'Before the Bridge -- Sydney in the silent film era (1896-1929)' is a series of silent film highlights screening on the big screen at Martin Place for SFFTV @ Martin Place, part of Sydney Film Festival 2012. Images from the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive. Read film curator Simon Smith's blog about the project. www.nfsa.gov.au/blog/2012/06/05/nfsa-sfftvmartin-place-during-sydney-film-festival/ Scenes: Dame Nellie Melba arriving at Central Station, Sydney in 1909. This is the earliest known surviving footage of the famous Australian soprano. Intertitles: Melba arrives in Sydney. Excerpt from a 1919 Australasian Gazette newsreel. The Hopetoun Quays residential complex now occupies the former site of the Balmain Colliery, which closed in 1945. Intertitles: Sydney, NSW. A Difficult Job. Hauling a 30-ton Boiler up a Steep Hill from the Balmain Colliery. Twenty-six horses each doing their bit. Dramatic footage of the Pastoral Finance Association's Woolstore ablaze at Kirribilli Point in December 1921. A well known landmark at the time, the destruction of this 7 storey building remains one of inner Sydney's largest fire disasters. Film of opening round matches of the 1924 NSWRFL (now NRL) season. Intertitles: Sydney. Rugby League kicks off. Football season promises to be greatest in history of the game. South Sydney has good, hard-fought triumph over Western Suburbs. At Sports Ground Easts have narrow win from Newtown. Excerpt from a 1928 documentary on ...