Sunday, January 12, 2014

CARRY ON UP THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE


Simon Ephemera Collection 
When   this   pamphlet  was  issued  for   the All-Australian  Exhibition  in  1951  it  provided a  table of  outstanding  events  since  European  settlement.

The  list   read : 1788, First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay;1797, Merino sheep introduced ; 1808, Deposition of Governor Bligh ; 1851, First  discovery of payable  gold in Australia; 1854, Southern Cross flag flown for  first time at Eureka Stockade , Ballarat; 1885, Australia's first taste of war-contingent sent to Sudan ;1899, Troops sent to Boer War in South Africa.


 1900 , Commonwealth of Australia proclaimed ; 1901, The first Commonwealth Parliament  opened  in Melbourne in May, 1901, by the Duke of Cornwall and York, later  King George  V; 1914, Australia  at war with Germany ; 1915, Landing at  Gallipoli.

1918, War ended. Population reached  5,000,000; 1919, Ross and Keith Smith made  first flight from Britain ; 1921 ,Commonwealth received  mandate  for New Guinea  ;1926, Population reached  6,000,000 ; 1927,The Duke of  York, now George V1 , opened the  first the first session of  parliament  held in in Canberra ; 1928, Kingsford Smith  and Ulm made first trans-Pacific flight ; 1932, Sydney harbour Bridge opened ; 1934, Scott and Black flew  from Britain in record  of 71 hours ; 1935, First regular England-Australia  air mail ;1937-8, New South Wales sesqui-centenary ; 1938 , Australian militia  forces raised to 70,000 ; 1939,War with Germany ; 1940 , First Foreign Minister  to Commonwealth  arrived   from USA . Population  reached  7,000,000.

1941, War with Japan ; 1944, Australia-New Zealand  pact signed  at Canberra  ; 1945, Defeat of Germany (May ),and of Japan  ( August). Australia announced large scale immigration plan.  Captain Cook  Graving Dock opened by the Duke of Gloucester, then Governor-General  of  the Commonwealth ; 1946, Immigration agreements  signed with  Britain. Australian Minister, Norman Makin , made first President of the  Security Council of United Nations ; 1947, Mr W. J. McKell appointed Governor-General of the Commonwealth  in succession to H.R.H. the Duke of  Gloucester .

1948, Australian nationality , as distinct from British nationality, created.The first All-Australian  car, the Holden, marketed in Australia. Dr  H. V. Evatt, Minister for External Affairs , elected  Chairman  of  the United Nations Organisation; 1949, HMAS  Sydney, Australia's first aircraft carrier , joined the Royal Australian Navy . First sod  turned in the Snowy River Dam project.  Population reached  8,000,000. R.G.Menzies became  Prime Minister; 1950 , Australian Navy, Army and Air Forces  fighting in Korea . Record wool  cheque  of  288,628,911 pound.

The 8pp catalogue  and guide  opens with   lines  from Dorothy Mackellar's "My Country " and strangely includes  a   photograph  of  prominent  British actor , Tommy  Trinder , in the  Pylon  Studio.  Wonder  of  wonders, souvenirs  sold  were  all   Australian-made .

And if you wanted to rest while  walking up the various  levels , you  could   read  the  latest  copy  of  the   Australian  Women's  Weekly ... [Our  troops  in Vietnam  were   also  given  this  same  dubious  treat , instead  of  eyeballing   free copies of the saucy Kings Cross Whisper ,  as  will be revealed  in  the ongoing  " Big Jim" Bowditch  biography .]

On  the walls between the  209   and   251  feet level  were original  cartoon strips  by  black and white artists depicting with subtlety and  humour every shade  of the Australian  character. There  were also photographs covering theatre , concert  and   champions of  the  Australian turf.

At  300 feet above the   harbour, on the rooftop recreational   area,  the flat roof added during  the  war to carry an ack-ack gun, you could  spy out the city with giant Japanese binoculars  captured  from  Japanese   naval vessels  near  Nagasaki .  The products of the nation were  also covered-chocolates, wine, minerals , Jantzen sportswear, carpets , forestry , Holden cars .