When The Australian began publication out of Canberra in 1964, I was one of the youngest journalists on staff. I worked for editors Maxwell Newton, Adrian Deamer and Walter Kommer. I covered education and immigration, and wrote a fortnightly column on social issues: conscription, the Vietnam War, civil liberties, racism, policing, and the White Australia policy. I also wrote about women, often: about marriage, sex education, abortion, unequal pay, childbirth, childcare and all the issues attitudes and structures that constrained us. In this article, I tell some stories from those years, and reflect on the editorial attitudes I encountered.
References
1.
The Australian 1965, ‘Editorial’, 2 January.
2.
Child Care Committee 1972, Child Care: A Community Responsibility, Media Women's Action Group, Sydney.
3.
CryleD.2008, Murdoch's Flagship: 25 Years of The Australian Newspaper, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.
4.
FoxcroftM. n.d., Letter to The Australian.
5.
MoylánS.RiggJ.TorshD.2014, ‘Media Women's Action Group’, in Griffen-FoleyB. (ed.), A Companion to the Australian Media, Australian Scholarly Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 271–2.
6.
MunsterG.1985, A Paper Prince, Viking, Melbourne.
7.
MurdochK.R.2012, ‘Bulletin No. 15’, originally published 3 March 1965, reprinted in DaviesD. (ed.), A Miracle Every Day, F.L. Press, Sydney.
8.
RiggJ. (ed.) 1969, In Her Own Right: Women of Australia, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne.
9.
TurnerI.1969, ‘Prisoners in Petticoats: A Shocking History of Female Emancipation in Australia’, in RiggJ. (ed.), In Her Own Right: Women of Australia, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne, pp. 3–23.
10.
Van HeekerenM.2014, ‘Journalists’ Club’, in Griffen-FoleyB. (ed.), A Companion to the Australian Media, Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing, pp. 228–9.
