Texts and communication_v1_chaps1to4_Print_Final

IContributors

Josh McPherson......................................Web Page, research, presentation
Andy Qureshi............................................Research, presentation
Sweta Patel.................................................Research, presentation
Garrett Patton............................................Research, presentation
Mari Powers...............................................Research, presentation

Bibliography

Randolph, Octavia. "Parchment" http://www.octavia.net/9thclife/Parchment.html
Hedrick, Bobbie Jo. "A Day in the Life of a Scribe" http://medieval.arthistory.sbc.edu/scribe.html
Hedrick, Bobbie Jo. "Forms" http://ripley.wo.sbc.edu/departmental/arthistory/medieval/forms.html
Pach, Nicolas. "Paper" http://hades.sckcen.be/wm/rh/glo/paper.html
Arnott, Michael. "What is a Bestiary?" http://www.clues.abdn.ac.uk:8080/besttest/alt/comment/wha_is_a.html
Website: http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/markport/lit/introlit/ms.htm

Student activity 3

1. Explain why scribes were very powerful people.

2. What were two advantages and two disadvantages of the pre-printing press era in term of document production?

3. Who, in the modern world, has the traditional role of scribe? Explain and support your

answers.

4. Look at the example of Michelangelo’s Moses below. Michelangelo was reputed to be a FIGURE 2.22 Student
very intelligent man. Can you account for the fact that he believed the translation required activity 3.

the representation of Moses to display horns? Explain why you have come to your

conclusions.

5. From the ancient Egyptian and Sumerian writings on clay and papyrus to the beautifully
drawn and written manuscripts of the medieval scribes, explain the importance of these
contributions to our modern heritage.

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Michelangelo's Moses FIGURE 2.24 Michelangelo's Moses

Moses by Michelangelo can be dated from 1513–1515 and was
to be part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. The posture is that of a
prophet, posed on a marble chair, between two decorated marble
columns.

Michelangelo’s Moses is depicted with horns on his head.
Michelangelo, like so many artists before him, was labouring
under a misconception. This is believed to be because of the
mistranslation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Latin by St Jerome.
Moses is actually described as having "rays of the skin of his
face", which Jerome in the Vulgate had translated as "horns". The
mistake in translation is possible because the word "keren" in the
Hebrew language can mean either "radiated (light)" or "grew
horns".

Student activity 4

1. Do you think Michelangelo would
have given Moses horns if he was FIGURE 2.23 Student
working with a modern, printed activity 4
version of the Old Testament?
Explain.

2. What are the ramifications for the
accuracy of our knowledge
heritage when we have to rely on
handwritten texts? Is there any
way of validating the accuracy of
handwritten texts?

3. Do problems of authenticity still create problems today?

Viewed 26 November 2013, <http://www.rome.info/michelangelo/
moses/>.

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The impact of printing press Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg  (aka Johann Gutenberg)

Following are some fascinating facts about the invention of Criteria: First practical. Modern prototype. Entrepreneur.
the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440.
Birth: c1400 in Mainz, Germany
At a glanc:
Death: 3 February 1468 in Mainz, Germany
In 1440, German inventor, Retrieved 6 January 2014.
Johannes Gutenberg, <http://www.ideafinder.com/ Nationality: German
invented a printing press history/inventions/
process that, with printpress.htm>. Milestones:
refinements and increased
mechanisation, remained the 888 The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture, was the
principal means of printing first dated example of block printing.
until the late 20th century.
The inventor's method of 1041 Bi Sheng in China invented movable clay type
printing from movable type, 1423 Europeans use xylography (art of engraving on wood,
including the use of metal
moulds and alloys, a special block printing) to produce books.
press, and oil-based inks, 1430 Gutenberg moved from his native town of Mainz to
allowed for the first time the
mass production of printed Strasburg
books.  1436 Gutenberg begins work on his printing press.
1437 Gutenberg was sued for "breach of promise of
Invention: printing press
marriage" by a young lady of Strasburg
Function: noun/printing 1440 Gutenberg completed his wooden press which used
press
movable metal type.
Definition: A machine that Retrieved 6 January 2014. 1440 Laurens Janszoon Koster (Coster) is credited, by
transfers lettering or images <http://www.ideafinder.com/
by contact with various history/inventions/ some, with inventing movable metal type
forms of inked surface onto printpress.htm>. 1444 Gutenberg returns to Mainz and sets up a printing
paper or similar material fed
into it in various ways The shop
device is used for printing 1446 Gutenberg prints the "Poem of the Last Judgment"
many copies of a text on 1448 Gutenberg prints the "Calendar for 1448"
paper. 1450 Gutenberg formed a partnership with the wealthy

Johann Fust
1450 Gutenberg begins work on a Bible, the first is 40 lines

per page.
1452 Gutenberg begins printing the 42-line Bible in two

volumes.
1454 Gutenberg prints indulgences (notes sold to

Christians by the Pope, pardoning their sins)

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1455 First block-printed Bible, the Biblia Pauperum, The story
published in Germany.
In the mid-15th century Johannes Gutenberg invented a
1455 Gutenberg completed work on what is estimated to mechanical way of making books. This was the first
be 200 copies of the Bible example of mass book production. Before the invention of
printing, multiple copies of a manuscript had to be made by
1455 Gutenberg was effectively bankrupt. Investor Johann hand, a laborious task that could take many years. Later
Faust gains control of print business books were produced by and for the church using the
process of wood engraving. This required the craftsman to
1457 First known colour printing, a Psalter (a collection of cut away the background, leaving the area to be printed
Psalms for devotional use) by Faust. raised. This process applied to both text and illustrations
and was extremely time-consuming. When a page was
1460 Gutenberg re-established himself in the printing complete, often comprising a number of blocks joined
business with the aid of Conrad Humery together, it would be inked and a sheet of paper was then
pressed over it for an imprint. The susceptibility of wood to
1461 Albrecht Pfister printed the first illustrated book the elements gave such blocks a limited lifespan.
Edelstein which featured a number of woodcuts.
In the Far East, movable type and printing presses were
1465 Gutenberg is appointed to the court of Archbishop known but did not replace printing from individually carved
Adolf of Nassau wooden blocks or movable clay type (processes much
more efficient than hand copying). The use of movable type
1476 Two hundred woodcuts were used in an edition of in printing was invented in 1041 AD by Bi Sheng in China.
Aesop's Fables Since there are thousands of Chinese characters, the
benefit of the technique is not as obvious as in European
1476 First use of copper engravings instead of woodcuts languages.
for illustration
In China, there were no texts similar to the Bible which
1476 William Caxton sets up his printing press in could guarantee a printer return on the high capital
Westminster, England. investment of a printing press, and so the primary form of
printing was wood block printing which was more suited for
1499 Printing had become established in more than 2500 short runs of texts for which the return was uncertain
cities around Europe.
It is not clear whether Gutenberg knew of these existing
1499 An estimated 15 million books have been press techniques or invented them independently, though the
printed, representing thirty thousand book titles former is considered unlikely because of the substantial
differences in technique. Xylography (the art of engraving
CAPs: Johannes Gutenberg, Johann Gutenberg, Bi Sheng, on wood, block printing) was used by Europeans to
Laurens Janszoon Koster, Johann Faust, Peter Schoffer,
Albrecht Pfister, Conrad Humery, Archbishop Adolf of !!!!!!!!!!! 103
Nassau, William Caxton, Gutenberg Bible, 42-line Bible,
Mazarin Bible, Diamond Sutra, Poem of the Last Judgment,
Calendar for 1448, Psalter, Aesop's Fables,

SIPs: printing press, movable type, xylography, metal type,
indulgences, typography, letterpress printing, invention,
history, inventor of, history of, who invented, invention of,
fascinating facts.

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produce books and by European textile makers to print Legal documents indicate that Gutenberg probably began
patterns on fabric. printing the Bible around 1450. It was in this year that
Gutenberg entered into a partnership with Johann Fust who
Gutenberg began experimenting with metal typography lent him money to finance the production of a Bible.
(letterpress printing) after he had moved from his native Gutenberg certainly introduced efficient methods into book
town of Mainz to Strasburg around 1430. Knowing that production, leading to a boom in the production of texts in
wood block type involved a great deal of time and expense Europe — in large part, owing to the popularity of the
to reproduce, because it had to be hand carved, Gutenberg Gutenberg Bibles, the first mass-produced work, starting in
concluded that metal type could be reproduced much more 1452. Even so, Gutenberg was a poor businessman, and
quickly once a single mould had been fashioned. made little money from his printing system.

When Johannes Gutenberg began building his press in The earliest dated specimens of printing by Gutenberg are
1436, he was unlikely to have realised that he was giving papal indulgences (notes given to Christians by the Pope,
birth to an art form which would take centre stage in the pardoning their sins) issued in Mainz in 1454. In 1455,
social and industrial revolutions which followed. He was Gutenberg demonstrated the power of the printing press by
German, his press was wooden, and the most important selling copies of a two-volume Bible for a price that was
aspect of his invention was that it was the first form of the equivalent of approximately three years' wages for an
printing to use movable type. average clerk, but it was significantly cheaper than a
handwritten Bible that could take a single monk 20 years to
His initial efforts enabled him in 1440 to mass-produce transcribe.
indulgences — printed slips of paper sold by the Catholic
Church to remit temporal punishments in purgatory for sins In 1455, just as the project was nearing completion, Johann
committed in this life, for those wealthy enough to afford Fust sued Gutenberg, taking possession of his printing
indulgences. Although Laurence Koster (Coster) of equipment and the almost completed edition of the Bible.
Haarlem, Netherlands also laid claim to the invention, Fust subsequently entered into partnership with Peter
scholars have generally accepted Gutenberg as the father Schoffer, who had been Gutenberg's assistant, and the
of modern printing. project was finally completed in 1456 whereupon Fust
undertook the task of marketing the Bible. Fust first
Gutenberg left Strasburg, presumably about 1444. He attempted to sell the Bibles as manuscripts but once
seems to have perfected at enormous expense his potential purchasers observed the uniformity of the
invention shortly afterwards, as is shown by the oldest volumes, he had to reveal the means by which they were
specimens of printing that have come down to us, the produced.
"Poem of the Last Judgment", and the "Calendar for 1448".
The fact that Arnolt Gelthuss, a relative of Gutenberg, lent The mortgage covered the copious stock of type which had
him money in the year 1448 at Mainz points to the same evidently been already prepared for the edition of the
conclusion. Psalter, which was printed by Fust and Schoffer in August

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1457. This included new type in two sizes, as well as the world-famous initial FIGURE 2.25 The folder of newspaper web
letters with their ingenious contrivance for two-colour printing. offset printing press

In 1457 Fust and Schoffer published a large Psalter, known as the Mainz
Psalter, which featured printed red and blue initials along with the black text.
There is some debate about how these coloured letters were printed. They
were either printed from two part metal blocks that were inked separately, re-
assembled and then printed with the text, or they were stamped on after the
main text was printed. Either way the process was time consuming and
expensive so for several years it was more common for such decorative
elements to be added by hand. The Mainz Psalter was also the first book to
bear a printer's trademark and imprint, a printed date of publication and a
colophon.

About 1457 Gutenberg also parted with his earliest-constructed founts of
type, which he had made for the 40-line Bible. Long before this Bible was
printed the type had been used in an edition of the "Poem of the Last
Judgment", and in the "Calendar for 1448", in editions of Donatus, and various
other printed works. Most of this type fell into the possession of Albrecht
Pfister in Bamberg.1460.

The first person to print illustrated books was Albrecht Pfister. Around 1460 he
published a book titled Der Ackermann von Bohmen (The Farmer from
Bohmen). The only surviving copy of the first edition contains no illustrations

but space has been left for them. A second edition printed in 1463 does
include images. In 1461 Pfister printed an edition of Der Edelstein (a series of

fables in German) which contained 101 woodcut illustrations. The woodcuts

were in simple outline and were probably intended to be hand coloured. (Most

surviving copies have in fact been coloured.)

Gutenberg next manufactured a new printer's outfit with the assistance he

received from Conrad Humery, a distinguished and wealthy doctor of law,

leader of the popular party, and chancellor of the council. This outfit Viewed 26 November 2013, < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Drukarnia-zlamywak.jpg >.
comprised a set of small types fashioned after the round cursive handwriting
used in books at that time and ornamented with an extraordinary number of

ligatures. The type was used in the so-called "Catholicon" (grammar and

alphabetic lexicon) in the year 1460, and also in several small books printed in Eltville down to the year 1472 by the brothers

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Echtermünze, relatives of Gutenberg. The Elector of Mainz, Archbishop Adolf of Nassau, presented him with a benefice (an
ecclesiastical office in 1465) yielding an income and various privileges.

Gutenberg's invention spread rapidly after his death in 1468.It met in general with a ready and enthusiastic reception in the
centres of culture. The names of more than 1000 printers, mostly of German origin, have come down to us from the fifteenth
century. In Italy we find well over 100 German printers, in France 30, in Spain 26. Many of the earliest printers outside of
Germany had learned their art in Mainz, where they were known as "goldsmiths". Among those who were undeniably pupils
of Gutenberg, and who probably were also assistants in the Gutenberg-Fust printing house were (besides Schoffer),
Numeister, Keffer, and Ruppel; Mentel in Strasburg (before 1460), Pfister in Bamberg (1461), Sweynheim in Subiaco and
Rome (1464), and Johann von Speyer in Venice (1469).

The blocks used to illustrate early printed books were small and the images were often generic. There is evidence that
printers exchanged blocks, with the same images being used in different editions of books. For example, two hundred
woodcuts were used in a 1476 edition of Aesop's Fables and appear again in an edition by a different printer in 1480. There
are also examples where the same image has been used to represent different subjects. In early illustrated books the text and
illustrations were printed in separate operations, possibly because the type and the wood blocks were of different heights,
but later examples were printed in one impression.

The first use of copper engravings for illustration occurred in 1476. Early experiments in using engraving for illustrations were
not successful because the two different methods of printing not only required two operations, they required different types of
equipment. As a result registration problems occurred. The solution was to print the images on separate sheets of paper and
bind them into the book or to print on thin paper and cut out and paste the images in place.

William Caxton learned the printing trade in Europe and set up his press in Westminster, England in 1476. Many early printing
types were calligraphic — they imitated handwriting. Caxton used and was famed for his Black Letter type which imitated the
writing of the Haarlem monks. Artistically, he was perhaps the finest printer of his day although, as a man of politics and
letters, he was an amateur.

The new printing presses had spread like brushfire through Europe. By 1499 print-houses had become established in more
than 2500 cities in Europe. Fifteen million books had been flung into a world where scholars would travel miles to visit a
library stocked with twenty handwritten volumes. Scholars argue about the number. It could have been as few as eight million
or as many as twenty four. But the output of new books had been staggering by any reasonable estimate. The people had
suddenly come into possession of some thirty thousand new book titles.

While the Gutenberg press was much more efficient than manual copying, the Industrial Revolution and the introduction of
the steam powered rotary press allowed thousands of copies of a page in a single day. Mass production of printed works
flourished after the transition to rolled paper, as continuous feed allowed the presses to run at a much faster pace.

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Gutenberg's invention did not make him rich, but it laid the His aim, technically and æsthetically so extremely difficult,
foundation for the commercial mass production of books. was the mechanical reproduction of the characters used in
The success of printing meant that books soon became the manuscripts, ie the hand lettered books of the time. The
cheaper, and ever wider parts of the population could works printed by Gutenberg plainly prove that the types used
afford them. More than ever before, it enabled people to in them were made by a casting process where the letter-
follow debates and take part in discussions of matters that patterns were cut on small steel rods termed patrices, and
concerned them. As a consequence, the printed book also the dies thus made were impressed on some soft metal,
led to more stringent attempts at censorship. This was a such as copper, producing the matrices, which were cast in
sign that it was felt by those in authority to be dangerous the mould in such a manner as to form the "face" and
and challenging to their position. "body" of the type at one operation.

Gutenberg's movable metal type FIGURE 2.26 A case of cast metal type pieces and
typeset matter in a composing stick
In the Far East, movable type and printing presses were
known but did not replace printing from individually carved Viewed 26 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press>.
wooden blocks, from movable clay type, processes much
more efficient than hand copying. The use of movable type The printing type represents, therefore, a multiplicity of cast
in printing was invented in 1041 AD by Bi Sheng in China. reproductions of the original die, or patrix. In addition to this
Since there are thousands of Chinese characters, the technical process of type-setting, Gutenberg found himself
benefit of the technique is not as obvious as in European confronted with a problem hardly less difficult, namely, the
languages. copying of the beautiful calligraphy found in the books of the

It is not clear whether Gutenberg knew of these existing
techniques or invented them independently, though the
former is considered unlikely because of the substantial
differences in technique. The print technology that
produced the Gutenberg Bible marks the beginning of a
cultural revolution unlike any that followed the development
of print culture in Asia.

Gutenberg was a goldsmith, a worker in metals, and a
lapidary, and his invention both in conception and
execution shows the worker in metals. Gutenberg
multiplied the separate types in metal moulds. The types
thus produced he built in such a way that they might be
aligned like the manuscript he was copying.

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fifteenth century, constantly bearing in mind that it must be possible to engrave and to cast the individual forms, since the
types, when set, must be substantially replicas of the model.

The genius of Gutenberg found a brilliant solution to this problem in all its complicated details. Even in the earliest types he
made (eg in the “Calendar for 1448”), one can recognise not only the splendid reproduction of the actual forms of the original
handwriting, but also the extremely artistic remodelling of individual letters necessitated by technical requirements.

The type reproductions were the work of a calligraphic artist of the highest order. He applied the well-tested rules of the
calligraphist's art to the casting of types, observing in particular the rudimentary principle of always leaving the same space
between the vertical columns of the text. Consequently Gutenberg prepared two markedly different forms of each letter, the
normal separate form, and the compound or linked form which, being joined closely to the type next to it, avoids gaps. It is

significant that this unique kind of letter is to be found in only four types, and these
FIGURE 2.27 Replica of the Gutenberg four are associated with Gutenberg.
press, International Printing Museum No typographer in the fifteenth century was able to follow the ideal of the original

inventor, and consequently research attributes to Gutenberg types of this character,
namely, the two Bible and the two Psalter types. Especially in the magnificent
design and in the technical preparation of the Psalter of 1457 do we recognise the
pure, ever-soaring inventive genius of Gutenberg.

