downunder update

A leading Aboriginal activist in the civil liberties movement of the 1960s, poet, educator, humanitarian, writer and artist, Oodgeroo Noonuccal is recognised as the first successful writer of Aboriginal descent. Her personal, cultural and political writings are legendary in Australian literature, In 1970, Oodgeroo (under the name Kathleen Walker) was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) for services to the community. She returned the honour, with these words, in 1987.

“‘Since 1970 I have lived in the hope that the parliaments of England and Australia would confer and attempt to rectify the terrible damage done to the Australian Aborigines. The forbidding us our tribal language, the murders, the poisoning, the scalping, the denial of land custodianship, especially our spiritual sacred sites, the destruction of our sacred places especially our Bora Grounds

Next year, 1988, to me marks 200 years of rape and carnage, all these terrible things that the Aboriginal tribes of Australia have suffered without any recognition even of admitted guilt from the parliaments of England.

From the Aboriginal point of view, what is there to celebrate? I have therefore decided that as a protest against what the Bicentenary ‘Celebrations’ stand for, I can no longer, with a clear conscience, accept the English honour of the MBE and will be returning it to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England “.

During the later years of her life, Oodgeroo lived on Stradbroke Island, Queensland where she taught all children traditional Aboriginal customs and values. She died there in 1993.

Municipal Gum

Gumtree in the city street,
Hard bitumen around your feet,
Rather you should be
In the cool world of leafy forest halls
And wild bird calls
Here you seems to me
Like that poor cart-horse
Castrated, broken, a thing wronged,
Strapped and buckled, its hell prolonged,
Whose hung head and listless mien express
Its hopelessness.
Municipal gum, it is dolorous
To see you thus
Set in your black grass of bitumen–
O fellow citizen,
What have they done to us?

Steve Irwin, better known as the “Crocodile Hunter” was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland, shooting a segment for a series called “Ocean’s Deadliest” when he swam too close to one of the stingrays.

Irwin showed for his enthusiasm for wildlife in his television first broadcast in Australia in 1992. The programme was picked up by the Discovery network, catapulting Irwin to international celebrity.

He was known for his bravado with wild creatures and making zoology (crocodiles in particular) popular, although there were many complaints from zooologists and wild life protection groups about his habit of getting up close to wild animals. He also made Australian English acceptable, if not fashionable.

He rode his image into a feature film, 2002’s “The Crocodile Hunters: Collision Course” and developed the wildlife park that his parents opened, Australia Zoo, into a major tourist attraction.

The trouble with nude dancing is that not everything stops when the music stops. Robert Helpmann Every human society practices dance as a celebration of the emotional, mental, and physical human self.

If not for the strength and skill of the male dancer, ballet would not have moved from court entertainment to popular art form and found its place in the hearts of audiences today.

The greatest Australian dancer was Robert Helpmann. Born in South Australia in 1909, Helpmann decided to take up the world of dance at an early age and kept dancing until just before his death. He left for London in 1932 and for more than thirty years worked in England in dance, theatre and film. One highlight of his youthful career was the dazzling partnership with Dame Margot Fonteyn.

Helpmann returned to Australia to perform many times. In 1965 he took up the coveted post of artistic director of the Australian Ballet, sharing the position with Peggy van Praagh for ten years.

Among his choreographic works Helpmann is remembered for his first - Comus, created for the Vic-Wells (later Sadlers Wells) Ballet. In Australia he produced Display (1964), the Japanese-inspired Yugen (1965), Sun Music (1968) and Perisynthyon (1974). With Rudolf Nureyev he directed a film version of the ballet Don Quixote. Whatever works Helpmann created were always based on his philosophy that all art should be entertaining.

The Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards are named in honour of Sir Robert, and to commemorate his memory and achievements, were established by the Australian Entertainment Industry Association (AEIA) to recognise, celebrate and promote our entertainment industry, similar to the Tony Awards on Broadway and the Olivier Awards in London.

The Awards annually recognises distinguished artistic achievement and excellence in the many disciplines of Australia’s vibrant live performing arts sectors, including musical theatre, contemporary music, opera, classical music, dance and physical theatre.