September, 1933. Australia was still slowly creeping away from the awful events of the Great Depression, an economic nightmare that shrouded the globe. Australian unemployment had recently been as high as 32 per cent of the adult workforce. The certainties of life had been turned upside down. It was a different Australia back then, pre-World War II. The White Australia immigration policy was in place to keep the ‘British’ character of Australia safe. We were an outpost of the Empire. A different Australia. Oh, and a new publication began. The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Ninety years ago. Well, since then Australia and have done quite all right, thank you very much, through thick and thin. And along the way there’s been something that’s demonstrated the uniqueness of the Australian character – how we communicate with each other and to the world, our own unique way with words. From the ‘flash’ language