Gutenberg's printing press

The spread of literacy and the development of universities meant that by the 15th
century, despite an assembly-line approach to the production of books, supply was
no longer able to meet demand. As a result there was widespread interest in finding
an alternative means of producing books. Before books could be mass produced,
several developments were necessary.

A ready supply of suitable material that could be printed on was required.
Manuscript books were written on vellum and this material was used for some early
printed books, but vellum was expensive and not available in sufficient quantity for
the mass production of books. The introduction of the technique of making paper
and the subsequent development of a European papermaking industry was a
necessary condition for the widespread adoption of print technology.

Viewed 26 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/ Although a number of people had previously attempted to make metal type or had
wiki/Printing_press>. experimented with individual woodcut letters, it was not until a technique was
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 108

type became economically feasible. Gutenberg, who had How it works
initially trained as a goldsmith, was to devise a means of
producing metal type in sufficient quantities at a reasonable The printing press which led to a considerable acceleration
cost. This involved the design of a type-face and the of the method so far used of taking an impression by
production of moulds used for making the individual pieces of rubbing, was a screw press. The basic idea of Gutenberg's
type, as well as the development of an alloy that was soft invention was the splitting up of the text into individual
enough to cast, yet hard enough to use for printing. components such as lower and upper case letters,
punctuation marks, ligatures and abbreviations, based
It was also necessary to develop suitable inks for printing upon the tradition of medieval scribes. These individual
with the new type. The water-based inks used for hand components were cast in any quantity as type in reverse,
lettering and for block printing would not stick to metal type; and then put together to form words, lines and pages. The
therefore a viscous oil based ink was required. prototype for each letter was the punch. A character was
cut into the face of a steel block, resulting in a precise relief
Finally, a press was needed for transferring the image from in reverse. Now the respective punch was struck into a
type to paper. Precedents existed in the presses used for rectangular block made of softer metal, probably copper,
making wine, cheese and paper and one of Johannes with a hammer-blow.
Gutenberg's innovations was to adapt these presses for the
printing process. An operator worked a lever to increase and This matrix had to be worked over again and adjusted
decrease the pressure of the block against the paper. The turning it into a right-angled cube with even sides. The
invention of the printing press, in turn, set off a social right-reading picture had to have a uniform depth; therefore
revolution that is still in progress. the surface was processed with a file. To facilitate the
casting of a character, Gutenberg developed the hand
Find the Gutenberg Bible at the British Library casting instrument. Two sections enclose a rectangular
casting void closed at one end by the matrix.
On this site you will find the British Library’s two copies of
Johannes Gutenberg’s Bible, the first real book to be printed After casting the characters in the hand casting instrument,
using the technique of printing which Gutenberg invented in the most important part of the invention, enabled quick
the 15th century. casting of the required quantities of the different characters
needed. The casting metal was an alloy of lead, tin and
Words of wisdom further admixtures that secured fast cooling and a sufficient
durability under the high pressure of the press, special
"In our time, thanks to the talent and industry of those from equipment for the effective and even transfer of the type
the Rhine, books have emerged in lavish numbers. A book from the forms to the paper or parchment.
that once would've belonged only to the rich — nay, to a king
— can now be seen under a modest roof....There is nothing
nowadays that our children ... fail to know." (Sebastian Brant,
written about the printing press just after 1500)

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Did you know? There are many statues of Gutenberg in Germany —
one of the more famous being a work by Thorvaldsen, in
In less than 50 years after the invention of the printing Mainz, home to the Gutenberg Museum.
press, fifteen million books had been flung into a world
where previously scholars would travel miles to visit a Note: We discovered as many spellings of Johann as we
library stocked with twenty hand-written volumes. And did with Johannes. We went with a Google search that
those books reflected some thirty thousand titles. produced four times more Johannes Gutenberg's than
Books produced in this period, between the first work of Johann.
Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 and the year 1500, are
collectively referred to as incunabula. Postscript: It wasn’t until the second half of the 19th
Gutenberg changed plans at least three times while century that the typewriter came into widespread use. By
printing the Bible. the end of the 20th century, computers had replaced
The Bible that Gutenberg printed was a Latin translation typewriters as a means of official, written communication.
from about 380 AD. 
FIGURE 2.28 Increase in printed books Student activity 5

Viewed 2 December 2013, < Johann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 1. How did the invention of the printing press
File:European_Output_of_Printed_Books_ca._1450%E2%80%931800.png >.
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communication? FIGURE 2.29 Student

2. Can you list five activity 5

consequences of the

invention of the printing

press?

3. Some people claim that
the printing press was
the most influential
invention in human
history. What is your
opinion? Sustain your
opinion with at least five propositions that support or
dispute this proposition.

4. In what ways would the 21st century world be different
without the consequences of the invention of the
printing press?

!!!!!!!!!!! 110

The development of Australian literature in 3. How important were newspapers as communicators in
the 19th century. the 19th century?

Student activity 6 4. Identify and describe the works of two poets in 19th
century Australia.
Open the web link to the Development of Australian
literature in the 19th century and answer the following 5. Identify and describe the works of two writers of
questions: novels in 19th century Australia.

1. Identify three major themes found in the literature 6. Why did Joseph Furphy become famous as an
produced in Australia during the 19th century. Australian communicator?

2. Why were journals important? Identify and describe 7. Read the references to “Banjo” Paterson and Henry
the works of two journalists who contributed to the Lawson. Make some notes about their lives that will
knowledge base of early European Australian assist you with a study of some of their poems in the
knowledge. next section of the course.

FIGURE 2.30 Bailed up by Tom Roberts. 1895, oil on FIGURE 2.31 Student FIGURE 2.32 Student
canvas, Collection Art Gallery of New South Wales activity 6: Development of activity 6
Australian literature in
the19th century

Viewed 3 December 2013, <http://
bit.ly/1gaPvAK.

Viewed 26 November 2013.<http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/ 111
2007/10/17/2062079.htm>.
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Poster propaganda

Student activity 7 FIGURE 2.34 Recruitment

1. What does the poster FIGURE 2.33 Student Viewed 26 November 2013, <http://www.dva.gov.au/aboutDVA/publications/
show? activity 7 commemorative/awf/Pages/topic2.aspx>.

2. Why does it focus on
those particular
people?

3. What does the artist
think about the men
who have volunteered?

4. What does the artist
think about men who
have not volunteered?

5. What does the artist think of the enemy?

6. Do you think this was likely to have been an effective
appeal? Why?

7. These posters were sponsored by a government that
wanted to persuade citizens to accept a certain duty.
Is this an appropriate role for a government in
wartime?

8. These posters not only urge men to join — they also
make judgments about the men. Do you think these
posters were more likely to unite or divide society?
Explain your reasons.

9. Were men who did not want to enlist unpatriotic?
Explain your ideas.

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Student activity 8

1. If there were no words accompanying this FIGURE 2.36 Only the brave deserve the fair
photograph, what message would you receive
when you viewed it?

2. In what ways does the composition of the image
invite the eye to notice the contents of the
photograph?

3. Explain what is meant by, “Only the brave
deserve the fair.” Do you think there is a pun
intended? Explain.

4. How is the receiver meant to interpret (as) The
Eligible; (b) The Boy and (c) The Recruitment
Officer?

5. What is the effect of using words like boy and
lad in this context?

6. Do you think this piece of communication is fair?
Explain.

Viewed 2 December 2013, < http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?
c=4719&mode=singleImage >.

FIGURE 2.35 Student
activity 8

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Student activity 9 FIGURE 2.38 Propaganda poster for women’s vote
1. What emotions are being targeted by the poster?
2. Is this a fair recognition of the power of women in early

20th century Australia? Explain your reasons.
3. How do you think a poster like this would be received

today? Explain your reasons.
4. Is the colour scheme intentional? Why or why not?

FIGURE 2.37 Student
activity 9

Viewed 2 December 2013, < http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an7697023-2 >.

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Student activity 10 FIGURE 2.40 1917 Handbill — The Blood Vote

1. Whose view was being represented in this handbill?

2. What elements in the verse make it reach out to
women voters?

3. What emotions are being appealed to?

4. How does the graphic (drawing) enhance the strength
of this handbill?

5. The title and the font of the communication have an
impact on the reader. Explain how and why.

FIGURE 2.39 Student
activity 10

Viewed 2 December 2013, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 115
Conscription_in_Australia>.
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

1910 The Bulletin Magazine

FIGURE 2.41 The Bulletin, 29 Era: 1901 FIGURE 2.42 J.F. Archibald (left) with
January 1910. Henry Lawson. Courtesy National
Cultural background: Australian Library of Australia
Photograph, StephenThompson Viewed 24
November 2013. <http:// Chinese collection: Powerhouse Museum Viewed 24 November 2013, <http://
www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/cms/wp- www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/cms/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/Bulletin-3.jpg>. Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, content/uploads/2013/01/Archibald-Lawson.jpg>.
Australia.

Object name: The Bulletin magazine

Object description: The Bulletin, special
number, Sydney, 29 January 1910. Printed
on paper with stapled binding. Dimensions:
approximately 400 mm high x 300 mm wide.

The Bulletin was published in Sydney from
1880 to 2008. During The Bulletin’s heyday
from 1880 to 1918 it dictated the debate in
Australian culture and politics. In the 1960s
it was resurrected as a current affairs
magazine until its final issue on 23 January
2008.

The Bulletin was founded by two Sydney
journalists, JF Archibald and John Haynes.
The first edition was published on 31
January 1880 and ran political and business
opinion pieces and popular fiction.

Archibald also established the famous
Archibald Art Prize in 1921 and the
Archibald Fountain in Sydney’s Hyde Park.

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Between 1880 and 1918 The Bulletin cruelly lampooned The Bulletin tapped into popular themes of the nobility of
colonial governors, business leaders, the bourgeoisie, the the Australian working man living a frugal life bringing
church, feminists and prohibitionists. It supported the labor wealth to the nation through honest hard work while rich
movement, Australian independence, liberal democracy businessmen prospered using cheap labour and goods
and White Australia. It ran extremely racist cartoons imported from Asia or indentured labour “blackbirded” from
attacking Asians, in particular Chinese and Japanese, along the Pacific Islands. The Bulletin also exploited the popular
with Indians, Pacific Islanders and Jews. It was offensively theme of the nobility of suffering. Themes that have
mocking of Aboriginal people. The Bulletin’s banner, permeated Australian culture since the Castle Hill convict
“Australia for the White Man” became a national political uprising, the Eureka Stockade and Lambing Flat riots.
slogan. It was hugely popular with rural bush workers and These themes and grievances would drive the violent 1891
selectors and became known as “the bushman’s bible”. and 1894 industrial disputes that spread across the
shearing, mining, maritime and railway industries during the
FIGURE 2.43 “Poverty and Wealth; It all depends drought and economic depression of the 1890s.
on the position of the bundle”, The Bulletin, c.1887.
Courtesy State Library of New South Wales FIGURE 2.44 “The Chinese Octopus”, The Bulletin,
1886. Courtesy State Library of New South Wales

Viewed 24 November 2013. <http:// Viewed 24 November 2013. <http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/
www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SL-Octopus-21-8-1886.gif>.
Labour-capital-SLNSW.jpg>.

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FIGURE 2.45 The Bulletin cartoon depicting a slave FIGURE 2.46 “The Yellow Trash Question”, The
trader using coconuts as a lure to entice buyers for his Bulletin, 1895. Courtesy State Library of New South
“niggers”, c.1886. Courtesy State Library of New South Wales
Wales

Viewed 24 November 2013. <http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/
cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SL-chinese-sea-Bulletin-1895.jpg>.

Viewed 24 November 2013. <http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/cms/ The Bulletin fostered 19th century Australian bush culture
wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SL-1886-South-Sea-slaves.jpg>. that underpinned the celebration of the Australian bush.
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Archibald opened The Bulletin to contributions from its
readers in 1886, featuring poetry, short stories and
cartoons contributed by miners, shearers and timber-
workers from all over Australia. Some of this content was
high quality and many of Australia’s important writers had
their start with The Bulletin which became known as the
“Bulletin School” of literature.

!!!!!!!!!!! 118

Editor, Alfred Stephens, occasional fiction pieces without the bile and racism of its
fostered the “Bulletin school” FIGURE 2.47 Norman Lindsay former years.
of Australian culture. Henry
Lawson, Banjo Paterson, The Packer family’s Australian Consolidated Press (ACP)
Miles Franklin, Harrison absorbed the magazine’s financial losses as a trade-off for
Owen, Robert Kaleski and the prestige of publishing Australia’s oldest magazine. It
Vance and Nettie Palmer was published as a dual publication in conjunction with
contributed pieces along with Newsweek in attempt to recoup costs.
artworks and cartoons by
Livingston Hopkins, David The Bulletin online was established in the early 2000s,
Low, Phil May, D. H. Souter, publishing extracts from the magazine and exclusive web
Norman Hetherington, and content, image galleries, an archive of past covers and a
Norman Lindsay. comments blog known as “The Bullring”.

Archibald retired in 1907, and As what can be seen as a nod to the Archibald Art Prize,
The Bulletin magazine also founded the Smart 100 Awards
afterwards The Bulletin that identified most innovative and creative people working
in Australia at the time.
became more conservative, Viewed 2 December 2013, <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ On 24 January 2008, ACP announced the closure of the
so much so that by the Great magazine. Magazine sales had declined to 57,000 copies
compared to 100,000 during the 1990s and despite ACP’s
War it had become openly File:Norman_Lindsay_1931.jpg>. financial and human resources the magazine was no longer
profitable. The loss in readership was attributed to changes
pro-Britain and empire. This in the Australian media and the increasing popularity of
online popularity and development of technology.
signaled the end of its popularity and influence in Australian
The Bulletin is historically significant as evidence of 19th
culture and politics and its gradual decline. By the early century Australia colonial society with its bush-centric,
masculist, radical and racist culture.
1930s its pre-war attitudes and its romanticisation of the
The Bulletin has interpretive significance that enables us to
bush was seen as anachronistic by a now largely urbanised look back into Australia’s past and examine colonial
attitudes, myths and social mores.
population. By the 1940s The Bulletin was seen as a sad
Source: Written by Stephen Thompson, January 2013, Migration Heritage
reactionary, racist and anti-Semitic relic that had become a Centre NSW, Crown Copyright 2013©, http://
www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/objectsthroughtime/1910-the-
self-parody. bulletin-magazine/

In 1961 The Bulletin was sold to the media baron Sir Frank
Packer, who appointed Donald Horne as its chief editor.
The magazine was modernised and “Australia for the White
Man” banner was jettisoned from its masthead. Under
Packer, The Bulletin remained politically conservative, but
rejoined the political and journalistic mainstream as a well-
produced magazine that was modeled on Time magazine.
It ran political and finance news and opinions, with

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Student activity 11 Bibliography

1. Why was The Bulletin such an important part of Blainey, G 1978, The rush that never ended: a history of
Australian life from the 1880s through to the early part Australian mining, Melbourne University Press.
of the 21st century? Clark, M 1993, The history of Australia, Melbourne
University Press.
2. Why do you think The Bulletin and other print Coupe, S & Andrews M 1992, Was it only yesterday?
magazines have gradually fallen from favour with Australia in the twentieth century world, Longman
consumers since the mid-20th century? Cheshire, Sydney.
Heritage Collections Council 2001, Significance: a guide
3. Research: How did the original The Bulletin get its to assessing the significance of cultural heritage objects
name? Why would the pun have worked back in the and collections, Canberra.
19th century and not today? Jones, K, Mellefont, J Sedgwick, S & Thompson, S
“Navigating federation”, Signals, No 53, Australian
4. What instruments of communication have been Nation Maritime Museum, Sydney, January 2001, pp 4–
developed, and have subsequently replaced 7.
publications like The Bulletin? Reeves, A 1988, Another day, another dollar: working
lives in Australian history, Murdoch, Melbourne.
5. Who communicates the types of issues that The Rolls, E 1990, A thousand wild acres, Australia.
Bulletin dealt with today? Thompson, S 2010, For a colonial and adventurous
spirit: migration, settlement and federation on the Murray
6. Do you think we could learn from The Bulletin, or are Darling rivers, Migration Heritage Centre NSW, Sydney.
modern forms of commentary and news delivery much
better? Why? Websites

FIGURE 2.48 Student http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-01-24/the-bulletin-
activity 11 magazine-axed/1022254
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bulletin
http://www.themonthly.com.au/monthly-essays-gideon-
haigh-packed-it-demise-bulletin-822

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Telegraphy, telephony and television some ways parallels the mobile phone revolution at the end
of the 20th century. With such widespread and frequent
Telegraphy use, people became so familiar with the telegraph that it
rapidly became part of the normal fabric of society.
(Tele means distance, graphy means images)
In the years prior to 1854, there had been pressure from
Australia is a huge continent and the communication barrier business interests to improve communication between
of distance was one of the great hardships faced by firstly Melbourne and Port Phillip Heads, primarily for the passage
colonials and later by Australian nationals. The invention of of shipping information and of news from Europe, as the
the telegraph system and its implementation was seminal Victorian coast was often the first landfall for ships sailing
in opening up the opportunities for nationhood. Telegraph across the southern ocean. Just as a decision was made to
was a way of communicating using a series of encoded investigate the possibilities of the electric telegraph, a
dots and dashes (called the Morse code after its inventor young Irish–Canadian engineer named Samuel Walker
Samuel Morse) across metal lines which could stretch McGowan landed in Melbourne in 1853.
across a street or across a continent.
McGowan had studied and worked in the USA with Samuel
The Australian telegraph network 1854–1877 Morse, the inventor of the Morse electric telegraph. He had
also worked with several Canadian and United States
The telegraph network in Victoria and Australia began in telegraph companies, but in 1852, encouraged by Morse,
1854 The telegraph network made possible the widespread he decided to head for Australia to try to establish the
and immediate distribution of information — something that telegraph there. He brought with him an experienced
is taken for granted today — but at that time was telegraphist and a quantity of telegraph equipment.
revolutionary. Before the telegraph, the shortest time for
sending the vast majority of information over long He arrived at an opportune time. Hugh Childers, the
distances was governed by the greatest speed of a human, Collector of Customs, was one of several influential
an animal, a bird, a ship, or more recently, a railway individuals in Victoria who had been pressing for the
locomotive. introduction of the electric telegraph. Childers arranged for
McGowan to demonstrate his telegraph equipment in
The introduction of the telegraph marked the start of a Melbourne, resulting in enthusiastic support from the
system which became widely used for both business and Melbourne Argus newspaper.
private purposes. The telegraph rapidly became essential
for government and commercial activities, for railway McGowan won the contract to erect “a line of electric
operations, for navigational, meteorological, astronomical telegraph between Melbourne and Williamstown” and the
and scientific purposes, for the standardisation of time first electric telegraph line in Victoria (and the first in
throughout Victoria and Australia, for news distribution, and Australia) opened for business in March, 1854. It had been
for the exchange of personal messages by the general decided that the telegraph service would be run by the
population. The rapid acceptance of the new technology in Victorian government. McGowan was offered and accepted

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the position of Superintendent of the Electric Telegraph in longest undersea telegraph cable in the world, although it
Victoria in March 1854. was operational only until 1861. It was finally replaced in
1869.
The telegraph connection between Melbourne and
Williamstown was the first link in a network of information In 1861 the telegraph line between Sydney and Brisbane
distribution that spread across Victoria and then linked to was opened, and Adelaide and Sydney were directly linked
other Australian colonies and ultimately to the world. This in 1867.
network was the forerunner of the Internet, and like the
Internet, had a major impact on the society of the time. In 1877 Perth and Adelaide were linked via the East–West
Telegraph Line around the Great Australian Bight thus
By December 1854, the telegraph line to Geelong was completing the link between the five Australian colonies.
completed. The first message sent to Melbourne gave
news of the Eureka Stockade. In January 1855, the early Note: By the mid-1970s telegrams were no longer
availability in Melbourne of shipping information and delivered through the Post Office, and the service fell into
European news was further enhanced by the completion of disuse. Ask your family when, if ever, they have received a
the line to Queenscliff. A branch line from Melbourne to telegram.
Sandridge was established on 1 July 1855. Lines between
Geelong and Ballarat, and between Melbourne and Source: Museum Victoria, viewed 2 December 2013, <http://
Sandhurst, were completed on 14 and 20 December 1856 museumvictoria.com.au/collections/themes/2625/the-australian-telegraph-
respectively. network-1854-1877>.

