Born in 1953? What else happened?

TITLE PAGE

BORN IN 1953?

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

RON WILLIAMS

AUSTRALIAN SOCIAL HISTORY

BOOK 15 IN A SERIES OF 27

FROM 1939 TO 1965

PUBLISHED BY BOOM BOOKS

COPYRIGHT

BORN IN 1953? WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

RON WILLIAMS

Copyright Ron Williams, 2013

Smashwords Edition

First Published February 2013

BOOM BOOKS

Newcastle

MARKETING INFORMATION

This book is one in a series of 27 year-books that will cover the years from 1939 to 1965.

They are all marketed under the title:

BORN IN 1946? WHAT ELSE HAPPENED?

and similar titles.

HARD COPY BOOKS released so far include:

1939 to 1943 (War Babies)

1946 to 1953,

1959 to 1963.

The only eBooks released so far are for the years 1943, 1953, and 1963

THE AUTHOR

But after that, I realized that I really knew very little about these parents of mine. They had been born about the start of the Twentieth Century, and they died in 1970 and 1980. For their last 50 years, I was old enough to speak with a bit of sense.

I could have talked to them a lot about their lives. I could have found out about the times they lived in. But I did not. I know almost nothing about them really. Their courtship? Working in the pits? The Lock-out in the Depression? Losing their second child? Being dusted as a miner? The shootings at Rothbury? My uncles killed in the War? Love on the dole? There were hundreds, thousands of questions that I would now like to ask them. But, alas, I can’t. It’s too late.

Thus, prompted by my guilt, I resolved to write these books. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. The whole series is, to coin a modern phrase, designed to push your buttons, to make you remember and wonder at things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between generations, and foster the asking and answering of questions that should not remain unanswered.

Ron Williams is a retired teacher, mathematician, computer-man, political scientist, farmer and writer. He has a BA from Sydney, and a Masters in Social Work and a PhD in Political Science from Hawaii.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE: THIS BOOK AND SERIES

JANUARY: THOUGHTS FROM 1952

FEB: POST SCRIPT ON SAWTELL

MARCH: NO PAIN CHILDBIRTH

APRIL: HOPE IN KOREA?

MAY: HER CROWNING GLORY

JUNE: QUEEN ELIZABETHb10

JULY: PRISON IS TOUGH

AUGUST: HILLARY TALKS

SEPT: MY, HOW THINGS CHANGE

OCTOBER: POLICE ON THE BEAT

NOVEMBER: THE MELBOURNE CUP

DECEMBER: TWO BAD STORIES

PREFACE: THIS BOOK AND SERIES

This book is the fifteenth in a series of books that I aim to publish. It tells a story about a number of important or newsworthy events that happened in 1953. The series will cover each of the years from 1939 to 1965, for a total of twenty seven books, which should just about bring me to the end of my thoroughly undistinguished writing career.

I developed my interest in writing these books a few years ago at a time when my children entered their teens. My own teens started in 1947, and I started trying to remember what had happened to me then. I thought of the big events first, like Saturday afternoon at the pictures, and cricket in the back yard, and the wonderful fun of going to Maitland on the train for school each day. Then I recalled some of the not-so-good things. I was an altar boy, and that meant three or four Masses a week. I might have thought I loved God at that stage, but I really hated his Masses. And the schoolboy bullies, like Greg Farrell, and the hapless Freddie Evans. Yet, to compensate for these, there was always the beautiful, black headed, blue-sailor-suited June Brown, who I was allowed to worship from a distance.

I also thought about my parents. Most of the major events that I lived through came to mind readily. But after that, I realised that I really knew very little about these parents of mine. They had been born about the start of the Twentieth Century, and they died in 1970 and 1980. For their last 20 years, I was old enough to speak with a bit of sense. I could have talked to them a lot about their lives. I could have found out about the times they lived in. But I did not. I know almost nothing about them really. Their courtship? Working in the pits? The Lock-out in the Depression? Losing their second child? Being dusted as a miner? The shootings at Rothbury? My uncles killed in the War? There were hundreds, thousands of questions that I would now like to ask them. But, alas, I can’t. It’s too late.

Thus, prompted by my guilt, I resolved to write these books. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. In 1953, there is some coverage of international affairs, but a lot more on social events within Australia. This book, and the whole series is, to coin a modern phrase, designed to push the reader’s buttons, to make you remember and wonder at things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between generations, and foster the asking and the answering of questions that should not remain unanswered.

The sources of my material. I was born in 1934, so that I can remember well a great deal of what went on around me from 1946 onwards. But of course, the bulk of this book’s material came from research. That meant that I spent many hours in front of a computer reading electronic versions of newspapers, magazines, Hansard, Ministers’ Press releases and the like. My task was to sift out, day-by-day, those stories and events that would be of interest to the most readers. Then I supplemented these with materials from books, broadcasts, memoirs, biographies, government reports and statistics. And I talked to old-timers, one-on-one, and in organised groups, and to Baby Boomers about their recollections. People with stories to tell come out of the woodwork, and talk no end about the tragic and funny and commonplace events that have shaped their lives.

The presentation of each book. For each year covered, the end result is a collection of short Chapters on many of the topics that concerned ordinary people in that year. I think I have covered most of the major issues that people then were interested in. On the other hand, in some cases I have dwelt a little on minor frivolous matters, perhaps to the detriment of more sober considerations. Still, in the long run, this makes the book more readable, and hopefully it will convey adequately the spirit of the times.

