In the background is a row of three-masted sailing ships, at anchor, their sales furled. In the foreground, a simple pier that's more like a yardarm juts out above the water; about 15 boys of six or seven years of age are on the jutting wood, and they jump off into the water below.
This clip shows part of the official parade for the Inauguration of the Commonwealth on 1 January 1901 as it passes through the temporary gate built especially for the occasion in Hyde Park, Sydney.
In the center of the ring the trainer forms a pile of baskets many feet in height. Greyhounds leap in rapid succession, forming a graceful arch and landing on the ground as lightly as so many feathers.
A diver jumps into a body of water-- and then comes right back out! This film should not be confused with Ferdinand Zecca's own remake of the same name (Plongeur fantastique, 1905).