In July 1858, the telegraph line between Melbourne and Telephony FIGURE 2.49 Melbourne exchange
Adelaide opened, followed in October 1858 by the
Melbourne–Sydney line. European news arriving via ships (Tele means distance,
calling at Adelaide could now reach Melbourne several phone means sound)
days earlier than previously, and was transmitted onwards
to Sydney. In 1857 and 1858 surveys were conducted in The invention of the
Bass Strait to determine the best route for a submarine
telegraph cable between Victoria and Tasmania. McGowan telephone, once again
participated in these surveys, at one stage almost losing
his life in the capsize of a small boat during an island using wires, allowed the
landing. In August 1859, the first cable was laid, between
Cape Otway and Low Head, near Launceston. Melbourne sounds of voices to be
and Hobart were linked, completing the network uniting the
capital cities of the four south–eastern Australian colonies. carried over long
For a short time at least, the Bass Strait cable was the
distances. This obviously
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
enhanced the

communication abilities of

people on the Australian Bremer, S 1983, viewed 2 December
continent. The timeline 2013, <http://www.skyscrapercity.com/
below will demonstrate showthread.php?t=600883>.

just how the telephone system in Australia grew and

developed into our modern wireless, mobile phone system.

!!!!!!!!!!! 122

Telephones in Australia 1930: The Australia–UK beam wireless service starts and a
year later international manual exchanges open in
Source: http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/company-overview/history/ various Australian States.
tele-communications-timeline/
1934: The first wireless beam picturegram service opens
1880: Only two years after the first exchange in the world between England and Australia.
is built, Australia's first telephone exchanges open
in Melbourne and Brisbane, followed by Sydney in FIGURE 2.50
1881.
Viewed 26 November 2013. <http://www.telstra.com.au/
1883: Exchanges open in Adelaide and Hobart, the Perth abouttelstra/company-overview/history/tele-communications-
exchange opens in 1887. timeline/>.

1893: The first public telephone is opened at Sydney
GPO.

1900: 30,000 telephone services are operating in Australia.

1901: The newly formed Commonwealth Government
takes over all phone, telegraph and postal services.

1907: The Sydney–Melbourne trunk telephone line opens.

1912: The first public automated exchange is introduced
in Geelong, Victoria.

1912: Automated telephone switching came into place.

1914: The first automatic exchange opens in New South
Wales, in the suburb of Newtown.

1923: The first Australian radio broadcasting stations, 2BL
and 2FC, open in Sydney. The conversion is made
from Morse to machine operation on main telegraph
routes.

1925: Australia's first telephone carrier system (with three
channels) is installed between Melbourne and
Sydney enabling one wire to carry more than one
conversation.

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1936: A submarine cable is laid between Tasmania and mainland Australia, and at this time it is the longest in the world.

1946: The Australian government passes an act establishing the Overseas Telecommunications Commission and buys back
the radio service from AWA.

1946: The Commonwealth Government establishes the Overseas Telecommunications Commission which becomes a
monopoly provider of all forms of telecommunications linking Australia and the rest of the world.

1948: A telephone service to ships at sea is established and the same year a direct radio telephone service links Australia
and the Antarctic expedition stations at Heard Island and Macquarie Island.

1952: Temporary services are established between Australia and Finland for the duration of the Helsinki Olympic Games.
Permanent services are to follow.

1953: Perth becomes the first capital city to have an all automatic telephone network. By 1957, 98% of telephones in capital
cities are automatic.

1954: Australia's first teleprinter exchange service opens in Melbourne and Sydney with 80 customers.

1956: The Melbourne Olympic Games proves a starting point for all forms of telecommunications growth in Australia with the
Overseas Telecommunications Commission developing many resources and facilities to cater for the unprecedented
demand. A new radio telephone exchange is established linking Perth to London.

1959: Growing telegram traffic makes the APO apply a message switching system called Teleprinter Reperforator Exchange
Switching System (TRESS). It was an innovation which hastened the end of morse telegraphy.

1964: Australia becomes a founding member of International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (INTELSAT).

1964: The first major installation of coaxial cable opens and links Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. It has a potential
capacity of thousands of simultaneous phone calls, with the added possibility of relaying television programs.

1966: The telex service is converted to fully automatic. It is linked to 100 overseas countries and about 4000 customers
throughout Australia.

1966: The first international satellite broadcast between Australia and the UK takes place.

1967: First direct satellite broadcast from North America to Australia. Australia is one of the first 22 countries to participate in
a world-wide live television link-up via satellite during the Our World program.

1969: NASA's moon landing is seen on Australian television through joint participation of the Overseas Telecommunications
Commission and the PMG.

1970: Transistors enable most coaxial cable equipment to be placed in small underground containers, accessible through a
manhole.

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1970: Optical fibres are commercially produced for the first time.

1974: Videotex links three already well-established technologies of television, computer and telephone into a new tool, an
interactive system that includes the possibility of purchasing goods, booking travel, sending messages and
transferring money at the touch of a button.

1975: On 12 June, the Australian Telecommunications Commission was established, trading as Telecom Australia —
separating the Australian Postal Commission and the Australian Telecommunications Commission.

1976: Automated direct dialing is introduced in Australia, giving access to 13 countries. Its popularity is such that by the end
of the decade its use has grown eightfold. This international dialing is now called IDD and has universal acceptance.

1977: $222 million is spent on telecommunications materials in this year alone.

1978: Push-button dialing is introduced to Australia.

1979: The first major solar powered trunk system in the world opens between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek.

1980: The Internet makes its appearance: an electronic code that enables computers across the world to communicate with
each other via a phone line.

1981: The first fully computerised telephone exchange opens in Victoria.

1981: Telecom launches the country's first mobile network — the Public Automatic Mobile Telephone System (PAMTS) —
and car phone, a significant development in communication for travelling workers.

1983: The conference phone is introduced to the public, a phone FIGURE 2.51
that can store numbers, have abbreviated dialing and call-
back facilities.

1985: Computerised customer billing starts.

1987: Cardphone payphones which accept major credit cards are
introduced.

1988: The Electronic White Pages are introduced to provide direct
access to a constantly updated national White Pages
database.

1989: The first data network phase of the Integrated Services Viewed 26 November 2013. <http://davidhavyatt.blogspot.com.au/
Digital Network (ISDN) launches. 2011/09/telstra-and-branding.html>.

1990: Phonecards are introduced with cards available in $2, $5,
$10 and $20 denominations.

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1992: On 1 February, Telecom and the Overseas Telecommunications Corporation (OTC) are merged to become the
Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation.

1993: Telecom changes its trading name for trading overseas to Telstra Corporation Limited in April.

1993: The last mail-delivered lettergram was sent in Melbourne by Australia Post on 1st October at 5pm EST.

1995: On 1 July 1995 Telecom changes its trading name to Telstra for domestic trading.

1996: High speed broadband is available to the public through Telstra's cable service.

1996: Telstra launches BigPond (internet provider service) in November.

1997: The first Telstra shares are sold to the Australian public by the Commonwealth; Telstra is listed on the Australian stock
exchange for the first time.

1999: Telstra launches the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) mobile network.

2000: BigPond introduces ADSL, which is to become the most popular broadband service in the country.

2000: Optical fibres are installed into the domestic network. High Definition TV (HDTV) and multi-media equipment become
cost-effective for domestic use.

2004: BigPond Movies and BigPond Music are launched.

2004: Broadband becomes available at dial-up prices enabling wider consumer access.

2004: Telstra launches an Australian first with its Talking Text messaging to fixed lines.

2006: Australia's first online movies download service launches in February.

2006: In September of this year 3G850 Wireless Network is rolled out across Australia.

2006: Telstra's Next G™ network is launched in October providing the world's fastest 3G mobile network.

2007: Telstra launches its Next IP™ network — the largest fully integrated wireline and wireless national Internet Protocol (IP)
network in the world.

2008: Telstra Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Hugh Bradlow demonstrates the first hologram transmission beamed live from
Melbourne to Adelaide.

2008: In April, Telstra's CDMA network is switched off after extensively drive testing proves the Next G™ network offers
equal or superior coverage throughout Australia.

2008: A new international submarine cable from Sydney to Hawaii goes live in October. The 9,120-kilometre-long cable is
capable of carrying up to 1.28 terabits of data traffic per second.

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FIGURE 2.52 2009: Telstra removes the beeps heard at the start of
national long distance subscriber trunk dialing (STD) calls.
The STD beeps were first introduced in Australia in 1956,
and Telstra was the last carrier in the world to retain these.

2009: Telstra launches the Mobile Exchange on Wheels
(MEOW), a portable, fully-functional telephone exchange
designed to provide communications to disaster areas.

2009: In August, Telstra and Nortel successfully complete
world-first trials of next generation 100 gbps and 40 gbps
transmission over the longest distance ever attempted.

Viewed 24 November 2013. <http://www.natashabarr.com/blog/design/the- 2009: In December of this year, Telstra announces
telstra-brand-refresh-one-month-on/>. completion of Arnhem Land Fibre Project, connecting nine
Indigenous communities and the township of Nhulunbuy to
high-speed broadband and other advanced communications
services.

2009: Telstra launches Australia's fastest cable broadband network with the completion of an upgrade of the hybrid fibre
coaxial broadband in Melbourne.

2010 Launch of Telstra Emergency Communications Kits (TECK). TECKs are small, portable wireless communications units
providing immediate voice, data and broadband services to disaster-affected communities over Telstra's Next G™
network.

2010 In February, Telstra completes the upgrade of the Next G™ HSPA+ network with dual carrier technology.

2010: In March, Telstra launches the satellite cell on wheels, a highly portable mobile base station for use in areas without
any infrastructure that uses satellite transmission to connect to Telstra's terrestrial network and provide Next G™
network coverage to the surrounding area

2010: Telstra T-Hub™ a new generation of home phone that works like a mobile phone by combining the features of
telephony, information and entertainment becomes available in stores in April.

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 127

Radio in Australia From the first public radio broadcast in 1923, public and
domestic radio sets encouraged communities of listeners.
Source: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/radio-in- Families and groups gathered around a wireless box or
australia radiogram. Then as radios became cheaper and more
portable — particularly with the introduction of transistor
Radio is communication over distance when sounds are radios from the 1950s — personal radios became common,
converted to electromagnetic waves and sent to a receiver and individuals could listen according to their own
that transfers the waves back to sounds. preferences.
Radio is a way of transmitting signals without wires. It uses
electromagnetic radiation to transmit sounds made in one Today, sound broadcasts don't always have to be listened
place to listeners in many places. Radio is also known as to at the time of the broadcast. Websites now offer
“wireless telegraphy”, or “wireless”, as earlier methods for recordings for people to download and listen to when and
sending signals (such as the telegraph and telephone) used how they like. Websites and digital radio offer a range of
wires. Australia adopted radio for communications at sea choices for individual listeners where sound can meet text,
and in lighthouses, and wireless telegraphy gradually image and moving image.
replaced the overland telegraph which had been completed
in 1872. The beginnings of radio

FIGURE 2.53 Wireless telegraphy was first commercialised by the Italian,
Guillermo Marconi. He patented the process and
Image courtesy of the ABC3 introduced systems that allowed the transmission of Morse
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! code (telegraphy) over the airwaves (wireless).

In Australia, wireless telegraphy quickly came under the
control of the newly formed federal government through the
Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1955. In the same year
Australia's first two-way wireless telegraphy station was
built at Queenscliff in Victoria (by Marconi's company). In
1913, Marconi amalgamated with its main competitor,
Telefunken, to form Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia)
Ltd. (AWA).

Uses of radio

One of the major early uses of radio was for
communicating at sea, allowing ships to contact each other
and people on shore. This served as an aid to navigation,

!!!!!!!!!!! 128

FIGURE 2.54 Royal Australian Air Force trainees Australia's first licensed broadcast station, 1922
practising wireless telegraphy sending and receiving
in a classroom of Amalgamated Wireless Ltd., 1940 Figure 2.56 shows Jean and Florence “Dot” Cheers
listening to a crystal set radio in the backyard of their family
home in Brunswick, on Christmas Day, 1923. The set was
made by their brother Ronald Cheers, when he was 20.
Florence became a radio announcer known as “Aunty
June”. Florence was 17 at the time of this photograph.

In December 1922, the Australian Government issued “The
Regulations: radio laws for the amateur”.

The first licensed broadcast station in Australia, under
these new regulations, was 2CM, owned by Charles
MacLurcan. The licence (number one) was signed by the
Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Billy Hughes. Callsign 2CM is
listed by the federal government as “Never to be reissued”,

Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial4: 136203. FIGURE 2.55 Jean and Florence “Dot” Cheers

as well as allowing ships to send emergency distress ! Image courtesy of Dr Christina Cheers and Museum Victoria12. 129
signals. !!!!!!!!!!!

Radio also allows communication in other remote or
difficult circumstances. Radio came to be used by fire
services, lighthouses and remote communities.

Alfred Traeger's pedal-powered radio brought wireless
telegraphy to inland and remote areas of Australia. His
invention formed the communication network for the Royal
Flying Doctor Service (RFDS). This radio network was used
to link children in remote areas to teachers as the “School
of the Air” from the 1950s.

But it is in broadcasting sound to the general public that
radio has had its biggest influence.

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

in recognition of the pioneering achievements of Charles FIGURE 2.56Wireless House project.
MacLurcan. 2CM was the first radio station in Australia to
publish a regular program guide. Image courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive17

Listeners and licensing By the 1930s country music was an established part of
rural life in Australia, due in part to the widespread
Despite the excitement surrounding the advent of radio popularity of radio.
broadcasting, uptake was slow due to the licence fees
charged to listeners. Between 1923 and 1924 only 1400 Women in early radio
people were licensed to listen. Then in 1924 a new
arrangement for licence fees came into place. Women played an important role in the early radio industry.
By the mid-1930s, women were on air as announcers and
During the Great Depression, not all families could afford to were working in radio production. By the late 1930s and
own a radio. In 1934, Glebe Council in Sydney 1940s women, such as Queenie Ashton, Ethel Lang and
commissioned the construction of a “Wireless House” — a Grace Gibson, gained prominence as producers, directors,
public listening place — in a public park. This allowed large writers and performers. In 1946, the first episode of Blue
crowds to gather and enjoy the daily programs. It operated Hills by Gwen Meredith went to air. The series, with
until the early fifties. A project to revitalise Glebe's Wireless Queenie Ashton, Ethel Lang, ran for 5,795 episodes until
House as a public sound art work opened in 2009. 1976.

Early radio programs 1930s–1960s !!!!!!!!!!! 130

The wireless offered a new source of education and
entertainment to children and companionship for women at
home. It also gave families a new evening pastime.

Programs such as Women's Session and Banish Drudgery
dominated morning slots. Popular recorded music (English
and American crooners and dance bands) was the staple of
the commercial radio stations.

But family serials were the most popular entertainment, and
most popular of these sagas was Dad and Dave, based on
Steele Rudd's classic On Our Selection (1899), which
began being broadcast in 1937. (National Film and Sound
Archive, Family radio)

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Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), At first each state ran its own programs, but by the end of
1930s–1950s 1933 there were regular program relays between cities.
Until 1935 there were no recording devices installed, and all
On 1 July 1932, the Prime Minister Joseph Lyons programs went to air live.
inaugurated the government-funded ABC. The ABC initially Music was a major feature of early radio broadcasts. Other
controlled 12 stations formerly run by the Australian programming included news, sports coverage and live
Broadcasting Company, with coverage in Sydney, drama, with many plays being specially adapted for radio.
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Newcastle,
Corowa, Rockhampton and Crystal Brook. FIGURE 2.58 Kindergarten of the Air, Ruth Fenner
illustrates a theme as she sings, c. 1943.
FIGURE 2.57 A young boy plays along with a
musical game during one of the many ABC
broadcasts for children, 1950s.

