ABOUT THESE SERIES ….But after that, I realised that I knew very little about these parents of mine. They had been born about the start of the Twentieth Century, and they died in 1970 and 1980. For their last 50 years, I was old enough to speak with a bit of sense.
I could have talked to them a lot about their lives. I could have found out about the times they lived in. But I did not. I know almost nothing about them really. Their courtship? Working in the pits? The Lock-out in the Depression? Losing their second child? Being dusted as a miner? The shootings at Rothbury? My uncles killed in the War? Love on the dole? There were hundreds, thousands of questions that I would now like to ask them. But, alas, I can’t. It’s too late.
Thus, prompted by my guilt, I resolved to write these books. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. The whole series is, to coin a modern phrase, designed to push your buttons, to make you remember and wonder at things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between generations, and foster the asking and answering of questions that should not remain unanswered.
In 1947, Labour was still in power but, for some silly reason, was not giving motorists the petrol that the rest of the world was getting. The Poms were firing rockets over our Aborigines, while Menzies was discovering Reds under our Beds. Our new Governor General was not a Pom, but a local lad, and Princess Elizabeth said yes to a Greek. Six boys, aged under 17, were gaoled for life for rape, and 10 o’clock closing might stop the six o’clock swill. Indonesia, India and Israel wanted colonial powers to go, and cricket was again thriving on hatred of the Poms. These were striking times.
Ron Williams is a retired teacher, mathematician, computer-man, political scientist, farmer and writer. He has a B.A. from Sydney, and a Masters in Social Work and a Ph D in Political Science from Hawaii.
Innehållsförteckning
TABLE OF CONTENTS: MY RULES
I give you a few Rules I follow as I write. They will help you understand where I am coming from.
Note. Throughout this book, I rely a lot on reproducing Letters from the newspapers. Whenever I do this, I put the text in a different font, and indent it a little, and make the font somewhat smaller. I do not edit the text at all. The same is true for the News Items at the start of each Chapter. That is, I do not correct spelling or if the text gets at all garbled, I do not correct it. It’s just as it was seen in the Papers.
Second Note. The material for this book, when it comes from newspapers, is reported as it was seen at the time. If the benefit of hindsight over the years changes things, then I might record that in my Comments. The info reported thus reflects matters as they were seen in 1969.
Third Note. Let me also apologise in advance to anyone Imight offend. In a work such as this, it is certain some people will think I got some things wrong. I am sure that I did, but please remember, all of this is only my opinion. And really, my opinion does not matter one little bit in the scheme of things. I hope you will say ’silly old bugger’, and shrug your shoulders, and read on.
LIKE TRAVELLING? TOO BAD!
COULD YOU BUY AND RUN A CAR?
Mc KELL AS GOVERNOR GENERAL
CATCH A TRAIN?
REGULATIONS GALORE
PAGANISM IN AUSTRALIA
THESE ARE STRIKING TIMES
STRIKE PAY
STILL MORE TRAVEL
NSW LATE-CLOSING REFERENDUM
CHARLES COUSINS
NEWS AND VIEWS
THE LASH
CANING IN SCHOOLS
LIFE AND DEATH FOR BOYS
THE HARP IN THE SOUTH
WOOMERA
SILK STOCKINGS
SOCIAL ISSUES
DID CRICKET SURVIVE THE WAR?
REDS UNDER THE BEDS
PALESTINE
SUMMING UP 1947
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