Author(s): Ron Williams

Australiana

his is the seventh of the 1960s and the eighteenth book overall to be released in a series of 30 about life in Australia - one for each year from 1939 to 1968. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. The whole series, to coin a modern phrase, is 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 1967, postcodes were introduced and you could now pay your debts with a five-dollar note. You could talk-back on radio, about a brand new ABC TV show called "This Day Tonight". There was no point in talking any more to the Privy Council of the Brits - Oz was the only appealing place left to go. Getting a job was easy with uneployment at 1.8% - better than the 5% 50 years later. Arthur Calwell left at last, Whitlam took his place, Harold Holt drowned, and Menzies wrote his first book after retirement.