Image courtesy of National Film and Sound Archive25. Image courtesy of the ABC27.

Opening day programs included the first children's session
with Bobby Bluegum, the first sports program, Racing
Notes with W A Ferry calling the Randwick races, British
Wireless News received by cable from London, weather,
stock exchange and shipping news, the ABC Women's
Association session, a talk on goldfish and their care,
morning devotions, and music. (History of ABC Radio)

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The younger generation were also catered to — in 1935 schools broadcasts began, and in 1941 the Children's Session, with
its Argonauts Club, was revived as a national program; by 1950 there were over 50,000 club members.

From 1932 to 1936 stations in each state produced their own news bulletins. Then in 1936 the first national news service
started relaying news to all states except Western Australia.

The Second World War

On 3 September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies announced the beginning of Australia's involvement in the
Second World War on every national and commercial radio station in Australia.

Radio served a vital role throughout the war, informing citizens and boosting morale. Conversely, the war led to strict
censorship restrictions on radio broadcasting. Censorship delayed the broadcast of programs and news of the war; most
programs had to be submitted to censors three weeks before broadcast. One example was the HMAS Sydney II, which sank
on 19 November 1941 but the Prime Minister did not confirm this until 1 December 1941.

In some instances reports distorted the truth by, for example, minimising the number of casualties or the extent of damage.

Sometimes significant current events were not reported at all, such

as the death of approximately 243 Australians following the

Japanese bombing of Darwin. (National Film and Sound Archive, FIGURE 2.59 Graham Kennedy and Bert Newton
Censorship in Media) doing their top-rating morning breakfast show on

Light entertainment post–Second World War 3AK Melbourne, 1960s.

After the Second World War the ABC revised its programming Image courtesy of Museum Victoria34.
strategy to give the national and interstate networks a distinctive
character and appeal. The more serious programs would be
broadcast on the national network, while lighter entertainment
programming with more local content would be reserved for the
metropolitan stations. A Light Entertainment Department was formed
and programs such as ABC Hit Parade, Bob Dyer's Dude Ranch, The
Wilfrid Thomas Show (which ran for almost 40 years), and The Village
Glee Club began.

Humour became an integral part of Australian radio. From the early
humorous radio plays and series like Dad and Dave, the 1950s saw
humour on the radio turn to become more personality based. One of
the first of these personalities was Graham Kennedy (1934–2005).

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The feature FIGURE 2.60 Arthur Sheldon, Gloria Sheldon and
her radio at the beach, 1953.
The variety of programming also increased dramatically after
the war. In the fifties a new type of radio program, the “feature” Image courtesy of Museum Victoria43.
or radio documentary, developed. Features were devoted to
covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a An unsatisfied demand for car radio was identified in
mixture of commentary and sound. Later ABC radio features Sydney in the mid-1930s, and production of the first car
included Radio Eye, Hindsight and Background Briefing. radio began in 1938. Although these early radios were
able to be moved around, they were generally still bulky; it
Impact of television, 1956 was not until the development of the more compact
transistor radio that listening to the radio could become
In 1956 the introduction of television services in Australia the take-anywhere activity it is today. In July 1954 the
brought vast changes to the radio industry. Many of radio's companies Texas Instruments and Industrial Development
mainstays, such as serial dramas, variety and quiz shows, had Engineering Associates (IDEA.) began a six month project
less appeal to listeners when they could watch similar formats to produce a pocket-sized radio for the Christmas market.
on television.
By the 1960s transistor radios were widespread, and
Some radio broadcasters predicted that television would be brought popular music to young people. Radios became
the death of radio altogether. But radio found two significant standard equipment in most cars.
niches where it could compete with television.
!!!!!!!!!!! 133
The first was news reporting; radio could report news instantly,
while television news was initially slower to produce. The
second was the format termed “talkback”. With television up
and running in Australia, listeners continued to tune in to their
favourite radio talkback shows. So radio stations looked for
ways to enhance the format and invited their listeners to
“phone in”. Initially it was illegal to broadcast material via the
telephone, but this was changed in 1967. On 17 April 1967,
radio host Mike Walsh on 2SM opened the lines to listeners'
calls for the first legal talkback program on Australian radio.

Radio on the move, 1930s–1960s

Portability was a notable feature for radios from very early on,
with fire brigades beginning to use radio as a backup in case
of telephone breakdown as early as 1928, and radios being
advertised as portable from the early 1930s.

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Catering for a wider audience Indigenous radio, 1972–1980s

In the 1970s the increasing demand for radio stations for In 1972 the first Indigenous-produced community radio
specific audiences — local communities, people from non- program went to air on 5UV in Adelaide. In March 1981,
English-speaking backgrounds and Indigenous people — ABC Radio began carrying Aboriginal and Islander
was met in various ways. broadcasts in Alice Springs and in May 1983, the service
was extended to north Queensland.
Community radio, 1972
FIGURE 2.61 Tiga Bayles in a
In the 1970s, the Australian Government made a number of broadcast studio at Radio Redfern in
community broadcasting licences available. Australia's first the late 80s.
community station, 5UV (now Radio Adelaide), was
established in 1972. Image courtesy of Screen Australia52.

SBS radio, 1975–77 Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association

After the end of the Second World War, there was (CAAMA)
substantial growth in the number of people coming to live
in Australia. Between 1945 and 1975 Australia received The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
nearly four million migrants. Many migrants felt Australian (CAAMA) was established in 1980 by two Aboriginal
radio and television did not cater to audiences from non- people, John Macumba and Freda Glynn, and their
English-speaking backgrounds. associate Phillip Batty. Their goal was that Aboriginal
voices be heard throughout the world and for Aboriginal
In 1975, two small radio stations — 2EA in Sydney and 3EA people to take ownership and control of their own future
in Melbourne — began broadcasting four hours a day in through a strong, vibrant media centre. Today CAAMA's
seven and eight languages respectively. Initially established radio network broadcasts on 8KIN FM.
as an experimental service to inform migrant communities
about the newly introduced health system, the service !!!!!!!!!!! 134
gradually expanded. In 1977 the Broadcasting and
Television Act was changed to provide for the
establishment of a national Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS) with multilingual radio and television services.

In the early days, SBS Radio broadcast 42 hours of
programs in eight languages each week. Today it
broadcasts 650 hours of programming in 68 languages
each week.

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FM radio, 1974 FIGURE 2.62 Screenshot of the Radio National
website, 2008.
Frequency modulation, or FM, radio was developed in the
United States in the 1930s, and experimental FM broadcasts Image courtesy of the ABC60.
began in Australia in 1947, but it wasn't until 1974 that
Australia's first licensed FM radio station went to air. It is anticipated that digital radio sets will feature visual
displays for text and image, as well as information such as
The first use of FM in Australia was for public broadcasting artist and song title. Other developments might include
by music stations 2MBS and 3MBS. The ABC entered the advertising, weather, news or event information. Digital
medium in 1976 with the establishment of ABC-FM based in radio as a portable media device may also include video
Adelaide. Commercial radio first started to get access to the clips and streaming interviews.
FM band in 1980.
This means that sound-only media will ultimately be
The Internet (first turned on in Australia in 1989) replaced, and the ways in which we consume and
contribute to this media will be radically altered. At present,
The growth of the Internet as a tool for communications has digital radio in Europe is described as an “Internet sibling”.
been enormous, and has an ongoing impact on the We seem to be heading towards a point at which print,
broadcast media. The Internet serves as both a source of online, radio, film and television media converge.
information for broadcast, and also a new medium for
transmitting information. (Paul Venzo, “Digital Killed the Radio Star”, Metro magazine
No. 157.)
Radio broadcasters have enthusiastically adopted the
Internet and its capacity for multi-platforming to expand their !!!!!!!!!!! 135
reach and meet the demands of a technologically aware
audience. Websites offer the opportunity for broadcasters to
distribute radio material for downloading as podcasts.

The future of radio — digital radio, 2007–

In May 2007, the Australian Parliament passed legislation to
facilitate the introduction of digital radio in Australia by 1
January 2009 (to be extended to 1 July 2009). Digital radio is
being introduced to supplement existing radio services in
Australia, rather than a replacement technology. The
introduction of digital radio technology and the growth of the
Internet lead to speculation of what the future may hold for
Australia's radio industry.

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Television in America, followed by Britain in 1936. As television
transmissions were suspended during the Second World
(Tele means distance, vision means to be able to see — War, it was not until the late 1940s that steps were made to
television provided sight and sound over vast distances.) bring television to Australia.

Source: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/popular-austn- In 1955, the first Australian television licences were issued in
television Sydney and Melbourne. In July of the following year, TCN9
Sydney (Channel 9) and HSV7 (Channel 7) Melbourne began
Popular Australian television test transmissions. The government-owned Australian
Broadcasting Commission (ABC) also expanded its radio
“Good evening and welcome to television.”
broadcasting activities to include television broadcasting in
Bruce Gyngell, Sydney, 16 September 1956. Sydney and Melbourne in late 1956.

These were the first words The 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games were broadcast as a
FIGURE 2.63 James Dibble spoken on Australian test transmission by all three television stations operating in
reading the first news Melbourne at the time. In 1959, television was introduced to
television. Since then, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, with
bulletin from ABN2 (ABC) in Australian television has Tasmania following in 1960 and the Australian Capital
1956. Territory in 1962. Television was not introduced to the
grown to include five Northern Territory until 1971.

national free-to-air stations, During the early days of Australian television, most of the
programming consisted of established radio shows, such as
regional stations, Bob Dyer's Pick-a-box, and were simply a broadcast of the
radio transmission. Most television hosts of this time, such
community stations and as Brian Henderson and Graham Kennedy, also came from
radio.
countless cable stations.
By the end of 1956, it is estimated that only 1% of Sydney
Television — both watching residents and 5% of Melbourne residents owned a television
set, which cost about six to ten weeks’ pay for the average
and producing — is a part worker of the time.

of Australian culture. As television became more popular and affordable,
broadcasters looked to America and, to a lesser degree,
Through television, we Britain for programs. Local content was mostly limited to
chat and variety shows, news and current affairs.
have been able to witness

Image courtesy of the ABC1 some of the most
memorable and important

national and international events of the past 50 years —

history in the making.

History of Australian television

In 1926 in England, John Logie Baird first demonstrated a
true television system by electrically transmitting moving
pictures. Two years later, television broadcasts first began

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FIGURE 2.64 An Australian family In the mid-1960s, a program Sylvania Waters. They are now one of the most
watching television, 1959. third commercial popular genres among Australian audiences.
station — Channel 0
Image courtesy of Picture Australia10. (now Channel 10) — Television is now regularly listed as the number one leisure
began broadcasting activity of Australians. Digital Television transmission
and Australian started in Australia on 1 January 2001. In 2004, more than
audiences began to 99% of Australian households owned at least one television
demand more set and 23% of households subscribed to Pay TV.
Australian content.
Australian dramas Decade by decade — popular Australian television
became very popular,
although audiences 1950s
were still watching
many American TCN9 launches Brian Henderson's Bandstand, a variety
programs as well. music program which lasts for 14 years.
TV Week launches its annual TV awards and Graham
Australian television became much more exciting with the Kennedy wins the first Gold Award and names the
introduction of colour television in 1975. The government at awards the Logies, after John Logie Baird.
the time also provided generous subsidies for the ABC launches Six O'Clock Rock with Johnny O'Keefe.
production of local television, which meant that Australians Australia's first TV serial drama, Autumn Affair, begins a
were producing more television than ever before. 10-month run on ATN7/GTV9.
HSV7's weekly sports program World Of Sport begins
Australian programs shown on commercial television and lasts for 28 years.
reached a peak in the 1980s. Australian television also went
global in the 1980s, with many local shows finding 1960s
overseas audiences. At the same time, the launch of the
Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) on October 24 (United ABC's acclaimed weekly current affairs program Four
Nations Day) 1980, brought a range of foreign-language Corners premieres.
programs to Australia. HSV7 screens the first episode of a Melbourne-
produced police drama Homicide, which runs for 500
The last 20 years have seen huge changes in our viewing episodes over 12 years.
habits, and the introduction of cable and satellite television Australia starts to receive daily news reports via satellite.
(Pay TV) in 1992 has expanded our viewing choices. Reality Play School, based on the BBC production of the same
TV — programs that show real people in unscripted, “real” name, begins on ABC.
situations — first came to Australian television as the 1992 Here's Humphrey begins its long run on Nine.

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ABC's popular evening series, Bellbird, premieres and runs until 1977.
Crawford Productions and GTV9 launch Division 4, a police drama.
Australian television broadcasts live coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing and GTV9's coverage enters the record books
as the longest continuous live broadcast on television.

1970s FIGURE 2.65 The Homicide team in
1968, Les Dayman, George
Matlock Police, a weekly police drama from Crawford Productions, starts a five Mallaby, Leonard Teale and
year run. (seated) John Fegan.

Young Talent Time starts an 18 year run on the 0-10 Network.

Hey Hey It's Saturday begins a 28 year run.
A Current Affair with Mike Willesee premieres on Nine.
The 0-10 Network screens the first episode of Number 96, which created
controversy over its sex and nude scenes.
Countdown, with Molly Meldrum, starts a 12 year run on ABC.
Grundy's hospital drama The Young Doctors premieres and screens for 1396
episodes.
Crawford Productions' World War II drama The Sullivans, begins its seven year
run.
Against The Wind, the first major mini-series produced for Australian commercial
television, is screened on Seven.
Nine's weekly current affairs program 60 Minutes premieres.

1980s

A quiz show, Sale of the Century, premieres and runs until 2001 — reappearing Image courtesy of TV Week17.
in 2005.

Seven premieres its new evening drama A Country Practice which runs for 12

years.

Ten televises the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics live via satellite.

Neighbours begins on the Seven Network, is axed after six months then is picked up by Ten, going on to achieve

international success.

ABC (now the Australian Broadcasting Corporation) launches its overnight music video program Rage.

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Seven's evening soap Home and Away is launched. Student activity 12 FIGURE 2.66 Student
The Comedy Company launches on Ten and runs for
two years, marking a revival of successful Australian The summaries that precede activity 12
comedy on TV. these activities are meant to
ABC's medical drama, GP, begins an eight year run.
be skim read so that you can
1990s
form some impressions about
Healthy Wealthy and Wise begins a seven year run on
Ten. the development and
Seven premieres its rural police drama Blue Heelers.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is televised for importance of telegraphy,
the first time on commercial television.
SeaChange, ABC's weekly drama, becomes a huge hit telephony, radio and
and runs for three seasons.
ABC is the host Australian broadcaster of the television in modern
international TV event 2000 Today, a 26 hour live
telecast of new year celebrations around the world, Australian society. You are not
commencing at 8.30pm (AEDST) on 31 December.
expected to commit a whole
2000s
lot of facts to memory, but you are expected to be able to
The Sydney Olympics sets new ratings records with the
opening and closing ceremonies. recognise the interrelatedness of the development of all
Ten's popular Melbourne-based drama The Secret Life
Of Us premieres and runs for four years. these forms of media.
Kath and Kim, the eight-part “reality sitcom” premieres
and runs for three seasons. 1. Why would the introduction of telegraphy have
The Seven, Nine and Ten Networks combine for the first revolutionised life in the vast Australian continent?
time to televise a three-hour concert/telethon to raise
funds for the relief effort of victims of the Asian tsunami 2. Write down a “happy” and an “unhappy” use that was
— the appeal raised more than $A20 million. made of telegrams.

3. What invention superseded the use of telegrams? How
was this an improvement?

4. What was the impact of the introduction and
development of radio in Australia?

5. What sorts of programs were provided by radio? In
your answer consider both commercial and non-
commercial radio offerings.

6. How did the introduction of television change life in
Australia?

7. Name two communication-related industries that
developed because of the introduction of radio and TV.

8. How relevant are radio and television to Australia’s
population in the second decade of the 21st century?

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Film in Australia In these early years Australian filmmakers were interested
in forging and exploring Australian identity and films such
The silent era as For the Term of His Natural Life were notable for their
peculiarly colonial themes of convicts and bushrangers.

The Australian film FIGURE 2.67 The Story of the In spite of the fact that Australian audiences were
industry got off to a Kelly Gang
flying start, producing interested in seeing
what was probably Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://
the world's first full www.screensound.gov.au/>. their own stories on the FIGURE 2.68
length feature film in
1906. The film was screen, the industry
the Tait brothers
production The Story went into decline in the
of the Kelly Gang, a
success in both 1920s. The ever-
Australian and British
theatres, and it was expanding US and
also the beginning of
a genre of bushranger British production
stories
companies took over

the Australian

distribution and

exhibition chains and

Australian features

were often excluded

from cinemas. The

state of the industry

While Australians took to bushranger stories, the was so dire that a Royal
censorship boards of the day did not. South Australia
banned the screening of bushranger films in 1911, Victoria Commission was held
followed in 1912. The NSW police department banned the
production of bushranger films in 1912. The Kelly story, into the film industry in
however, outlasted the ban and has been refilmed a
number of times since, although only a few minutes of 1928, but it did little to
footage from the original film have survived.
stop the decline.