Each of the books is mainly Sydney based, but I have been deliberately national in outlook, so that readers elsewhere will feel comfortable that I am talking about matters that affected them personally. After all, housing shortages and strikes and a tuberculosis epidemic involved all Australians, and other issues, such as problems overseas, had no State component in them. Overall, I expect I can make you wonder, remember, rage and giggle equally, no matter where you hail from.

TWO NOTES:

NOTE. Throughout this book, I rely a lot on re-producing LETTERS from the newspapers. Whenever I do this, I put the text in a different font, and indent it a little, and make the font somewhat smaller. I do not edit the text at all. That is, I do not correct spelling or grammar, and if the text gets at all garbled, I do not correct it. It’s just as it was seen in the Papers.

SECOND NOTE. The material for this book, when it comes from newspapers, is reported as it was seen at the time. If the benefit of hindsight over the years changes things, then I might record that in my Comments. The info reported thus reflects matters as they were seen in 1953.

10 HIT SONGS FROM AMERICA:

That’s Amore : Dean Martin

The Doggie in the Window : Patti Page

Side by Side : Kay Starr

Stranger in Paradise : Tony Bennett

Three Coins in a Fountain : Frank Sinatra

Young at Heart : Frank Sinatra

Your Cheatin’ Heart : Frankie Lane

Ev’rybody Loves Saturday Night : Glenn Campbell

Goodnight, Sweetheart : Calvin Carter

Rock Around the Clock : Jimmy de Knight

10 MOVIES RELEASED

Peter Pan : Cartoon

The Robe : Burton, Simmons

Here to Eternity : Clift, Lancaster

Shane : Alan Ladd

Marry a Millionaire : Monroe, Grable

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes : Monroe, Russell

Mogambo : Gable, Gardner

Salome : Rita Hayworth

Roman Holiday : Peck, Hepburn

Julius Caesar : Marlon Brando

ACADEMY AWARDS:

Best Actor : William Holden (Stalag 17)

Best Actress : Audrey Hepburn (Roman Holiday)

JANUARY: THOUGHTS FROM 1952

The world had seen a lot of tough times since the start of WWII in 1939. Firstly, there were the dreadful seven years of the wars in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. This was a period marred by thoughts and reality of death, of long-term separation from loved ones, of austerity and rationing, and of repression of freedoms for the common good.

This was followed by a period of five years, from mid-1945, for half a decade, when Australians slowly kicked the war habit. There was diminishing need for austerity, rationing could be relaxed, regulations and constraints could be lifted. The world was a better place, a safer place, but still there was the shadow of the dreadful War years haunting many lives. As well, there were the many kill-joys in high positions who had enjoyed the power that war had given them, and who stood firmly in the way of returning to normal. Thus, for example, butter rationing continued till 1949, and petrol rationing till 1950. Price controls on rents, and on most goods and services, on banking, on imports, on what-have-you, were still very evident. Still, there were fewer blackouts and no tank traps on the beaches, and it was all much, much better than war. Though, as a young lad, I did miss the searchlights at night.

The fun started about 1950, and continued for two years. After Bob Menzies got his title of Prime Minister back, the Baby Boomers took over. This horde of revellers were now having their second child, starting to build a house in the developing housing estates on the fringes of cities, and buying a car on hire purchase. Hills Hoist sales were booming, jobs were easy to get in most years, electric lawn-mowers could be afforded, and everyone by now had a 40-hour week. So life was good and getting better.

By 1953, however, there were several events that marred the situation. The Korean War had started in 1950 and was still dragging on. The war in Korea was supposedly a Civil War between North and South Korea, but was really just a trial of strength between the Capitalist US, on the one hand, and Communist China and Russia, on the other. The battle-lines had moved south, then moved north, up to the border with China. About that time, the US Commander, Douglas McArthur was keen to press on and take on the full might of the Chinese and Russian States. But that would have involved another world war. So, when he persisted, he was sacked by President Truman, and sent home to America. Meanwhile the fighting continued, and the battle-lines now settled around the 38th Parallel, near the middle of the Korean peninsula. Negotiations between the interested parties, and with the UN, were always going on, but no one was at all serious about these, and there was no hope that peace might break out soon.

Politically, Prime Minster Bob Menzies was still trying to scare the nation with his never-ending campaign against Communism, and had tried to outlaw that Party. In 1951 he held a national referendum on the matter, but it failed. At the same time, all young men of 18 years of age were now being conscripted into National Service, for 14 weeks in the first year, and for follow-up periods over the next three years. This was all part of the Red menace theme that Menzies continued to push.

The most immediate problem for most people was that, right from the start of 1952, the national economy had started to go downhill. Then the Treasurer, Arthur Fadden, had introduced measures on a large scale that tried to stop the nation from spending so much, and actually cut off access to many goods that he deemed luxuries. The measures were extremely unpopular. As the year progressed, inflation appeared to boom, up to an annual rate of 20 per cent, and for a few months everyone was really worried. Then in October, the quarterly figure for inflation came in at 6 per cent, and so, with a sigh of relief, things got back to normal.

In December 1952, Fadden make an important speech, in the Christmas spirit, in which he said that things were on the improve, and that next year the nation would become its old, prosperous self. Good times were just around the corner. Only the very gullible took any notice of him. Granted, the wheat crop had been