Oz Spots: A bagful of goodies!

Betty Friedan set up a modern day movement for women everywhere!

“Ageing didn’t really interest me because I was not interested in yucky age. It’s dull and boring.” These words come from the lips of Betty Friedan whose book, The Feminine Mystique in 1963, launched the modern women’s movement in America.

In no time at all, the craze had spread internationally.

“Feminist Betty Friedan said she was someone who would continue to speak out for people’s choice, needs and dignity. Her sense of optimism and passion for realistic change is still refreshing; her achievements are remarkable.”

At 73, a generation later, she has written The Fountain of Age, which is expected to become “the liberation call” to seniors everywhere.

In with interview in Australian Magazine, Friedan demolished myth after myth about ageing. “We’re just poised on the verge of a breakthrough about age.”

Friedan was born in 1921. Died in 2006.

<< Frank Morris. LifeStyle magazine, Baldwin Care Group, Vol 1, No. 2.

Darwin: It was a damaging cyclone

THE DEVASTION AFTER DARWIN’S CYCLONE TRACY STRUCK IN 1974 HAD TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED. THE RESULT WAS THE WORST NATURAL DISASTER AUSTRALIA HAD EVER EXPERIENCED. THE STATISTICS TELL THE STORY: WINDS OF UP TO 250 KILOMETRES WERE ESTIMATED TO HIT THE CITY. TOTAL DAMAGE SOARED TO $1000 MILLION. 65 PEOPLE WERE KILLED. ABOUT 26,000 PEOPLE HAD TO BE EVACUATED. 16 PEOPLE WERE LOST AT SEA; OVER 90 PER CENT OF ALL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY WERE SERIOUSLY DAMAGED. MAJOR GENERAL ALAN STRETTON WAS CALLED IN, AND THE RESCUE AND EVACATION WAS A SUPERB EXAMPLE OF EFFICENCY. – FM.

“HE’S DEAD” 

Newspaper posters are excellent in getting the message over in a few seconds. “HE’S DEAD” - these two words stopped passing traffic and people in their tracks; and they wept. Everybody knew who it was. The classic poster from 1932 stands out loud and clear. And it wasn’t some potentate or famous actor. Rather, it was a great racehorse that had captured the heart of a nation - Phar Lap. Regaled in chunky, black wooden type, the poster’s impact was immediate. 

In a way, Phar Lap represented the downtrodden, the underdog. The Great Depression was partly to blame. There were many people  who saved their shillings and pence just to bet on the mighty Phar Lap. He was a trier and succeeded.

All passers-by stopped and shed a tear. A great deal has been about written Phar Lap’s life. The final stage of Phar Lap’s demise after he won, in record time, the Aqua Caliente Handicap in Mexico; was a majestic triumph. Back in Sydney, the Australian Prime Minister, Joe Lyons, called it a “great tragedy”. Australians right across the board responded. – FM.

Betty Friedan: “The Feminine Mystique”