The sound era

Australian cinema continued to thrive during the silent era Cinesound was the Viewed 6 January 2014. <http://bit.ly/
thanks largely to the work of the pioneers of Australian most active of the 1azHpxF>.
movie making such as Ken Hall, Charles Chauvel and Australian film studios
Raymond Longford, director of the Australian silent classic in the early sound era
The Sentimental Bloke. producing a number of
Australian features

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FIGURE 2.69 Jedda poster An extensive Jedda bibliography is available from the AFI
site and clips can be viewed online at Australian Screen.
Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/
tt0048227/>. The Waterside Workers' Federation Film Unit

including a popular series of films based on Steele Rudd's The Waterside Workers' Federation Film Unit operated in
Dad and Dave characters during the 1930s as well as
newsreels and documentary films. It was the latter, Sydney from 1953 to 1958 and was the first film production
Cinesound's documentary Kokoda Front Line, which
earned Australia's first Academy award in 1943. unit within a trade union anywhere in the world. The
Colour production came to Australia with the 1955 Charles
Chauvel film Jedda, still one of the most debated films ever Waterside Workers' Federation Film Unit offered an
produced in Australia. It was a daring film, not only was it
the first Australian produced film to be shot in colour but it alternative to the mainstream media of the day. They made
was also the first to use Aboriginal actors in lead roles and
the first to feature at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. 14 films on subjects that other production units would
Jedda's theme of conflict caused when an Aboriginal girl is
separated from her culture is still prescient today and its never tackle. Perhaps the Unit's most significant film was
representation of Aboriginal people is much debated.
released in 1955 and was entitled The Hungry Mile. This

film highlighted the

working conditions on
Sydney's expanse of FIGURE 2.70 Judy Davis and
Sam Neill in My Brilliant Career.
wharves, and the

struggles endured by

the wharfies and their

families — most of

whom lived near the

wharves and in slum

conditions in inner-

city suburbs such as

Surry Hills, Pyrmont

and Woolloomooloo.

The Hungry Mile

received wide acclaim

and won an award at

the 1957 Warsaw Viewed 6 January 2014.<http://bit.ly/
Youth Festival. In a 19WJEOG>

fascinating

“recycling” incident, some of the Unit's dramatised footage

was (mis)used in the ABC mini-series The True Believers

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and labelled as “archival footage” and not attributed to the FIGURE 2.71 Shine poster
Waterside Workers' Federation Film Unit.
Viewed 6 January 2014.<http://bit.ly/19WJEOG>
The new wave
consolidation of a more diverse film culture in Australia
The decline in the film industry became almost terminal in from the highly successful Mad Max (Road Warrior) and
the late fifties and early sixties with the industry coming to Crocodile Dundee films to the quiet achieving styles of
a virtual stop. The intervention of the Gorton and Whitlam
governments in the early 1970s rescued the industry from John Duigan and Paul Cox.
its probable oblivion.
In the 1990s another new wave of Australian directors hit
With the establishment of the film funding bodies and the
training of film makers through the Australian Film the screens producing internationally successful films like
Television and Radio School finally a new generation of the Academy Award winning Shine and “quirky” features
Australian filmmakers were able to bring their visions to the including Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla, Queen of the
screen. Desert.

The 1970s saw a huge renaissance of the Australian film Contemporary Australian cinema is more complex and
industry. Australia produced nearly 400 films between 1970
and 1985 — more than had been made in the history of the diverse than ever, exploring Australian peoples and cultures
Australian film industry. The 1970s also saw the emergence
of the film directing auteurs of Gillian Armstrong, Peter from a diverse range of viewpoints in recent films such as
Weir, Phil Noyce and Bruce Beresford and the launch of Looking for Alibrandi, Two Hands, The Boys, Head On and
international careers for many screen actors including Judy Radiance.
Davis, Sam Neill and Mel Gibson.
!!!!!!!!!!! 142
The concerns of film makers had changed little since the
early days of Australian cinema. Historical stories set in the
outback dominated Australian cinema and films with
contemporary settings, such as Beresford's Don's Party,
continued the Australian film makers' obsession with
exploring Australian identity.

After the new wave

The huge 10BA tax concessions during the 1980s led to
some dubious filmmaking but the period also saw the

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Murmurs about Australia becoming a Hollywood backlot Student activity 13 FIGURE 2.72 Student
from poor box office results for the 1999 crop of films saw
some claim the demise of the industry, although others 1. How important has film activity 13
were more upbeat about the future of the industry.
been as a contributor to the
Those who were confident in the industry have helped to
develop an expanding industry. Australian film's share of Australian cultural identity?
the box office went from 4 per cent in 1998 to 8 per cent in
2001. There's still a long way to go, but the industry seems 2. Why did Australian
as vibrant as ever and willing to take the challenge. For newsreels decline in
more information, check out the latest Australian film importance during the
statistics from the Screen Australia website 1960s?

This vibrancy is continued by the release of films such as 3. How important is film in the
Till Human Voices Wake Us, and the compelling historic telling of Australia’s story
drama about the removal of Indigenous children from their today? Can you give a couple of examples?
parents, Rabbit Proof Fence.
4. Why do you think Australia has become a “major
The National Film and Sound Archive player” on the international film scene? Provide some
reasons.
Australia's National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) plays a
leading role in preserving and collecting Australia's unique
film, television and sound heritage and has preserved many
of Australia's memorable film moments. Check out classic
scenes from Australian films at the NFSA's website
Australian Screen.

Source: 2007, 22 November, viewed, 3 December 2013, <http://
australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/film-in-australia>.

Viewed 3 December 2013, <http://
australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-
story/film-in-australia>.

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Texts of today

Newspapers and magazines

FIGURE 2.73

Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://www.redfernclinic.com/opera/critique/blog/2006/07/melba-jc-williamson-tour-of-1928.php4>. 144
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Television and radio broadcast FIGURE 2.75 Alan McGilvray
broadcasting cricket on radio
FIGURE 2.74

Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://www.jou.ufl.edu/flinstitute/index.php/2008-photo-gallery/>.

Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
File:Alan_McGilvray.jpg>.

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Electronics text on phones, tablets and computers

FIGURE 2.76 The evolution of mobile phones

Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://www.socialseomanagement.com/smartphonehistory>. 146
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The personal computer

Personal computers are now a very common item in many houses yet in 1955 there were only 250 computers in use
throughout the world. In 1980, more than one million personal computers had been sold and by the mid-1980s, this figure
had risen to 30 million. How did this come about?

A computer in 1955 was very large and could not have fitted into a normal room in a normal sized house. They frequently
burned out and had a tendency to attract moths into the system which short-circuited them. (Getting a computer “bug” now
refers back to the time when moths were a problem to the early computers.)

FIGURE 2.77 The Microsoft team in 1978; Bill In the late 1950s, computers got smaller because one of its main
Gates is bottom left hand corner; Paul Allen is components — the valve — was replaced by the much smaller
bottom right   transistor. These made computers far more reliable and therefore
businesses took a much greater interest in them. Firms such as
IBM could sell a mainframe computer for just under £½ million
pounds in today’s money.

By the mid-1960s, the microchip was replacing the transistor. A
microchip could have several transistors on it. But being smaller, it
lead again to a decrease in the size of computers. By 1965, there
were 20,000 computers in the world. The most famous was the IBM
System/360.

The microchip also lead to computers being made that were small
enough to get into the average sized room in a house. By 1970, one
microchip could contain 1000 transistors on it. In 1970, a home
personal computer would have cost nearly £70,000 in today’s
money.

Viewed 6 January 2014. <http://bit.ly/19LFXgX>. In 1971, the microprocessor went on sale. Developed by Ted Hoff
of Intel, the Intel 4004 was to revolutionise home computing. The
4004 cost just over £3000 in today’s money but by 1972, Intel had
produced the 8008 which was far more powerful that the 4004 but
cost a tenth of the price of the 4004. Microprocessors had a
multitude of uses but they could be used at the heart of true
personal computers.

In the early 1970s personal computers were used only by
hobbyists. The first “hobby” personal computer was the Altair 8800

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which cost just under £900 in today’s money. It had the FIGURE 2.78 iPad launch 148
same power as a computer of the 1950s that cost $1
million. Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://www.salon.com/
2013/10/15/
In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed a program for steve_jobs_ex_girlfriend_our_lovemaking_had_been_su
the Altair that allowed people to write their own programs blime/>.
in BASIC program language. Their newly formed company
was called Micro-Soft which was later changed to FIGURE 2.79
Microsoft.
Viewed 27 November 2013. <http://aigasf.org/events/
In 1975, Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and 2012/11/08/interactive_chats_tablet_siliconvalley>.
Steve Wozniac. Apple created the "home/personal !!!!!!!!!!!
computer" that could be used by anybody. The computer
— Apple II — was launched in 1977 and was an immediate
success. The personal computer was sealed in a neat
plastic case, it had a keyboard, video unit and used
removable floppy discs. Above all, it only cost £2400 in
today’s money. The success of Apple II established Apple
Computers as the main player in the field of personal
computers. By 1980, there were 1 million personal
computers in the world.

The personal computer moved into the world of business
when Dan Bricklin created a spreadsheet program. His
program — called VisiCalc — was designed for the Apple
II. It went on sale in 1979 and within 4 years it had sold
700,000 copies at $250 a time.

IBM launched its own personal computer in 1981.
Eventually 85% of all personal computers were to be IBM
compatible. Microsoft won the contract to write the
operating system for the IBM personal computer. Microsoft
called its new operating system MS-DOS. Each copy
earned the company $10. During the 1980s, MS-DOS was
installed in over 30 million personal computers.

Source: Viewed 3 December 2013, <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/
personal_computer.htm>.

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Interactive tablets

FIGURE 2.80 Comparison of usefulness and user Student activity 14
friendliness of media information sources

1. Copy and complete the table below:

Source of news and At the time each The present day 2. Do you think people are better or less well informed
information media type was about international and local news than they were at
1. the end of the 20th century? Supply reasons.
introduced 2.
3.
Newspapers 1. 3. What sort of news is most important to you and what
2.
3. is your favourite way of

accessing news? FIGURE 2.81 Student

Broadcast news 1. 1. 4. In a 21st century activity 14
(Radio and TV) 2. 2.
3. 3. democracy, how

important is it for citizens

1. 1. to keep themselves
2. 2.
Mobile phones 3. 3. informed about news

issues?

Personal computers 1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.

Interactive tablets 1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.

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The history of English in ten minutes Chapter 1: Anglo-Saxon 

FIGURE 2.83 YouTube: FIGURE 2.84 The history Narrator:
History of English of English script
The English language begins with the phrase “Up Yours
FIGURE 2.82 QR code: FIGURE 2.85 QR code: Caesar!” as the Romans leave Britain and a lot of Germanic
History of English The history of English tribes start flooding in, tribes such as the Angles and the
script Saxons — who together gave us the term Anglo-Saxon,
and the Jutes — who didn’t. The Romans left some very
straight roads behind, but not much of their Latin language.

The Anglo-Saxon vocab was much more useful as it was
mainly words for simple everyday things like “house”,
“woman”, “loaf” and “werewolf”.

Four of our days of the week — Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday were named in honour of Anglo-Saxon
gods, but they didn’t bother with Saturday, Sunday and
Monday as they had all gone off for a long weekend.

While they were away, Christian missionaries stole in
bringing with them leaflets about jumble sales and more
Latin.

Christianity was a hit with the locals and made them much
happier to take on funky new words like “martyr”, “bishop”
and “font”. Along came the Vikings, with their action-man
words like “drag”, “ransack”, “thrust” and “die”, and a love
of pickled herring. They may have raped and pillaged but
they were also into “give” and “take” — two of around 2000
words that they gave English, as well as the phrase “watch
out for that man with the enormous axe.”

http://bit.ly/1bJNZkE http://bit.ly/1cvn3Zn

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Chapter 2: The Norman Conquest  “alligator”, soon after he ran out of things to rhyme with
“crocodile”. And a nation of tea-drinkers finally took him to
Narrator: their hearts when he invented the “hobnob”.

1066. True to his name, William the Conqueror invades Shakespeare knew the power of catchphrases as well as
Britain, bringing new concepts from across the channel like biscuits. Without him we would never eat our “flesh and
the French language, the Doomsday book and the duty free blood” “out of house and home” — we’d have to say “good
Galois’s multipack. riddance” to “the green-eyed monster” and “breaking the
ice” would be “as dead as a doornail”. If you tried to get
French was de rigeur for all official business, with words your “money’s worth” you’d be given “short shrift” and
like “judge”, “jury”, “evidence” and “justice” coming in and anyone who “laid it on with a trowel” could be “hoist with
giving John Grisham’s career a kick-start. Latin was still his own petard”.
used ad nauseam in Church, and the common man spoke
English — able to communicate only by speaking more Of course it’s possible other people used these words first,
slowly and loudly until the others understood him. but the dictionary writers liked looking them up in
Shakespeare because there was more cross-dressing and
Words like “cow”, “sheep” and “swine” come from the people poking each other’s eyes out.
English-speaking farmers, while the a la carte versions —
“beef”, “mutton” and “pork” — come from the French- Shakespeare’s poetry showed the world that English was a
speaking toffs — beginning a long running trend for rich vibrant language with limitless expressive and
restaurants having completely indecipherable menus. emotional power. And he still had time to open all
those tearooms in Stratford.
The bonhomie all ended when the English nation took their
new warlike lingo of “armies”, “navies” and “soldiers” and Chapter 4: The King James Bible
began the Hundred Years War against France.
Narrator:
It actually lasted 116 years but by that point no one could
count any higher in French and English took over as the In 1611 “the powers that be” “turned the world upside
language of power. down” with a “labour of love” — a new translation of the
Bible. A team of scribes with the “wisdom of Solomon”
Chapter 3: Shakespeare  “went the extra mile” to make King James’s translation “all
things to all men”, whether from their “heart’s desire” “to
Narrator: fight the good fight” or just for the “filthy lucre”.

As the dictionary tells us, about 2000 new words and This sexy new Bible went “from strength to strength”,
phrases were invented by Shakespeare. getting to “the root of the matter” in a language even “the
salt of the earth” could understand. “The writing wasn’t on
He gave us handy words like “eyeball”, “puppy-dog” and the wall”, it was in handy little books and with “fire and
“anchovy” — and more show-offy words like “dauntless”,
“besmirch” and “lacklustre”. He came up with the word ! !!!!!!!!!!! 151

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brimstone” preachers reading from it in every church, Like teenage boys, the scientists suddenly became aware
its words and phrases “took root” “to the ends of the earth” of the human body — coining new words like “cardiac” and
— well at least the ends of Britain. “tonsil”, “ovary”, and “sternum” — and the invention of
“penis” (1693), “vagina” (1682) made sex education classes
The King James Bible is the book that taught us that “a a bit easier to follow, though “clitoris” was still a source of
leopard can’t change its spots”, that “a bird in the hand is confusion.
worth two in the bush”, that “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” is
harder to spot than you would imagine, and how annoying Chapter 6: English and empire 
it is to have “a fly in your ointment”.
Narrator:
In fact, just as “Jonathan begat Meribbaal; and Meribbaal
begat Micah. And Micah begat Pithon”, the King James With English making its name as the language of science,
Bible begat a whole glossary of metaphor and morality that the Bible and Shakespeare, Britain decided to take it on
still shapes the way English is spoken today. Amen. tour, asking only for land, wealth, natural resources, total
obedience to the crown and a few local words in return.
Chapter 5: The English of science 
They went to the Caribbean looking for gold and a chance
Narrator: to really unwind — discovering the “barbeque”, the
“canoe” and a pretty good recipe for rum punch. They also
Before the 17th century scientists weren’t really recognised
— possibly because lab-coats had yet to catch on. But, Viewed 3 December 2013, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/
suddenly, Britain was full of physicists — there was Robert 30998192@N04/2901999361/>.
Hooke, Robert Boyle — and even some people not called
Robert, like Isaac Newton. The Royal Society was formed !!!!!!!!!!! 152
out of the Invisible College — after they put it down
somewhere and couldn’t find it again.

At first they worked in Latin. After sitting through Newton’s
story about the “pomum” falling to the “terra” from the
“arbor” for the umpteenth time, the bright sparks realised
they all spoke English and could transform our
understanding of the universe much quicker by talking
in their own language.

But science was discovering things faster than they could
name them. Words like “acid”, “gravity”, “electricity” and
“pendulum” had to be invented just to stop their meetings
turning into an endless game of charades.

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brought back the word “cannibal” to make their trip sound It was 18 inches tall and 20 inches wide — and contained
more exciting. 42,773 entries — meaning that even if you couldn’t read, it
was still pretty useful if you wanted to reach a high shelf.
In India there was something for everyone. “Yoga” — to
help you stay in shape, while pretending to be spiritual. If For the first time, when people were calling you “a pickled
that didn’t work there was the “cummerbund” to hide a herring” (a jack-pudding; a merryandrew; a zany; a buffoon),
paunch and — if you couldn’t even make it up the stairs a “jobbernowl” (loggerhead; blockhead) or a “fopdoodle” (a
without turning “crimson” — they had the “bungalow”. fool; an insignificant wretch) — you could understand exactly
what they meant — and you’d have the consolation of
Meanwhile in Africa they picked up words like “voodoo” knowing they all used the standard spelling.
and “zombie” — kicking off the teen horror film — and,
even more terrifying, they brought home the world’s two Try as he might to stop them, words kept being invented and
most annoying musical instruments — the “bongo” and in 1857 a new book was started which would become the
the “banjo”. Oxford English Dictionary. It took another 70 years to be
finished after the first editor resigned to be an Archbishop,
From Australia, English took the words “nugget”, the second died of TB and the third was so boring that half
“boomerang” and “walkabout” — and in fact the whole his volunteers quit and one of the ended up in an asylum.
concept of chain pubs.
It eventually appeared in 1928 and has continued to be
Between toppling Napoleon (1815) and the first World War revised ever since — proving the whole idea that you can
(1914), the British Empire gobbled up around 10 million stop people making up words is complete snuffbumble.
square miles, 400 million people and nearly a hundred
thousand gin and tonics, leaving new varieties of English Chapter 8: American English 
to develop all over the globe.
Narrator:
Chapter 7: The age of the dictionary 
From the moment Brits landed in America they needed
Narrator: names for all the plants and animals so they borrowed words
like “raccoon”, “squash” and “moose” from the Native
With English expanding in all directions, along came a new Americans, as well as most of their territory.
breed of men called lexicographers, who wanted to put an
end to this anarchy — a word they defined as “what  Waves of immigrants fed America’s hunger for words. The
happens when people spell words slightly differently from Dutch came sharing “coleslaw” and “cookies” — probably as
each other”. a result of their relaxed attitude to drugs. Later, the Germans
arrived selling “pretzels” from “delicatessens” and the Italians
One of the greatest was Doctor Johnson, whose arrived with their “pizza”, their “pasta” and their “mafia”, just
“Dictionary of the English Language” took him nine years like mamma used to make.
to write.

