David Green’s earliest memories of Carlton can be sourced to the immediate post-war years, when the family was domiciled at 155 Arnold Street within walking distance of the old ground.
Born in 1941 to Jewish migrant parents Nathan and Bertha, Green’s links with the football club were gloriously territorial.
My Dad, being a very keen Carlton supporter, used to take me on his shoulders across to the ground to watch the players train every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon,” Green fondly recalled.
“In those days, if you were recognised as Jewish, Carlton was where you lived – until about 1950 when the Jewish people decided that Caulfield, St Kilda and the southern suburbs were the places to relocate,” Green said.
“That was when the Italians slowly came in and made Carlton their enclave, but by then a lot of Jewish people had already committed to Carlton as supporters. One of them was Dick Pratt, with whom I used to kick a football in Rathdowne Street.”
Today, at 75 years of age and in blissful semi-retirement, Green maintains his links with his beloved Blues as a paid-up Member – which is why he’s calling on the club’s rank and file to help him preserve Carlton’s rich history in 16mm and 35mm film.
As a consultant to Port Melbourne post-production facility Roar Digital, Green has access to a recently acquired Blackmagic Cintel Ultra HD Film scanner which, in short, remasters old 16mm and 35mm black and white or colour footage.
“There are only two such machines in Australia at the moment. One is held in Canberra, the other is ours,” Green said.
“Quite simply, the machine is able to recover film on either 16 or 35mm, which was used prior to the introduction of 8mm. It can bring the film back to virtually pristine original quality for use in a myriad of ways for organisations such as Carlton’s to promote themselves.”
Accordingly, Green is imploring anyone in possession of Carlton film, which with the passing of time will surely disintegrate, to contact the club’s historian on 9389 6241 with a view to enlisting the services of Roar Digital.
Insisting that the digitisation process is also cost effective, Green also welcomes any enquiries from interested parties who may share his solid commitment to the preservation of Carlton Football Club history. He can be contacted on 0418 127076.
