’s divided into Tahiti Nui (the larger, western section) and Tahiti Iti (the eastern peninsula). With black-sand beaches, lagoons, waterfalls and 2 extinct volcanoes, it’s a popular tourist destination.

Opening: blue ocean water near trees. Palm trees. A man walks near some trees and rocks (:08-1:17). Piles of open Tahitian nuts. Palm trees near the shore. Foggy mountaintop. A hut set back amongst the trees (1:18-3:10). Women fish in the ocean. A man throws a fishing net into the water and then on shore he and a young girl go through its contents. A tourist boat comes to dock and people exit. A woman sits on a scooter watching. Children walk, a tourist rides a scooter bike (3:11-5:52). Children sit and watch people walk by. Tourists on scooter bikes. A woman walks two children down a street. Children on bikes, cars drive by (5:53-7:58). Evangelical church at Vaitape, Bora Bora. Women walk holding hats. A young boy near the water. A tourist car drives by the church, goes down a dirt road near the ocean. The car drives into the forest (7:59-9:57). People sell their wares on tables. An Air Tahiti DC-4 airplane arrives on the island, the plane is a commercial exploitation of RAI (Régie Aérienne Interinsulaire – Inter-Island Aviation Board) tail #F-BORJ. People line up for the plane. Aerial shot of the island. People near the water (9:58-11:52). People line up near a truck. An Anglo priest talks with locals. People stand around. Tahitian woman poses with tourists (11:53-13:54). A Tahitian woman sits in a chair. A hut next to palm trees. Women and children walk around. A man walks around. A woman walks children and a dog (13:55-16:03).A boy strums a guitar (14;15). Children near a hut. People wait under an overhang. Tahitian women walk near tourists (16:04-18:15). Priest walks amongst the tourists. Children in the water. A child walks on a white sand beach. People walk with their luggage towards a plane (18:16-19:54). Mount Otemanu, one of two peaks of an extinct volcano located at the center of the island of Bora Bora. Tourist buses (19:55-21:11). A Short Sandringham seaplane tail #F-OBIP approaches the shore. People fishing. Sea plane takes off (21:12-23:29). Children of Tahiti. A tourist gives the children food. A young boy holds a bag. A scooter races by near a small store (23:30-25:56). An old Coca-Cola sign hangs behind a group of natives. People walk around a damp street. A sunny day on the island. Tourists sit in the back of a truck. Trucks slowly move down the street (25:57-28:33). Women and children sit on a wall. A woman hands a young girl a bikini top. Young girls smile at the camera. People sit and wait in a cargo area. A little girl dances (28:34-31:03). People wait to board a RAI (Régie Aérienne Interinsulaire) – Air Tahiti flight. Citroën 2CV deux chevaux (31:45). People eat and drink in a nice bar-restaurant with a sign above that reads “Trafic Local.” People wait with their luggage (31:04-33:14). Bustling city street, cars and tourists. A couple enter a car. Cars, trucks, scooters, bikes all make up the busy city (33:15-35:41). People sit and relax in a cafe. Notre Dame Cathedral in Papeete, Tahiti. Women help push a truck so cars can get by. An open air marketplace. Bus reads ‘Roniu II’ in Papeete (35:42-37:28). Busload of tourists with luggage on the roof. A man adjusts the luggage on the roof. Bus turns onto a quiet rural street. Green mountaintops. A woman washes clothes while children play near the strong water current of a dam. A child jumps into the water. Children walk (37:39-39:51). Children cut fruit in the water. Ocean at the shore. A small group of huts (39:52-41:55). Polynesian outrigger canoes by the shore, probably along Paea’s coast. Children get into an outrigger canoe. A woman sews. Huts. Green mountaintop. Papaya on a tree. Flowers on trees (41:56-43:54). Tahitian gardenias. A waterfall. Rows of plants and flowers (43:55-45:34). Marae Arahurahu, a sacred temple platform made from stones with unu, or carved wooden stele, and sacred trees, in Paea, on the island of Tahiti, in the Windward Islands (45:54) Tomb of King Pomare V in Papeete (45:35-47:10).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com