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America spread a new language of capitalism — getting “In my humble opinion” became “IMHO”, “by the way”
everyone worried about the “breakeven” and “the bottom became “BTW” and “if we’re honest that life-threatening
line”, and whether they were “blue chip” or “white collar”. accident was pretty hilarious!” simply became “fail”.
The commuter needed a whole new system of “freeways”,
“subways” and “parking lots” — and quickly, before words Some changes even passed into spoken English. For your
like “merger” and “downsizing” could be information, people frequently asked questions like “how
invented. American English drifted back across the pond as can “LOL” mean “laugh out loud” and “lots of love”?” But if
Brits “got the hang of” their “cool movies”, and their you’re going to complain about that then UG2BK.
“groovy” “jazz”. There were even some old forgotten
English words that lived on in America. So they carried on Chapter 10: Global English 
using “fall”, “faucets”, “diapers” and “candy”, while the
Brits moved on to “autumn”, “taps”, “nappies” and NHS Narrator:
dental care.
In the 1500 years since the Roman’s left Britain, English
Chapter 9: Internet English  has shown an unique ability to absorb, evolve, invade and,
if we’re honest, steal. After foreign settlers got it started, it
Narrator: grew into a fully-fledged language all of its own, before
leaving home and travelling the world, first via the high
In 1972 the first email was sent. Soon the Internet arrived seas, then via the high speed broadband connection,
— a free global space to share information, ideas and pilfering words from over 350 languages and establishing
amusing pictures of cats. itself as a global institution. All this despite a written
alphabet that bears no correlation to how it sounds and a
Before then English changed through people speaking it — system of spelling that even Dan Brown couldn’t decipher.

but the net brought typing back into fashion and hundreds Right now around 1.5 billion people speak English. Of these
of cases of repetitive strain syndrome. about a quarter are native speakers, a quarter speak it as
their second language, and half are able to ask for
Nobody had ever had to “download” anything before, let directions to a swimming pool.
alone use a “toolbar”.
Modern hybrids of English have really caught on. There’s
And the only time someone set up a “firewall”, it ended Hinglish — which is Hindi–English, Chinglish — which is
with a massive insurance claim and a huge pile of charred Chinese–English and Singlish — which is Singaporean
wallpaper. English — and not that bit when they speak in musicals.

Conversations were getting shorter than the average So in conclusion, the language has got so little to do with
attention span — why bother writing a sentence when an England these days it may well be time to stop calling it
abbreviation would do and leave you more time to “blog”, “English”. But if someone does think up a new name for it,
“poke” and “reboot” when your “hard drive” crashed? it should probably be in Chinese.

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CHAPTER 3

Poetry

The aim of this chapter is: 3. analyse theme, content and writer’s intent in a wide
variety of poetry
to introduce students to the notion that poetry is one of
the first forms of communication created 4. evaluate the substance of a text in terms of its origin,
to demonstrate that, functionally, poetry communicated context, motive, audience and reliability, and
news, stories, beliefs and cultural norms and values
before the invention of writing, and during times when the 5. write about a range of important issues that have been
majority of humans were illiterate, and reflected in Australian poetic texts.
to examine the forms that poetry takes, and track the
development of the uses of poetry from earliest to current Reading resources
times.
Texts and Communication iBook, UWSCollege, Sydney
Suggested chapter duration Texts and Communication vUWS Site

4 hours

Target learning outcomes

At the completion of this chapter students should be able
to:
1. identify and use the key features of the vocabulary of

communication and texts that relate specifically to
poetry and verse as well as modern rhymes and jingles
2. recognise, understand and interpret a wide range of
texts including academic texts, electronic texts,
historical documents, newspaper and magazine
offerings, poetry in all its forms, and song lyrics

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Chapter 3: Poetry: Study tools

FIGURE 3.1 Chapter 3: FIGURE 3.2 Chapter 3: FIGURE 3.3 Chapter 3: FIGURE 3.4 Chapter 3:
Poetry checklist Poetry notes Poetry feedback Poetry Twitter feed

Use this checklist to Use this widget to create Provide your tutor with #poetry
prepare for assessments. study notes for this feedback about your
chapter. knowledge and
understanding of the
chapter.

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The beginnings Ask no questions,
You’ll get no lies.
Poetry is one of the oldest forms of Literature. Since most Keep your mouth shut,
people were illiterate until many years after the invention of You’ll get no flies
the printing press, poetry developed first as a means of
communicating news and wisdom, as well as the story of Student activity 1
the culture. Rhythm, rhyme and the colourful use of words 1. Analyse each of the quotations listed above according
all contribute to helping make words easier to memorise
and recite to others. Poetry is meant to be heard, read out to the Three Level Guide. What does each say, mean
loud, as well as it often is today, read with the eyes and and imply?
brain. The sound of poetry is an important and intrinsic part 2. How can it be suggested that each of these quotations
of what makes it work. has a poetic flavour?

Many very common sayings and reflections of wisdom can FIGURE 3.5 Student
be identified as poetic. Think about the meaning of the activity 1
following:

Make hay while the sun shines.

Make a mountain out of a molehill.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

It never rains but it pours.

Set a thief to catch a thief.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Finders keepers, losers weepers.

Early to bed,

Early to rise,

Make a man healthy,

Wealthy and wise.

Red sky at night,

Shepherd’s delight,

Red sky at morning,

Shepherd’s warning.

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Traditional early English poems For those of you without a knowledge of archaic Scots,
here is a translation into standard English:
The Twa Corbies
The Two Crows
Poets unkown
Source: <http://www.twocrows.co.uk/twa_corbies.html>.
Source: <http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/boeb/boeb19.htm>.
As I was walking all alone,

As I was walking all alane,
I heard two crows (or ravens) making a moan;

I heard twa corbies making a maen:

One said to the other,

The tane unto the t'ither did say,
"Where shall we go and dine today?"
"Whaur shall we gang and dine the day?"
"In behind that old turf wall,

"O doun beside yon auld fail dyke,
I sense there lies a newly slain knight;

I wot there lies a new-slain knight;
And nobody knows that he lies there,

And naebody kens that he lies there
But his hawk, his hound and his lady fair."
But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair.
"His hound is to the hunting gone,

"His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl home,

His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,

His lady's has taken another mate,

His lady's ta'en another mate,
So we may make our dinner sweet."
Sae we may mak' our dinner sweet.
"You will sit on his white neck-bone,

  And I'll peck out his pretty blue eyes;


“O we'll sit on his white hause bane,
With one lock of his golden hair

And I'll pyke out his bonny blue e'en;
We'll thatch our nest when it grows bare."

Wi' ae lock o' his gowden hair
"Many a one for him is moaning,

We'll theek our nest when it blaws bare. But nobody will know where he is gone;

Over his white bones, when they are bare,

"Mony a ane for him makes maen,

But nane shall ken whaur he is gane.
The wind will blow for evermore."
Over his banes when they are bare,


The wind shall blaw for evermair."

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Sumer Is Icumen In

Middle English Modern English The translation of "bucke uerteþ" is uncertain.[4]
Some translate the former word as "buck-goat" and
Spring has arrived,
the latter as "turns" or "cavorts", but the current
critical consensus is that the line is "the stag farts".[4]
Sumer is icumen in,
Sing loudly, cuckoo!

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer_Is_Icumen_In>.
Lhude sing, cuccu;
The seed is growing


Groweth sed
And the meadow is blooming,


and bloweth med,
And the wood is coming into leaf

And springth the wde nu;
now,


Sing, cuccu!
Sing, cuckoo!





Awe bleteth after lomb,
The ewe is bleating after her lamb,


Lhouth after calue cu;
The cow is lowing after her calf;
FIGURE 3.7 YouTube: FIGURE 3.8 QR code:
Sumer is icumen in Sumer is icumen in:
Bulluc sterteth,
The bullock is prancing,


Bucke uerteth,
The billy-goat farting,





Murie sing, cuccu!
Sing merrily, cuckoo!


Cuccu, cuccu,
Cuckoo, cuckoo,


Wel singes thu, cuccu;
You sing well, cuckoo,


Ne swic thu naver nu.
Never stop now.





Sing, cuccu, nu; sing, cuccu;
Sing, cuckoo, now; sing, cuckoo;


Sing, cuccu; sing, cuccu, nu![4] Sing, cuckoo; sing, cuckoo, now!

[4]

http://bit.ly/1klccIl

FIGURE 3.6

Viewed 12 November 2013, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer_Is_Icumen_In>. 159
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Barbara Allen They buried her in the old churchyard

They buried him in the choir

In Scarlet town where I was born
And from his grave grew a red red rose

There was a fair maid dwelling
From her grave a green briar
And every youth cried well away

For her name was Barbara Allen

They grew and grew to the steeple top

Till they could grow no higher

Twas in the merry month of May
And there they twined in a true love's knot

The green buds were a swelling
Red rose around green briar

Sweet William on his deathbed lay


For the love of Barbara Allen (Trad/Arranged by Harvey Reid)

Source: <http://www.harveyreid.com/lyrics/barbaraallen.html>.
He sent a servant unto her

To the place she was dwelling
FIGURE 3.9 YouTube: FIGURE 3.10 QR code:
Saying you must come to his deathbed now
Barbara Allen Barbara Allen
If your name be Barbara Allen
http://bit.ly/1979tNI

Slowly slowly she got up
These three poems are all examples of poetry from the oral
Slowly slowly she came nigh him
tradition — composed to be said or sung at a time in
And the only words to him she said
history when less that 5% of the population was privileged
Young man I think you're dying with literacy. The two earliest ones have been printed with a
modern English version to aid your understanding. You will
notice that each poem is a narrative, that is, it tells a story.
As she was walking oer the fields

She heard the death bell knelling

And every stroke it seemed to say

Hardhearted Barbara Allen


Oh mother mother make my bed

Make it long and make it narrow

Sweet William died for me today

I'll die for him tomorrow

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Student activity 2 FIGURE 3.12 Student
activity 2
1. In your own words, retell the story communicated in each of the poems.
2. Why would people have been interested in what each poem had to say?
3. What features of the text suggest to you that these poems may have been widely known in

Britain before the invention of the printing press?
4. Why do we still have them available to us today?
5. What have you learned from reading and hearing them that you never knew before?

Sonnets

These poems of 14 lines each were first developed in Italy, and up until the 20th Century, used to follow some pretty strict

rules about form and tempo. These days, sonnets are written as small poems that contain some varied and, at times,

challenging messages. Below are samples of sonnets from different eras, all have

different themes and messages, but all restrict themselves to a brief 14 lines. FIGURE 3.11 William Shakespeare

Sonnet CXVI: William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

Let me not to the marriage of true minds Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://
Admit impediments. Love is not love en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare>.
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error, and upon me prov'd,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

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Death Be Not Proud, John Donne, (1572–1631) Ozymandias, Percy Bysshe Shelley, (1792–1822)

Death be not proud, though some have called thee
I met a traveller from an antique land
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe,
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Stand in the desert ... Near them, on the sand,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee.
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And on the pedestal these words appear:
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then?
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
FIGURE 3.13 The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Viewed 12 November 2013, <http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 162
File:Death_Valley,19820816,Desert,incoming_near_Shoshones.jpg>.
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FIGURE 3.14 The Soldier, Rupert Brooke (1887–1915)

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/ 163
soldiersmediacenter/4910381212/>.
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Anthem for Doomed Youth, Wilfred Owen (1893– FIGURE 3.15 Wilfred Owen
1918)

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,--
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Owen>.

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Each of the sonnets has the same poetic form, 14 lines, but their themes and messages cover a wide range of human
emotions and thoughts … true love, death, impermanence, patriotism and mourning.
The first two sonnets are written using the spelling and vocabulary of the Elizabethan/Stuart periods of English history. The
last three sonnets use what we would now classify as modern, educated English.
Your teacher will have explored each sonnet with you in class, and explained any vocabulary or phrases that you were not
familiar with. Now read each sonnet out loud, making sure you use the punctuation marks to direct your phrasing. Listen to
what you are reading and see if you can determine the meaning of the poem more easily by doing this. Remember, poetry is
for the ears as well as the eyes!

Student activity 3

1. Apply the Three Level Guide to each of the sonnets and write down:

a. What the poet is saying.

b. What the poet means

c. What the poet wants you to think.
2. Choose two of the sonnets that communicated an important challenge or inspiration to your way of thinking about ideas

and explain just how those sonnets made you think and feel.

3. Assess the effectiveness of the sonnet as a means of communication. Has your view changed as a result of reading
these examples?

FIGURE 3.16 Student
activity 3

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The men He would go wherever horse and man could go.

And Clancy of the Overflow came down to lend a hand,

Poems from Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson
No better horseman ever held the reins;

The Man from Snowy River For never horse could throw him while the saddle-girths

There was movement at the station, for the word had would stand,

passed around
He learnt to ride while droving on the plains.

That the colt from old Regret had got away,
And one was there, a stripling on a small and weedy beast,

And had joined the wild bush horses — he was worth a He was something like a racehorse undersized,


thousand pound,
With a touch of Timor pony — three parts thoroughbred at
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.
least —

All the tried and noted riders from the stations near and far

Had mustered at the homestead overnight,
And such as are by mountain horsemen prized.

For the bushmen love hard riding where the wild bush He was hard and tough and wiry — just the sort that won’t

horses are,
say die —

And the stock-horse snuffs the battle with delight. There was courage in his quick impatient tread;

And he bore the badge of gameness in his bright and fiery
There was Harrison, who made his pile when Pardon won
the cup,
eye,

And the proud and lofty carriage of his head.
The old man with his hair as white as snow;

But few could ride beside him when his blood was fairly up But still so slight and weedy, one would doubt his power to
stay,

—

And the old man said, “That horse will never do

Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://www.tomchao.com/pp3.html>. For a long and tiring gallop — lad, you’d better stop away,

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Those hills are far too rough for such as you.”

So he waited sad and wistful — only Clancy stood his

friend—

“I think we ought to let him come,” he said;

“I warrant he’ll be with us when he’s wanted at the end,

For both his horse and he are mountain bred.

“He hails from Snowy River, up by Kosciusko’s side,

Where the hills are twice as steep and twice as rough,

Where a horse’s hoofs strike firelight from the flint stones

every stride,

The man that holds his own is good enough.

And the Snowy River riders on the mountains make their

! !!!!!!!!!!! 166

home,
Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://www.smh.com.au/travel/live-the-life-
Where the river runs those giant hills between;
of-riley-20100326-r2oy.html>.
I have seen full many horsemen since I first commenced to
From cliffs and crags that beetled overhead.

roam,
And upward, ever upward, the wild horses held their way,

But nowhere yet such horsemen have I seen.”
Where mountain ash and kurrajong grew wide;

So he went — they found the horses by the big mimosa And the old man muttered fiercely, “We may bid the mob
clump —

good day,

They raced away towards the mountain’s brow,
No man can hold them down the other side.”
And the old man gave his orders, “Boys, go at them from
When they reached the mountain’s summit, even Clancy
the jump,
took a pull,

No use to try for fancy riding now.

And, Clancy, you must wheel them, try and wheel them to It well might make the boldest hold their breath,

The wild hop scrub grew thickly, and the hidden ground
the right.

Ride boldly, lad, and never fear the spills,
was full

For never yet was rider that could keep the mob in sight,
Of wombat holes, and any slip was death.

If once they gain the shelter of those hills.” But the man from Snowy River let the pony have his head,

And he swung his stockwhip round and gave a cheer,

So Clancy rode to wheel them — he was racing on the And he raced him down the mountain like a torrent down
wing

its bed,

Where the best and boldest riders take their place,
While the others stood and watched in very fear.
And he raced his stock-horse past them, and he made the
!!!!!!!!!!! 167
ranges ring

With the stockwhip, as he met them face to face.

Then they halted for a moment, while he swung the

dreaded lash,

But they saw their well-loved mountain full in view,

And they charged beneath the stockwhip with a sharp and

sudden dash,

And off into the mountain scrub they flew.

Then fast the horsemen followed, where the gorges deep
and black


Resounded to the thunder of their tread,

And the stockwhips woke the echoes, and they fiercely

answered back


UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

He sent the flint stones flying, but the pony kept his feet,
And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise

He cleared the fallen timber in his stride,
Their torn and rugged battlements on high,


And the man from Snowy River never shifted in his seat —
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly
It was grand to see that mountain horseman ride.
blaze


Through the stringy barks and saplings, on the rough and At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,

broken ground,
And where around the Overflow the reedbeds sweep and

Down the hillside at a racing pace he went;
sway

And he never drew the bridle till he landed safe and sound,
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,

The man from Snowy River is a household word to-day,

At the bottom of that terrible descent.
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.
He was right among the horses as they climbed the further
hill,
FIGURE 3.17 YouTube: FIGURE 3.18 QR Code:
The man from Snowy The man from Snowy
And the watchers on the mountain standing mute,
River River
Saw him ply the stockwhip fiercely, he was right among
http://youtu.be/fs_-DKUimeo
them still,

As he raced across the clearing in pursuit.

Then they lost him for a moment, where two mountain

gullies met

In the ranges, but a final glimpse reveals

On a dim and distant hillside the wild horses racing yet,

With the man from Snowy River at their heels.

And he ran them single-handed till their sides were white
with foam.


He followed like a bloodhound on their track,

Till they halted cowed and beaten, then he turned their

heads for home,

And alone and unassisted brought them back.

But his hardy mountain pony he could scarcely raise a trot,

He was blood from hip to shoulder from the spur;

But his pluck was still undaunted, and his courage fiery hot,


For never yet was mountain horse a cur.

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Clancy of the Overflow I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy

Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses
I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better

Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, tall,

And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city

years ago,
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to
over all.
him,

Just on spec, addressed as follows, “Clancy, of The And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle

Of the tramways and the buses making hurry down the
Overflow”. street,


And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,

(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of

in tar)
feet.
’Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will
Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://theclimatescepticsparty.blogspot.com.au/
quote it:
2010/09/crowded-cafes-asphalt-alleys-euthanasia.html>,
“Clancy’s gone to Queensland droving, and we don’t know
!!!!!!!!!!! 169
where he are.”

