Snapshot in Time: Pictures show the simple joys of kids having fun during Sun City Festival in mid-1950s

Simple pleasures. Simpler times.

The images hark back to an era when youth didn’t need a mobile phone or a game console stuck in their hand to have fun.

While the exact reason for the fun and frivolity isn’t 100 per cent confirmed, these pictures supplied by Francine Jackson show a bunch of local kids having a blast playing games, including eating food hanging off a rope and the old classic, tug of war.

Geraldton Regional Library believes the activities depicted in circa 1955 were from the Sun City Festival.

A few years later, the city’s long-running Sunshine Festival would start, celebrating the city and its glorious weather. The first Sunshine Festival was held in 1959 and has become the longest running regional festival in WA., creating countless memories across generations involving float parades, pet parades, fun and games.

After a three-year hiatus because of COVID restrictions, the Sunshine Festival is set to make a long-awaited return later this year.

The theme for this year’s festival, set to be held on October 1, is simply “Gero”.

Perhaps they should bring back food games and tug of war for 2023?

Snapshots is an initiative of the Geraldton Regional Library. For more information, or to donate a historical photo or slide, contact 9956 6659 or library@cgg.wa.gov.au