.     .     .     .     .

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy

Gone a-droving “down the Cooper” where the Western

drovers go;

As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them

singing,

For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never

know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly
voices greet him


In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,

And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains
extended,


And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars.

.     .     .     .     .

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me

As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,


With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,

For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I’d like to change with Clancy,

Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,

While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal—


But I doubt he’d suit the office, Clancy, of The Overflow.

Viewed 5 December 2013, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://www.best-books-for-kids.com/clancy-of-
File:Trams_and_traffic_at_Railway_Square.jpg>. the-overflow.html>.

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The Man from Ironbark He

It was the man from Ironbark who struck the Sydney town,
Viewed 10 November 2013. <http://www.best-books-for-kids.com/
He wandered over street and park, he wandered up and the-man-from-ironbark.html>.
down.

He loitered here, he loitered there, till he was like to drop,
fetched a wild up-country yell might wake the dead to hear,

Until at last in sheer despair he sought a barber’s shop.
And though his throat, he knew full well, was cut from ear to
“’Ere! shave my beard and whiskers off, I’ll be a man of
mark,
ear,

I’ll go and do the Sydney toff up home in Ironbark.” He struggled gamely to his feet, and faced the murd’rous

The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are,
foe:

He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar:
“You’ve done for me! you dog, I’m beat! one hit before I go!


He was a humorist of note and keen at repartee,
I only wish I had a knife, you blessed murdering shark!

He laid the odds and kept a ‫”ׅ‬tote”, whatever that may be,
But you’ll remember all your life, the man from Ironbark.”
And when he saw our friend arrive, he whispered “Here’s a
He lifted up his hairy paw, with one tremendous clout

lark!
He landed on the barber’s jaw, and knocked the barber out.

Just watch me catch him all alive, this man from Ironbark.”
He set to work with tooth and nail, he made the place a
There were some gilded youths that sat along the barber’s wreck;

wall,

He grabbed the nearest gilded youth, and tried to break his
Their eyes were dull, their heads were flat, they had no neck.

brains at all;

And all the while his throat he held to save his vital spark,

To them the barber passed the wink, his dexter eyelid shut,
And “Murder! Bloody Murder!” yelled the man from Ironbark.
“I’ll make this bloomin’ yokel think his bloomin’ throat is cut.”

And as he soaped and rubbed it in he made a rude remark:


“I s’pose the flats is pretty green up there in Ironbark.”

A grunt was all reply he got; he shaved the bushman’s chin,

Then made the water boiling hot and dipped the razor in.

He raised his hand, his brow grew black, he paused awhile
to gloat,

Then slashed the red-hot razor-back across his victim’s
throat;

Upon the newly shaven skin it made a livid mark —

No doubt it fairly took him in — the man from Ironbark.

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A peeler man who heard the din came in to see the show;
Student activity 4
He tried to run the bushman in, but he refused to go.

Each of these poems is a narrative about men in Australia
And when at last the barber spoke, and said, “’Twas all in at the time nationhood was becoming a political reality. The
fun —
first poem has become the inspiration for a well-loved
Australian movie. The second poem reflects the lives of two
’Twas just a little harmless joke, a trifle overdone.”
men who live in contrasting worlds on the same continent.
“A joke!” he cried, “By George, that’s fine; a lively sort of The third poem casts a humorous eye over the clash of
cultures between the city and the bush.
lark;

I’d like to catch that murdering swine some night in For each poem:

Ironbark.” 1. Write a paragraph demonstrating how the poem reflects
the times in which it was written.
And now while round the shearing floor the list’ning
shearers gape,
2. Write a paragraph explaining if it successfully conveyed
a message to you and include some poetic features that
He tells the story o’er and o’er, and brags of his escape.
were good examples of successful communication
“Them barber chaps what keeps a tote, By George, I’ve technique (like rhyme, rhythm, vocabulary, narrative
style, emotional appeal, anticipation, humour…).
had enough,

One tried to cut my bloomin’ throat, but thank the Lord it’s 3. Which poem did you enjoy most? Why?

tough.”
4. Do these poems stereotype Australian men? Why or
And whether he’s believed or no, there’s one thing to why not?

remark,

That flowing beards are all the go way up in Ironbark.

FIGURE 3.19 Student
activity 4

Viewed 5 December 2013, <http://www.aussievault.com.au/ 172
vault/entry/2063/where-the-bush-meets-the-murray>.
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Poet’s argue! In the place of “shining rivers” — “walled by cliffs and
forest boles”.

Up The Country by Henry Lawson
Barren ridges, gullies, ridges! where the ever-madd'ning
I am back from up the country — very sorry that I went —
flies —-

Seeking for the Southern poets' land whereon to pitch my
Fiercer than the plagues of Egypt — swarm about your
tent;
blighted eyes!

I have lost a lot of idols, which were broken on the track,

Burnt a lot of fancy verses, and I'm glad that I am back.
Bush! where there is no horizon! where the buried bushman
Further out may be the pleasant scenes of which our poets sees


boast,
Nothing — Nothing! but the sameness of the ragged,
But I think the country's rather more inviting round the stunted trees!


coast.
Lonely hut where drought's eternal, suffocating atmosphere

Anyway, I'll stay at present at a boarding-house in town,
Where the God-forgotten hatter dreams of city life and
beer.

Drinking beer and lemon-squashes, taking baths and

cooling down.
Treacherous tracks that trap the stranger,


endless roads that gleam and glare,


“Sunny plains”! Great Scott! — those burning
Dark and evil-looking gullies, hiding secrets here and there!

wastes of barren soil and sand
Dull dumb flats and stony rises, where the toiling bullocks

With their everlasting fences stretching out across the land!
bake,

Desolation where the crow is! Desert where the eagle flies,
And the sinister “gohanna”, and the lizard, and the snake.


Paddocks where the luny bullock starts and stares with Land of day and night — no morning freshness, and no
reddened eyes;
afternoon,


Where, in clouds of dust enveloped, roasted bullock-drivers When the great white sun in rising bringeth summer heat in
creep
June.


Slowly past the sun-dried shepherd dragged behind his Dismal country for the exile, when the shades begin to fall

crawling sheep.
From the sad heart-breaking sunset, to the new-chum
worst of all.

Stunted peak of granite gleaming, glaring like a molten

mass

Dreary land in rainy weather, with the endless clouds that
Turned from some infernal furnace on a plain devoid of drift

grass.


O'er the bushman like a blanket that the Lord will never lift
—

Miles and miles of thirsty gutters — strings of muddy
water-holes
Dismal land when it is raining — growl of floods, and, oh!
the woosh

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!!!!!!!!!!! 173

Of the rain and wind together on the dark bed of the bush In Defence of the Bush by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson
—

So you're back from up the country, Mister Lawson, where
Ghastly fires in lonely humpies where the granite rocks are you went,
piled

And you're cursing all the business in a bitter discontent;
In the rain-swept wildernesses that are wildest of the wild.


Well, we grieve to disappoint you, and it makes us sad to
hear
Land where gaunt and haggard women live alone and work
like men,
That it wasn't cool and shady — and there wasn't plenty
beer,
Till their husbands, gone a-droving, will return to them
again:
And the loony bullock snorted when you first came into
view;
Homes of men! if home had ever such a God-forgotten
place,
Well, you know it's not so often that he sees a swell like
you;
Where the wild selector's children fly before a stranger's
face.
And the roads were hot and dusty, and the plains were
burnt and brown,
Home of tragedy applauded by the dingoes' dismal yell,

Heaven of the shanty-keeper — fitting fiend for such a hell And no doubt you're better suited drinking lemon-squash in
town.
—

And the wallaroos and wombats, and, of course, the Yet, perchance, if you should journey down the very track
you went
curlew's call —

And the lone sundowner tramping ever onward through it In a month or two at furthest you would wonder what it
meant,
all!


Where the sunbaked earth was gasping like a creature in its
pain
I am back from up the country, up the country where I went

Seeking for the Southern poets' land whereon to pitch my You would find the grasses waving like a field of summer
grain,
tent;

I have shattered many idols out along the dusty track,
And the miles of thirsty gutters blocked with sand and
Burnt a lot of fancy verses — and I'm glad that I am back.
choked with mud,
I believe the Southern poets' dream will not be realised

Till the plains are irrigated and the land is humanised.
You would find them mighty rivers with a turbid, sweeping
flood;
I intend to stay at present, as I said before, in town

Drinking beer and lemon-squashes, taking baths and !!!!!!!!!!! 174

cooling down.

First Published: The Weekly Bulletin, 9 July 1892

Source: <http://www.poemhunter.com/>.

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

For the rain and drought and sunshine make no changes in In a filthy, dirty attic toiling on for daily bread?
the street,
Did you hear no sweeter voices in the music of the bush
In the sullen line of buildings and the ceaseless tramp of
feet; Than the roar of trams and 'buses, and the war-whoop of
"the push"?
But the bush hath moods and changes, as the seasons rise
and fall, Did the magpies rouse your slumbers with their carol sweet
and strange?
And the men who know the bush-land — they are loyal
through it all. Did you hear the silver chiming of the bell-birds on the
range?
But you found the bush was dismal and a land of no
delight, But, perchance, the wild birds' music by your senses was
despised,
Did you chance to hear a chorus in the shearers' huts at
night? For you say you'll stay in townships till the bush is civilised.

Did they "rise up, William Riley" by the camp-fire's cheery Would you make it a tea-garden and on Sundays have a
blaze? band

Did they rise him as we rose him in the good old droving Where the "blokes" might take their "donahs", with a
days? "public" close at hand?

And the women of the homesteads and the men you You had better stick to Sydney and make merry with the
chanced to meet — "push",

Were their faces sour and saddened like the "faces in the For the bush will never suit you, and you'll never suit the
street", bush.

And the "shy selector children" — were they better now or First published: The Bulletin, 23 July 1892
worse
Source: <http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/patersonab/poetry/
Than the little city urchins who would greet you with a indefenceofbush.html>.
curse?

Is not such a life much better than the squalid street and
square

Where the fallen women flaunt it in the fierce electric glare,

Where the sempstress plies her sewing till her eyes are
sore and red

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In Answer to "Banjo" and Otherwise by Henry When you got a slip of paper for the little you could earn,

Lawson — Part 2 But were forced to take provisions from the station in return
—

Would you like to change with Clancy — go a-droving? tell When you couldn't keep a chicken at your humpy on the
us true,
run,

For we rather think that Clancy would be glad to change For the squatter wouldn't let you — and your work was
with you,
never done;

And be something in the city; but 'twould give your muse a When you had to leave the missus in a lonely hut forlorn

shock
While you "rose up Willy Riley," in the days ere you were
To be losing time and money thro' the foot-rot in the flock,
born?
And you wouldn't mind the beauties underneath the starry
dome
Ah! we read about the drovers and the shearers and the like

If you had a wife and children and a lot of bills at home. Till we wonder why such happy and romantic fellows
"strike."

Did you ever guard the cattle when the night was inky- Don't you fancy that the poets better give the bush a rest

black,
Ere they raise a just rebellion in the over-written West?

And it rained, and icy water trickled gently down your back
Where the simple-minded bushman gets a meal and bed
Till your saddle-weary backbone fell a-aching to the roots
and rum

And you almost felt the croaking of the bull-frog in your Just by riding round reporting phantom flocks that never
boots —
come;

Sit and shiver in the saddle, curse the restless stock and Where the scalper — never troubled by the "war-whoop of
cough
the push" —

Till a squatter's irate dummy cantered up to warn you off?
Has a quiet little billet — breeding rabbits in the bush;

Did you fight the drought and "pleuro" when the "seasons" Where the idle shanty-keeper never fails to make a draw,

were asleep,
And the dummy gets his tucker thro' provisions in the law;

Falling she-oaks all the morning for a flock of starving Where the labour-agitator —when the shearers rise in might
sheep;
—

Drinking mud instead of water— climbing trees and lopping Makes his money sacrificing all his substance for the right;

boughs
Where the squatter makes his fortune, and the seasons
For the broken-hearted bullocks and the dry and dusty "rise" and "fall,"

cows? And the poor and honest bushman has to suffer for it all,

Where the drovers and the shearers and the bushmen and
Do you think the bush was better in the "good old droving the rest

days,"
Never reach the Eldorado of the poets of the West.
When the squatter ruled supremely as the king of western
ways,
! !!!!!!!!!!! 176

UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

And you think the bush is purer and that life is better there,
And the city seems to suit you, while you rave about the
But it doesn't seem to pay you like the "squalid street and bush.
square,"

Pray inform us, "Mr. Banjo," where you read, in prose or P.S. --
verse,

Of the awful "city urchin" who would greet you with a You'll admit that "up-the-country," more especially in
curse.
drought,

There are golden hearts in gutters, tho' their owners lack Isn't quite the Eldorado that the poets rave about,

the fat,
Yet at times we long to gallop where the reckless bushman
And we'll back a teamster's offspring to outswear a city rides

brat;
In the wake of startled brumbies that are flying for their
Do you think we're never jolly where the trams and 'busses hides;

rage?
Long to feel the saddle tremble once again between our
Did you hear the "gods" in chorus when "Ri-tooral" held knees

the stage?
And to hear the stockwhips rattle just like rifles in the trees!

Did you catch a ring of sorrow in the city urchin's voice
Long to feel the bridle-leather tugging strongly in the hand

When he yelled for "Billy Elton," when he thumped the floor And to feel once more a little like a "native of the land."

for Royce?
And the ring of bitter feeling in the jingling of our rhymes

Do the bushmen, down on pleasure, miss the everlasting Isn't suited to the country nor the spirit of the times.

stars
Let's us go together droving and returning, if we live,

When they drink and flirt and so on in the glow of private Try to understand each other while we liquor up the "div."
bars?

What care you if fallen women "flaunt?" God help 'em — let First published: The Bulletin, 6 August 1892, Bulletin
'em flaunt,
debate poem #4
And the seamstress seems to haunt you — to what
purpose does she haunt?
Source: <http://www.middlemiss.org/matilda/2006/03/poem-in-answer-to-
You've a down on "trams and busses," or the "roar" of 'em, banjo-and-otherwise-by-1.html>.
you said,

And the "filthy, dirty attic," where you never toiled for bread.
Lawson and Paterson created a great deal of interest
(And about that self-same attic, tell us, Banjo, where you've during the mid-1990s when they had a poetic “exchange of
been?
views” in the, then, very popular Bulletin Magazine.
For the struggling needlewoman mostly keeps her attic
clean.)
At the time there was constant debate about which was the
But you'll find it very jolly with the cuff-and-collar push,
“better Australia”, the city or the bush.

Obviously Lawson and Paterson had very different views
about the two environments.

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Student activity 5 FIGURE 3.21 Student
1. Sum up Banjo Paterson’s view of the bush and the city. activity 5

2. Sum up Henry Lawson’s view of the bush and the city.

3. Do you think that both poets made valid arguments? Support your response with examples
from both sides of the argument.

4. Are both poets being realistic in their images of bush and city? Support your argument with
examples from the texts.

5. Are both poets guilty of using selective evidence or references or are they unbiased?
Support your answer with examples from the texts.

6. Who won the argument, or was it a draw? Explain.

7. Could this argument be pursued in the 21st century in Australia? Is there anything modern readers could learn and apply
to modern thinking from reading these texts?

FIGURE 3.20 Frederick McCubbin, Australia 1855–
1917 Child in the bush 1913, Mount Macedon, Victoria

Viewed 12 November 2013. <http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail-LRG.cfm? 178
IRN=46503>.
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Reporting vs poetry He must have given the hand. However it was,

Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!

Read the following text taken from a newspaper: The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,


William Jones, age 16, died last night in Montpelier As he swung toward them holding up the hand

Hospital after an unsuccessful operation. He was Half in appeal, but half as if to keep

an employee on John Harrison’s farm in the
township of Alton. While cutting wood with a buzz The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—

saw yesterday in the late afternoon, Jones Since he was old enough to know, big boy

accidentally slipped, and his left arm was almost Doing a man's work, though a child at heart—

amputated. Though a tourniquet was quickly He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off—

applied as he was rushed to the hospital, he lost The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"

considerable blood. Surviving him is his sister Mary,
who is the cook on Mr Harrison’s farm. So. But the hand was gone already.

The doctor put him in the dark of ether.

A contemporary poet, Robert Frost, was inspired to write He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.

the following: And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright.

No one believed. They listened at his heart.

'Out, Out—' Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.

No more to build on there. And they, since they

The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,

The title of Frost’s poem was inspired by William
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
Shakespeare’s words in the dramatic play Macbeth. These
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
words of Macbeth reflect the fragility and uncertainty of
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
human existence.
Under the sunset far into Vermont.

“ … Out, out, brief candle!
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,

As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

And nothing happened: day was all but done.
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
Call it a day, I wish they might have said

And then is heard no more …”
To please the boy by giving him the half hour

That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
!!!!!!!!!!! 179

His sister stood beside them in her apron

To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw,

As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,

Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap—


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Student activity 6 FIGURE 3.22 Student
1. What do the following words mean? activity 6

amputated; tourniquet; rueful; appeal; ether; fragility; uncertainty; player; struts; frets
2. Quote a line from the poem that is an example of onomatopoeia.

3. From the poem, quote a line that allows the reader to:

hear; smell; see; taste; feel.
4. Explain the purpose of the newspaper report in the context of this poem.

5. Explain the purpose of the poem.

6. Explain why a reader would have differing reactions to the report and the poem.

7. Refer to the Shakespearian text. Why do you think part of it was used by Frost as a title for this poem?

8. How does each text achieve its purpose?

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Poems from Bruce Dawe

Weapons Training Viewed 10 November 2013. <http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/
belongings/bayliff/>.
And when I say eyes right I want to hear

those eyeballs click and the gentle pitter-patter

of falling dandruff you there what's the matter

why are you looking at me are you a queer?

look to your front if you had one more brain

it'd be lonely what are you laughing at

you in the back row with the unsightly fat

between your elephant ears open that drain

you call a mind and listen remember first

the cockpit drill when you go down be sure

the old crown-jewels are safely tucked away what could be
more

distressing than to hold off with a burst

from your trusty weapon a mob of the little yellows

only to find back home because of your position

your chances of turning the key in the ignition

considerably reduced? allright now suppose

for the sake of argument you've got

a number-one blockage and a brand-new pack

of Charlies are coming at you you can smell their rotten

fish-sauce breath hot on the back

of your stupid neck allright now what

are you going to do about it? that's right grab and check

the magazine man it's not a woman's tit

worse luck or you'd be set too late you nit

they're on you and your tripes are round your neck

you've copped the bloody lot just like I said

and you know what you are? You're dead, dead, dead

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Life Cycle...for Big Jim Phelan with the scores level and the wind advantage in the final
term,

When children are born in Victoria


they are wrapped in club-colours, laid in beribboned cots,

That pattern persisting, like a race-memory, through the
having already begun a lifetime's barracking. welter of seasons,


Carn, they cry, Carn … feebly at first
enabling old-timers by boundary fences to dream of
while parents playfully tussle with them
resurgent lions

for possession of a rusk: Ah, he's a little Tiger! (And they
and centaur-figures from the past to replenish continually
are …) the present,



Hoisted shoulder-high at their first League game

they are like innocent monsters who have been years So that mythology may be perpetually renewed

and Chicken Smallhorn return like the maize-god

swimming

towards the daylight's roaring empyrean in a thousand shapes, the dancers changing



Until, now, hearts shrapnelled with rapture,

they break surface and are forever lost,
But the dance forever the same — the elderly still

their minds rippling out like streamers loyally crying Carn … Carn … (if feebly) unto the very end,


In the pure flood of sound, they are scarfed with light, a having seen in the six-foot recruit from Eaglehawk their
voice
hope of salvation

like the voice of God booms from the stands
Viewed 10 November 2013. <http://www.gostudy.com.au/blog/ 182
Ooohh you bludger and the covenant is sealed.
australian-football/>.
!!!!!!!!!!!


Hot pies and potato-crisps they will eat,

they will forswear the Demons, cling to the Saints

and behold their team going up the ladder into Heaven,




And the tides of life will be the tides of the home-team's

fortunes

— the reckless proposal after the one-point win,

the wedding and honeymoon after the grand-final …




They will not grow old as those from the more northern

States grow old,

for them it will always be three-quarter-time


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Student activity 7

War and football are recurring themes in Australian culture and history. FIGURE 3.23 Student
Weapons Training refers to the Vietnam War experience. Read the poem out loud. activity 7
1. What features of the poem really make you feel the weapons and their consequences?

2. Make a comment on Dawe’s language, and provide three quotations that strongly convey
meaning to you.

3. Why is sexual imagery used in this poem? Does it strengthen the meaning of the message?
Why or why not?

Life Cycle refers to the Australian passion for sport, on this occasion, Aussie Rules football.

1. How does Dawe develop the notion of love of sport and relate it to the life of a human
being?

2. Explain why there are several references in war-like language in the poem.

3. How can you tell that Dawe is writing about Australians for Australians? Why might people from other cultures, even
English speaking cultures, struggle to find meaning in this poem?

4. In what ways have your reading of Bruce Dawe’s two poems deepened your understanding of Australian culture and
society?

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FIGURE 3.24 Jingles becoming potent advertisements

Aeroplane Jelly

I’ve got a song that won’t take very long,

And a good sort of note if I strike it.

It is something we eat, and I think it’s quite sweet,

And I know you are going to like it.

I like Aeroplane Jelly … Aeroplane Jelly for me,

I like it for dinner, I like it for tea,

A little each day is a good recipe.

The quality’s high as the name will imply,

And it’s made from pure fruit, one more good reason why

I like Aeroplane Jelly … Aeroplane Jelly for me.

I like Aeroplane Jelly … Aeroplane Jelly for me.

Written by Albert Francis

FIGURE 3.25 YouTube: FIGURE 3.26 QR code:
Aeroplane jelly Aeroplane jelly

Lenertz, 1938 http://youtu.be/dJZ2w6Q_Uww

Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 184
Aeroplane_Jelly>.
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The Vegemite Song FIGURE 3.29

We're happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Our mummies say we're growing stronger
Every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite
We all adore our Vegemite
It puts a rose in every cheek.
Written by Alan Weeks, J Walter Thompson
advertising,1954

FIGURE 3.27 Twitter: Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinhoward/3185822157/>.
#vegemite
FIGURE 3.28 Instagram:
#vegemite

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FIGURE 3.30 YouTube: FIGURE 3.32 Vegemite on toast FIGURE 3.33 YouTube:
Vegemite Vegemite

Type to enter text

FIGURE 3.31 QR code: FIGURE 3.34 QR code:
Vegemite Vegemite tune

http://bit.ly/1cSu1c3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=h5r3HAJh8es

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Louie the Fly Student activity 8
1. What poetic features can you find in these jingles?
Louie the Fly, I’m Louie the Fly
2. Why do you think many Australians still recognise these
Straight from rubbish tip to you.

Spreading disease, with the greatest of ease.
advertisements today?
Straight from rubbish tip to you.
3. Can you develop an advertising campaign using the
I’m bad and mean and mighty unclean.

Afraid of no-one, ‘cept the man with the can of Mortein.
lyrics that will bring the promotion of the product into
Hate that word Mortein.
the 21st century? You may write ideas or create an
One spray and Louie the Fly,
illustration to deliver your new approach.
Apple of his old mother’s eye was Louie,

Poor dead Louie, Louie the Fly a victim of Mortein.
FIGURE 3.37 The changing face of Louie the fly
Mortein.
Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://en.wikifur.com/w/images/3/3d/
By Bryce Courtenay, Sydney's McCann Erickson LouieTheFly.JPG>.
agency, 1957
FIGURE 3.38 Student
FIGURE 3.35 YouTube: FIGURE 3.36 QR code: activity 8
Louie the fly Jingles becoming potent
advertisements: Louie
the fly

http://bit.ly/JD1AnL

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Ditties and doggerel Source: <http://www.johnderbyshire.com/Readings/workhouse.html>.

Lyrics by Anthony Hopkins, In “Songs from the Front It was Christmas Day in the harem,

and Rear”     The eunuchs were all standing round,

With dozens of naked women

Source: <http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=16139>.     All scattered on the ground;

When in came the mighty Sultan

Christmas Day in the Workhouse     To gaze at his marble halls.

He said: "What do you want for Christmas?"

'Twas Christmas Day in the workhouse,
    And the eunuchs all shouted:

The happiest day of the year.
"TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY …"
The paupers' hearts were filled with joy

And their bellies full of beer. Source: <http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=298>.

Up spoke the Workhouse Master
It was Christmas Day in the workhouse

"To all within these halls,
The one day of the year

I wish you a Merry Christmas!"
The paupers hearts were happy

And the paupers answered, "Balls." Their bellies full of beer

Then in strode the Workhouse Master

If you don't believe me
Within those stony walls

If you think I'm telling a lie
He cried: 'A Merry Christmas'

Just ask the Workhouse Master
The paupers anwered 'Balls'

He was there as well as I. This enraged the Workhouse Master

Who swore by all his gods

Up spoke the Workhouse Master
You'll have no Christmas pudding

And said, "If you're not good
You load of rotten sods

I'll be a lousy rotter
Then up stood one old pauper

And stop your Christmas pud." His face as bold as brass

'We don't want your Christmas pudding

Up spoke the leading pauper
You can stuff it up your arse'.
He said, “It’s all a farce

You can take your Christmas pudding

And stick it up your arse!"

And if you don't believe me

If you think I'm telling a lie

Just ask the Workhouse Master

He was there as well as I.

(Sung by Canadian servicemen in WWII)

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Student activity 9 FIGURE 3.40 Student
1. What features of these verses would classify them as ditties and doggerel? activity 9
2. Which people do you think use ditties and doggerel? Give reasons for your answer.
3. Can you find some modern examples of a ditty or doggerel?
4. Do you recollect any you learned at school (in the playground of course)?
5. Is any of this meant to be taken seriously? Explain.

FIGURE 3.39

Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://www.keighleynews.co.uk/ 189
dewhirst1/10130079.Christmas_for_paupers_was_not_so_bleak/>.
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Verse and music

And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda — Eric Bogle, 1971

Source: <http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/eric_bogle/and_the_band_played_waltzing_matilda_lyrics.html>.



Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack, and I lived the free life of a rover


From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback, well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.


Then in 1915, my country said son, It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done.


So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun, and they marched me away to the war.




And the band played Waltzing Matilda, as the ship pulled

away from the quay


And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears, we FIGURE 3.41
sailed off for Gallipoli


And how well I remember that terrible day, how our blood

stained the sand and the water


And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, we were

butchered like lambs at the slaughter.


Johnny Turk he was waiting, he'd primed himself well. He

shower'd us with bullets,


And he rained us with shell. And in five minutes flat, he'd

blown us all to hell


Nearly blew us right back to Australia.




But the band played Waltzing Matilda, when we stopped to

bury our slain.


We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs, then we

started all over again.


And those that were left, well we tried to survive, in that

mad world of blood, death and fire


And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive, though

around me the corpses piled higher


Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head, and Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltzing_Matilda>.

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when I woke up in my hospital bed,
FIGURE 3.42 YouTube:
And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead. Never knew there was worse things than And the band played
dyin'.
Waltzing Matilda

For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda, all around the green bush far and free
FIGURE 3.43 QR code:
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs — no more waltzing Matilda for me.
Verse and music: And
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed, and they shipped us back home to the band played
Australia.
Waltzing Matilda
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane, those proud wounded heroes of Suvla

And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay, I looked at the place where me legs used to be.

And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me, to grieve, to mourn, and to pity.


But the band played Waltzing Matilda, as they carried us down the gangway.

But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared, then they turned all their faces away

And so now every April, I sit on me porch, and I watch the parades pass before me.

And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, reviving old dreams of past glories

And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore. They're tired old heroes from a
forgotten war

And the young people ask, what are they marching for? And I ask myself the same question.


But the band plays Waltzing Matilda, and the old men still answer the call,

But as year follows year, more old men disappear. Someday no one will march there at all.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?

And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong, who'll come a-waltzing
Matilda with me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=WG48Ftsr3OI

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Waltzing Matilda A.B. “Banjo” Paterson FIGURE 3.44 YouTube: FIGURE 3.47 QR
Waltzing Matilda code: Verse and
Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong music: Waltzing
Under the shade of a coolabah tree Matilda
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me

Down came a jumbuck to drink at the billabong
Up got the swaggie and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker-bag
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda FIGURE 3.45YouTube: http://youtu.be/4ElJ9wQllJ0
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Waltzing Matilda: John
And he sang as he stowed that jumbuck in his tucker-bag Williamson FIGURE 3.46 QR
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me Code: Waltzing
Matilda: John
Down came the squatter mounted on his thoroughbred Williamson
Up came the troopers One Two Three
Who's the jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me
Who's the jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag?
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me.

Up got the swaggie and jumped into the billabong http://bit.ly/1cSuOtt
You'll never catch me alive said he
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me.

Source: <http://www.yarrileess.eq.edu.au/home/ngilm6/Poetry/POETRY/
Aussie%20Poems/Waltzing%20Matilda.pdf

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True Blue 21st Anniversary Or will she be right?

True Blue, I'm asking you...
Words and Mmsic by John Williamson© 1986/2003
Emusic Pty Ltd True Blue, is it me and you?

Is it Mum and Dad, is it a cockatoo?

Source: <http://www.johnwilliamson.com.au/music/true_blue_21.html>. Is it standing by your mate

When he's in a fight?

Hey True Blue, don't say you've gone
Or will she be right?

Say you've knocked off for a smoko
True Blue ... True Blue.
And you'll be back later on

Hey True Blue, Hey True Blue Smoko — To “knock off for a smoko” is to have a break
for a coffee, tea or cigarette.
Give it to me straight

Face to face
True Blue — steadfast loyal Australian who displays the
Are you really disappearing,
Aussie ideals of a fair go for all, mateship, having a go,
Just another dying race,
and solving problems.
Hey True Blue
Fair Dinkum — virtually the same as True Blue —
True Blue, is it me and you?
honest, reliable, trustworthy, dinki-di; someone who has
Is it Mum and Dad, is it a cockatoo?
embraced the Aussie attitudes to everything, especially
Is it standing by your mate
mateship. “Are you fair dinku?” means “are you telling
When he's in a fight?
the truth?”
Or will she be right?

True Blue, I'm asking you... FIGURE 3.48 YouTube: FIGURE 3.49 QR code:
True blue True blue
Hey True Blue, can you bear the load?

Will you tie it up with wire,
http://bit.ly/1klcZJ7
Just to keep the show on the road?

Hey True Blue, Hey True Blue, now be Fair Dinkum

Is your heart still there?

If they sell us out like sponge cake

Do you really care?

Hey True Blue

True Blue, is it me and you?

Is it Mum and Dad, is it a cockatoo?

Is it standing by your mate

When she's in a fight?


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Student activity 10

1. The song “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” develops a theme that is in stark contrast to the usual interpretation of
the Gallipoli event. Explain how the song communicates a clear, but clearly contradictory, understanding of the
consequences of Gallipoli.

2. Do you think it is more effective read or sung? Explain why?

3. The poem “Waltzing Matilda” was the unofficial Australian anthem for many decades. It was written as a poem, and later
the words were put to music. It is the story of a larrikin. In what ways does it reflect the way Australians may have felt
about themselves? How has its theme carried down with relevance to present day Australia?

4. Can you see an ironic connection between the “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and the actual song “Waltzing
Matilda”? Explain.

5. The song “True Blue” also reveals an Australian theme. Can you identify that theme and relate it to the song “And the
Band Played Waltzing Matilda”?

6. Throughout these songs, there is wide use of Australian slang/idiom/colloquialism. Identify three examples from each
song and explain what they mean.

7. When you hear the words spoken they make a different impression to when they are sung. What are the differences you
perceive between lyrics and lyrics set to music? Which form appeals most to you? Why?

8. What have you learned from these songs that you did not know before?

FIGURE 3.50 Student
activity 10

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Poetry communicates Student activity 11

Abou Ben Adhem 1. This poem was written during the 19th Century, but its
message transcends both time and culture. In what
Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) ways does this poem speak to 21st century people?
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room, 2. How does the language of the poem enhance its
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, meaning both in its context and atmosphere?
An angel writing in a book of gold:
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, 3. What was the point of writing this poem?
And to the presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?” — The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”
“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay not so,”
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still; and said, '” pray thee then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.”

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night FIGURE 3.51 Student
It came again with a great wakening light, activity 11
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

Leigh Hunt

Source: <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/abou-ben-adhem/>.

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Beach Burial: Kenneth Slessor And each cross, the driven stake of tidewood,
Bears the last signature of men,
Softly and humbly to the Gulf of Arabs Written with such perplexity, with such bewildered pity,
The convoys of dead sailors come; The words choke as they begin —
At night they sway and wander in the waters far under,
But morning rolls them in the foam. “Unknown seaman” — the ghostly pencil
Between the sob and clubbing of the gunfire Wavers and fades, the purple drips,
Someone, it seems, has time for this, The breath of the wet season has washed their inscriptions
To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows As blue as drowned men’s lips,
And tread the sand upon their nakedness;
Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall,
FIGURE 3.52 Whether as enemies they fought,
Or fought with us, or neither; the sand joins them together,
Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/ Enlisted on the other front.
2004/12/30/1104344930483.html>.
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Student activity 12

1. How does suggested sound FIGURE 3.53 Student
and colour become activity 12
something that draws the
reader to the message of the
poem? Give some examples
of each.

2. What is the theme of this
poem?

3. How does the poet develop
his theme and draw the
poem to its conclusion?

4. What mood does this poem convey?

5. Would this poem be more or less powerful if it were
written in prose? Explain.

!!!!!!!!!!! 196

The Stranger: Billy Joel There are some we never tell

Why were you so surprised

FIGURE 3.54 That you never saw the stranger

Did you ever let your lover see

Viewed 13 November 2013. <http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-
stranger-lyrics-billy-joel.html>. The stranger in yourself?



Well we all have a face

That we hide away forever
Don't be afraid to try again

And we take them out and
Everyone goes south

Every now and then

Show ourselves

When everyone has gone
You've done it, why can't

Some are satin some are steel
Someone else?

Some are silk and some are leather

They're the faces of the stranger
You should know by now

But we love to try them on
You've been there yourself





Well we all fall in love
Once I used to believe

But we disregard the danger
I was such a great romancer

Though we share so many secrets
Then I came home to a woman

That I could not recognize

When I pressed her for a reason

She refused to even answer

It was then I felt the stranger

Kick me right between the eyes




Well we all fall in love

But we disregard the danger

Though we share so many secrets

There are some we never tell

Why were you so surprised

That you never saw the stranger

Did you ever let your lover see

The stranger in yourself?


UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 197

Don't be afraid to try again
Student activity 13
Everyone goes south

Every now and then
1. Can you explain what kind of “face” is represented by
You've done it why can't
each of the following:
Someone else?

You should know by now
satin; steel; silk; leather.
You've been there yourself

2. Explain the metaphor “… a face that we hide away
You may never understand
forever…”
How the stranger is inspired

But he isn't always evil
3. What do you think that the second stanza is telling
And he is not always wrong
you?
Though you drown in good intentions

You will never quench the fire
4. Read the quote from the song, printed below, and then
You'll give in to your desire
explain what the lyricist is attempting to communicate
When the stranger comes along.
You may never understand

FIGURE 3.55 YouTube: FIGURE 3.56 QR code: How the stranger is inspired

The stranger, Billy Joel The stranger Billy Joel But he isn't always evil

And he is not always wrong

Though you drown in good intentions

You will never quench the fire

You'll give in to your desire

When the stranger comes along.

5. Would this piece stand alone as a poem, or does it need
the musical backing to make it a better piece of
communication?

FIGURE 3.57 Student
activity 13

http://bit.ly/Kss0bW 198
UWSCollege Pty Ltd! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !