The Digger No.15 April 1973

NSW will give police emergency powers, and the magistrates the final say, over counter-culture publications.

A barrister says: “ This bill has very little to do with in­ decency . . . it is intended to introduce conformity o f view­ point in the community.” — Page 1 Harvard doctor Andrew Weil wrote a book, The Natural M ind. . . It says all ills are in your mind, doctors are a waste, getting high is great, that you don’ t need dope once you’ ve learned to think stoned, and that thinking stoned is better than thinking straight. — Page 7 Also: Beatrice Faust on breast surgery; a rap from a black gin; a report from the Sydney District Conference of the Communist Party of Australia; a guide to cheap food; nurses; a folk history o f Sydney’ s junkie scene; and some other things you might want to know, especially if you have taken out a subscription.

ASKIN KICKS JURIES OUT OF PORN COURT STONE T H E D O C T O R ; DRUG YOURSELF

and after a while you won’t need either N U R SIN G GRIEVANCES R E-SIZIN G BREASTS

BLANK PAGE FOR ISSUU VERSION ONLY

N S W w ill p ass a “ b u st a n y th in g ” p u b lica tio n s law.

A t th e S y d n ey D is tr ic t C o n fe re n c e:

For starters: Screw yourself, G riffith s Kicking the porn can is On again, this time in NSW: the hob-nailed b oot is on the fo o t o f Mr. Griffiths, Chief Secretary o f Askin’ s Liberal government. A proposed Indecent and Restricted Publications Act, iif passed, will give Griffiths the power to get heavy leather into publishers, distributors and sellers o f a much wider range o f printed matter.

Victorian Chief Secretary Mea­ gher’ s much-lampooned seizing o f 72 tons o f porn, and the DLP’ s campaign in the last Federal elections show that the p om issue isn’ t much o f a vote-getter. But opposition to this kind o f censorship line is not strong. Those who hold up the NSW Labor party as a liberator can for­ get it: this week caucus, under Party Leader Hills, voted 19 to 12 against opposing the bill. They d o have 19 amendments. The Chief Secretary has said he will accept no amend­ ments.

The old Obscene and Indecent Publications A ct provides fo r trial by jury: the lengthiness o f this pro­ cess means there’s a backlog o f about 400 charges against printers, pub­ lishers and distributors. Convictions on the cases heard have been rela­ tively few, The proposed bill drops the old terms “ obscenity” and “ tending to deprave and corrupt” and substitutes “ indecent” , a word the A ct does not define and which invokes that w oolly old bugbear o f the libertarian and the pom-pusher, comm unity stan­ dards. The act specifically states, in section 22b, that “ evidence direct­ ed towards establishing contem por­ ary standards is n o t admissible. " Barrister Jimmy Staples, explain­ ing the contents o f the bill at a public meeting last Sunday night in Sydney, said, “ This bill has very little to d o with indecency . . . it is

CPA votes for dem ocracy, against Franco

intended to introduce conform ity o f viewpoint in the com m unity.”

The police score much wider powers o f search and entry: they may seize articles suspected o f being in­ decent, and can break down doors and call on the aid o f “ assistants” in forcing entry. N o warrant is re­ quired for police to seize material displayed in a public place. Entire stocks o f material may be seized and kept: there’ s no onus on police to notify an owner about his goods.

The Sydney District Conference o f the Communist Party has asked the National Com m ittee fo r a radical change in the party's p o w er structure.

The proposals from the conference called fo r the frequent election o f branch delegates, who can be dismissed by their branch if they fail to accede to their constituents' instructions. Instant recall means that membership o f com m ittees should be changed if members crossed their rank-and-file on specific issues.

The proposal came from the Glebe branch, which includes many younger and recently-joined members o f the Communist Party o f Australia. I t could make the CPA m ore participatory than the Labor Party, the Australia Party and m ost local communes.

The State Advisory Committee on Publications has no teeth as any sort o f watch-dog for the public, since the proposed legislation does not oblige the Chief Secretary to get a majority report from the Committee — a minority recommendation will do. Griffiths can’ t lose. Any pub­ lication this Committee declares re­ stricted can’ t be sold to people under 18 dr displayed publicly.

Shops that sell dildos, ticklers and books wrapped in cellophane are also legislated against in the new bill. Their wares must not be visible to anyone w h o hasn’ t asked to see them.

Last Sunday’s public meeting attracted supporters in porn publi­ shers, academics, printers, booksellers, wom en’ s liberationists, anarchists, Camp Inc., and others eager to form a united front against the proposed legislation.

Battle plans include street actions; the publication o f a special edition o f Tharunka (University o f NSW newspaper) o f which at least 100 people will agree to be editors and publishers; and a Festival o f Indec­ ency, both political and sexual.

Speaker Wendy Bacon urged against campaigning respectably, since the campaign revolves round differing no­ tions o f respectability.

O u t o f T h e B lack H o le, o u t o f th e red . . .

Digger now conies m onthly Making T he D igger has the taste o f an epic, maniac party, involving, as it does, a lot o f stoned people chatting up strangers, and continual cooking. The cycle o f rhythm has been fortnightly. There’s ten days o f hustling stories, writing, and running, winding down into a 48-hour binge o f typesetting, laying-out, and thinking up headlines, when no one’s allowed to sleep, and everyone catches a sight o f our totem image. The Black Hole.

A fortnight agd we emerged from The Black Hole experience, fought our way through a scrum o f credi­ tors, and discovered the m oney run dry. Sales are firm, advertisers are emerging, but the pressure is . . . unrewarding . . .

With this issue, The Digger be­ comes a monthly. Fortnightly pro­ duction meant that we had two weeks’ overhead loaded onto each paper, and by going monthly, we can get rid o f a lot o f costs. Necessity is a good reason to do this.

If y ou ’ ve got a bit o f spare cash, we can use it. We’ re looking for 40 people to loan us $100 each, this month.

Not only will the change help us crawl out o f the hole o f our debts, but it will liberate us from The Black Hole, and give us a chance to im­ prove The Digger. We’re critical o f the paper, but every criticism wilted in the face o f lack o f time and shortage o f staff; we can be pickier now, about what we print, and make the paper better-looking. We may be able to put in more pages, and use more color.

While we’re on that, there’ s a cou pon at the end o f this article, If you care either way, you could tick the appropriate b ox , and send it to “ Format” , The Digger, P. O. Box 77, Carlton, V ic., 3053. Or you could write us a letter about it.

The monthly D igger should be:

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broadsheet tabloid

We’ d like comments about the content o f the paper too.

which we want you to send in. We argue a bit about the broadsheet format here.

Would you like to keep it, or should we use smaller pages?

ASIO (Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation) leaves m ost o f the serious spying to JIO (“ strategic intelligence” ) and ASIS (“ dirty tricks” ). It arranged political coups for Menzies (The Petrov Affair) and, since the beginning o f Holt’ s Vietnam adventure, has built a budget by snooping on left-wingers (“ subversives” ). ASIO also trifles with friendly nations (planting a spy in the Jap. Embassy), and screens migrants.

ASIO’ s success in this latter work has made Australia the world base for the right-wing Balkan terrorists. The former Attorney-General, Ivor Greenwood, used to deny strenuously that the Ustashi was in Australia, and in March he complained bitterly while 2,000 right-wingers waved placards outside Parliament in Canberra, one o f which rer»d: “ Up Croatia, G od, and Ivor Greenwood” .

Greenwood for once wasn’ t complaining about demonstrators. He was complaining about the new A ttorn eyGeneral, Labor’ s Lionel Murphy, who on Friday, March 16, busted ASIO’s office in St. Kilda R oad, Melbourne.

Murphy wanted info, on the Croatians, to stop a bruited assassination plot against the visiting Yugoslav Prime Minister. The Liberals had given ASIO a law that seemed to say that its Director-General, Barbour, didn’ t have to tell Murphy everyth in g. . .

11 (sexual cystitis), and no. 14 (ny­ lon pants & genital infections), we've printed information about diseases affecting genitals.

A lso vide McCosmic's cartoon, this issue„ Address letters/telegrams to: The Digger, P.O. B o x 77, Carlton, Vic., 3053

Experienced May I congratulate you on your coverage “ Guide to Contraception” (Digger No. 14, March 24). I have never read better and seen few to equal it.

I have only recently started to buy your paper, but articles such as this are a credit to you and I intend to remain one o f your loyal supporters.

As a new reader I am wondering whether you have done anything similar on VD, which appears to be occupying the vigorous attention o f the health authorities at the moment.

I believe much more could be done about prevention rather than all this emphasis on treatment.

What I had in mind was an expose along the lines o f you r contraception story, so may I illustrate from a hygiene routine that I have follow ed for many years with satisfactory results: 1. after intercourse — immediate

This expose so shocked the small pro-M oscow wing o f the CPA that they could only applaud the Spanish comrade with the rest, although in a confused way.

On the second day o f the con­ ference, item 15 on the agenda was a resolution: “ Solidarity with the Spanish Democratic Forces.”

As soon as this item was brought A t this conference, 30 minutes before the conference, a number o f were set aside for a speech by participants rose to amend the origi­ Manuel Azcarate, a leading figure in nal resolution. Interestingly enough, the Spanish Communist Party. One the amendment condemning the could be forgiven for thinking that establishment o f diplomatic relations his speech would simply be a ritual with Spain by “ socialist” countries, with formal appeals for solidarity, was moved by an industrial worker expressions o f gratitude for hospital­ o f many years standing in the CP ity, etc. and seconded by one o f the young This was not to be, for Sr. turks o f w hom Jill Joliffe spoke Azcarate and his party, like the (Digger no. 11). The conference en­ CPA, are becoming more and more thusiastically supported the amend­ critical o f the conservative and ment but the pro-Moscow group counter-revolutionary postures o f asked that we simply demand an the so-called socialist countries. 'In explanation from the “ fraternal his speech, Sr. Azcarate attacked parties in the socialist countries.” what became, in the fifties, the Jeering and hissing met this sugges­ cornerstone o f conservative Stalinist tion, moved as it was by people who policies: the notion o f peaceful co ­ had supported the invasion o f Czech­ existence. He pointed out that while oslovakia. no-one could disagree with the need An amendment was then com ­ to avoid nuclear war between the posed, first, to protest the diplomatic USSR and the USA, in fact, this was now how the concept o f “ peaceful recognition o f Spain by Poland and the GDR, and, second, to demand co-existence” was seen — rather, it an explanation o f this event. was interpreted as an acceptance From the back o f the conference o f the status quo — and in Spain strode Laurie Aarons, national sec­ this means an acceptance o f the retary o f the CP — a noticeable fascist regime o f Franco. hush fell on the conference which Many “ socialist” countries had was beginning to degenerate into a openly begun to accept such a status quo, including the GDR (East l screaming match between the proM oscow m ob and the rest In an Germany), and Poland, w ho recently emotional and rousing speech, Aarons established diplomatic relations with denounced the actions o f the “ socia­ Spain. list” countries. He went on to claim For instance, he continued, in that, as far as he was concerned, no a magazine published in the GDR explanation was necessary from called Neues Deutschland, a potted these countries . . . “ we know why biography o f Franco appears. No they d o such things: because their reference is made to the Spanish interpretation of ‘peaceful c o ­ Civil War — simply that Franco existence’ reduces to an acceptance had a “ distinguished military career” o f the status qu o” — strong words (sic!) and “ became Head o f State from a ‘ fraternal’ party! o f Spain in 1939” — they forgot to After he closed, both young turki add “ over the corpses o f thousands and older party members applauded o f communists and republican mili­ vigorously. tants.”

The Conference also discussed aspects o f the Women's M ovem ent, Workers' Control, arid relations with the “ socialist” countries.

David" McKnight was a participant at the conference and filed the following report. — M Z.

urination using urine to wash penis; 2. wash well with soap and water with particular attention to hair; 3. wash ou t with a weak solution o f Condy’ s Crystals (previously used a large glass male syringe but find that today a 20ce. disposable plastic [re-usable] syringe achieves the same re­ sult, by holding eye o f penis firmly against the syringe.

4. coat head o f penis with anti­ septic cream.

Now all o f this may be a mixture o f half-truths, but as I say it has worked for me over the years and surely at 60 years o f age I cannot put it all down to luck.

Phillip M. Conroy, North Fitzroy.

We can't vouch fo r Conroy's p ro­ cedure. In Issues no. 3 (genital herpes), no. 4 (Monilia & Tricho­ monas), no. 5 (genital warts), no. 10 (marijuana & genital infections), no.

H igh on Ji We, at the Divine Light Mission, have just read your latest issue and would like to offer the following comments. We are glad to see that you have heard o f Guru Maharaj Ji and would like to invite you to com e to our Melbourne centre and see what’ s happening fo r yourself. Most o f what you said was and is correct.

The smiling gentleman with the in­ credible message to the tripping dope fiend is exactly the way it is. But what isn’ t happening is the last few squares; anyone that has received this incredible and priceless Know­ ledge and is using it (there’ s no use holding a cap o f acid in your hand), is experiencing what can only be described as euphoric bliss.

If any dope takers, cartoonists, writers, readers, editors or others would like to know where all trips lead to, the address o f Guru Maharaj Ji’ s centre in Melbourne is 175 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Sydney Ashram is at 453 Darling Street, Balmain. All people regardless o f past or present opinions are cordially invited to see with th_eir ow n eyes

and pick up with their ow n conscious­ nesses the good vibes that manifest themselves internally and externally, upon taking this incredible Know­ ledge. This Knowledge is for every­ one and is guaranteed to give the user the most terrific and permanent cosmic blast they have ever experienc­ ed.

Personally, I’ve smoked a lot o f dope and DMT, eaten a lot o f acid and mushrooms and smoked tobacco and drunk alcohol AND would like to say that this Knowledge is un­ doubtedly the big one that we’ve all been looking for but haven’ t found.

In short, you ’ ve tried alcohol, dope, acid and meditation, and now it is time to try Guru Maharaj Ji’ s Sacred Knowledge.

And as Guru Maharaj Ji says “ If this Knowledge works, respect me, if it doesn’ t, disrespect me” and we ask you what could be fairer than that.

Yours remaining in Bliss at the Feet o f the Giver, Derek Harper.

Free the people There has been a comm ittee set up in New South Wales on South Vietnam’ s political prisoners. It is called the ‘ Freedom for Political

Prisoners in South Vietnam’ , and can be contacted C /o Marie Flood, 66 Malcolm Street, Erskineville, NSW. A demonstration has been called

by Sydney and Melbourne for Sun­ day, March 31st at the South Viet­ namese Embassy in Canberra. Buses will leave from Sydney on the Satur­ day morning and anybody interested should contact the Committee, or AICD, 232 Castlereagh Street, Sydney; phone: 26.1701.

A vigil will be held on the steps at the Sydney Town Hall from sunset Friday, March 23rd to sunset Satur­ day, March 24th; Con Son ‘ Tiger Cages’ will be set up to graphically illustrate to people the nature o f torture that freedom fighters are subjected to under the Thieu regime.

On the subject o f US bases — a committee is being set up in the near future o f which Ken M cLeod o f AICD and myself are convenors. A t the moment we are planning to call a public meeting (date undecided) to set up a committee and plan a campaign against Omega and all foreign military bases. A nyone inter­ ested can contact me at P. O. Box 85, Newtown, NSW, 2042.

Thirdly, the Draft Resisters’ Union (Sydney), now disbanded due to the victory o f the ALP at the elections, contained a number o f anti-war and social activists. A number o f these people have com e together with other interested people to form the Radical

Action Group. We are a socail politi­ cal group concerned with both local urban action (expressways, evictions, high rents, etc.), and national issues (US bases, political prisoners, etc.).

Peter Galvin, Newtown, NSW.

Acres goddam ned Remember me? “ Thum offers his acres” ? Well, I offered all m y acres, all the people came and brought the city, or tried to make one out o f my place, then finally one sunny day, the drug squad came. Seven o f ’em got my shitty little plot o f 30 plants and a couple o f numbers.

T o cut the story short, Fve sold just about everything.

I think the drug squad is far-outof-hand, with phony search warrants they just fill in as needed. They hassle young girls . . . y ou got a shithouse government . . . blind and de­ caying laws . . . the back o f the truck sure is bumpy . . .

Magic Thum on the Run, Berkshire Forest, B exby, England.

April

April

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The Digger accepts news, feat­ ures, artwork or photographs from contributors.

Send material with a stamped SAE if you want it back, to The Digger, P.O. Box 77, Carlton, 3053.

The Digger is a member o f the Underground Press Syndicate (UPS).

th e seco n d

in sta llm en t o f o u r s to r y

is tru n ca ted , and

H ow ju n k makes the streets in Sydney Several people said they ’d tell our reporter what they knew about the life and murder o f Janni O ’Truba, a Sydney heroin dealer, if he’d promise to let them see the copy before it went to print. They were essential sources, so our reporter made a deal.

The first installment, which appeared in T he D ig g er no. 14, was okay by them. It gave the details o f the finding o f Janni’s body, shot three times in the head, and discussed the strong allegations that the dope he was holding the night he was killed came through “ the police connection” .

The second installment was about Janni’s life: his family; nis schooling; his travels; his way with friends and lovers; his habit and how hie handled it.

Our reporter was in Melbourne when he wrote that, and couldn’t take the copy to the sources personally. So he sent it up to the Sydney office.

Sydney office rang last weekend, and said the sources had not liked the story. “ It was too personal.”

It turned out that there was one section that they felt cool about: the “ Folk History” section w e’re printing in this edition. The rest o f the second installment is held in abeyance until our reporter can sort it out with the people involved.

Such is the nature o f the deal.

Most o f the junkies I met on this job were between 17 and 21. The oldest was 25. The scene is expand­ ing. “ I’ve seen it mushroom,” said the 25-Y-O. “ . . . you can see about 80 heads hanging around the Village [at King’s Cross] to score . . . Before you could only score in the Village, at the Beecham, Witty’ s — now it’s moved out o f the city, into the suburbs. Like I only know my own area, but now, you can score at the Can (Manly), Mona Vale, Curly, even up the Peninsula, Palm Beach, Newport.”

Heroin is imported illicitly into Australia. It is becoming the most important drug to junkies here. But most o f the junkies began shooting dope made by ethical drug companies, and obtained by theft or fraud.

Junkies w ho were scoring as long ago as 1964 or ’ 65 recall buying

single caps o f morphine sulphate in Whitty’ s wine bar, Taylor Square, for $8. Some chemists were leaking it; an English guy told me he could score caps in those days for 50 cents apiece, in bulk deals.

There wasn’ t much publicity, and there wasn’ t much demand.

The newspapers started advertising shooting shit about 1968, when the southside surfies started making the scene in the Cross. The English guy says, “ they were completely un­ interested in getting pissed anymore, and you knew they were going to be pulled into it.” Demand went up, prices went up, the epidemic o f chemist breakings began. As .the breakings were publicised, the trend accelerated.

The police response was to land heavily on “ the drug scene” — which

meant a lot o f grass and acid dealers were busted. One effect o f police policy was that it became compara­ tively easier to score some shooting shit from a novice thief than to score smoking shit or trips through the disrupted channels.

The kids who grew into the head scene during that spate o f publicity, petty theft and police hassle don ’ t make the same moralising distinction between “ hard” and “ soft” drugs that some older heads make. * Drugs are time machines, whether they are administered in pubs with bells at 10 o ’ clock, or in flats where you wait 10 hours for the connection to show up with the bag. Even when the drugs involved are “ addictive” , as morphine and heroin, physeptone and pethadine definitely are, the user is probably more dependent on the social contact and the time structure than the drug itself. In any event, the supply o f opiate drugs, like those mentioned above, was erratic . . . and people whose time machine involved syringes (’ fits) and needles (picks) couldn’ t be choosey all the time.

Fortunately you can shoot almost anything liquid. I’ve seen a guy who was a steady speed-shooter run out o f dope, and begin hitting up with icewater. “ A bit o f a thump” , he told me.

A pusher o f grass/acid I know says: “ I’d hate to be a junkie in Sydney with a habit,” meaning that someone w ho was actually addicted to «opiates \ would have to hustle Most o f his friends w ho shot up heroin (or smack, as we say) pieced out lean times with speed, or the smorgasbord that comes out o f chemists’ shops in pillow-cases.

In January, 1971, Liberal govern­ ments in Victoria and NSW brought in laws that made it more difficult to steal dope from chemists’ .This was a superb piece o f social engineering, which had a remarkable effect on the junkie scene.

A pusher o f heroin I know says: “ Not much shit is coming out o f chemists’ nowadays — it’ s moving over more to heroin. The legislation the government brought in has a lot to do with it. After the safes came in, it made a difference.”

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Existing subscriptions will be extended to include 26 issues.

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Like what? “ Well, it went over to armed robbery, it got into a better class o f safe job . Janni [O ’Truba] told me it took him about five minutes to get into the new safes . . . but there’ s another thing, you see five ou t o f six chemists will hold only minimum stocks o f deedees [drugs o f depen­ dence] . . . one chemist in each area will hold the large amount, like for a national emergency, like when the Earthquake happens . . . “ Y ou bust a shop, y ou ’re likely to get fuck all, or maybe — walk out with a suitcase full. Some guys were telling me they opened a place up a little while back, and got about $3,000 worth in the one bust — but that’ s the exception . . . you might be taking the risk for a few hun­ dred dollars worth.”

Besides increasing the demand for heroin, the change in technique for acquiring chemist dope brought the mild young junkies o f Sydney’ s north shore into closer affiliation with an­ other sub-culture — the hoons. Hoons are kids w ho were into pranks and busts before they were into dope; in the good old days, they’ d have stuck to smash and grabs for window mer­ chandise: they wouldn’ t have had connections to sell shooting shit.

Flogging razor blades in pubs was more their style. But hoons dig aggro, cars, weapons; they’re the sort o f friends you want with you if you go in the front door o f an open shop instead o f in the back door o f a closed one.

The new contacts remained opened as a few mild junkies and hoons went to jail, together, and the wave o f armed robberies o f chemists’ tapered off. Yes sir folks, they’ d dealt firmly with the drug problem one more time.

Even the guy I know w ho deals heroin was embarrassed at the results. “ I’ve noticed they’re getting younger, and there are more o f them. It’ s . . . a pity really. I don ’ t believe a- guy should start shooting shit until . i , oh, 18 plus — if he’ s had a bit o f experience, you know, he’s got more o f a chance o f getting o f f it. But these young ones — they haven’ t experienced much life, only shit.” And fewer drug store smorgasbords, too; what’ s

there to be scored is No. 3 heroin, “ rocks” , low grade Asian smack.

Smack is produced by heating equal parts o f morphine and acetic anhydride for six hours, to produce diacetylmorphine (heroin), and re­ lated products. Some impurities are precipitated with water and chloro­ form , and then the solution is drained o ff, and the crude heroin is precipitated from it with sodium carbonate. The precipitate is treated with alcohol and charcoal, and the result is “ rocks” . They are clumps or granules o f 30% to 60% pure heroin, o f varying color. This is the shit sold locally in Asia, and available on the street in Hong Kong and Penang, iunong other places.

Converting rocks to “ No. 4” , the fine white 90% or better heroin powder for sale to v anks, involves a Complicated, expensive process, which sometimes blows up in the laboratory.

In Penang, they package rocks in ounce or half-ounce lots, in a sealed plastic bag. The weights are never exact, perhaps they’re sloppy but perhaps the differences can be ex­ plained by “ tax” . Like most dealers working fo r their habit, O’ Truba knew how to open a bag, tax it, and reseal it. Y ou have to get an iron to the proper heat, no hotter, and iron the flap o f the bag between two pieces o f brown paper. “ Y ou can tell if a bag has been resealed more than, say, three times . . . the plastic gets brittle, there’ s no flex to it.”

South o f the Harbour in Sydney, there seem to be a few guys w h o’ve organised runs into the country.

Theirs are small, uncriminal opera­ tions, a rpogroooion from smuggling hash and grass. When our Customs Department toughened up* the bulk­ ier type o f gear seemed less sensible to bring in on body scams than the more com pact value o f smack.

A northside dealer says, “ I don ’ t hear o f many people bringing it back into the country. The greater per­ centage o f shit comes in through the wharves, through the Chinese.”

A few years ago, you might score a half-ounce from an oriental seaman for $90. They were only earning $40 a month at sea. But nowadays, you could pay $300, $350 for a bag.

“ There’ s more shit com ing in, but it’ s got to go around to more people . . . it always seems to be here, but there’s always a fluctuating supply.”

Small dealers are having difficulty lately. “ Now it’ s so hard to line up a ping fo r shit, because the only time they com e undone is through white guys.” I wondered if Sydney’ s heavier crims were hogging the waterfront connections, because*of my interest in political econom y, and recent developments in the city’ s smack scene. I sent a message through a friend, who came back to say, “ my friend said to tell you he’ s sorry he can’ t talk to y ou .”

Smack is usually dealt on the street (or in t5e pub, car, or your own fiat) in double-oh gelatin ,epos, at a going price o f $30. Delaers crush up the rocks, stuff the caps themselves and some deals are better than others.

Rocks can’ t be cut with talc, lactose, or the other stuff used to adulterate No. 4 heroin powder, al­ though talc is sold as smack some­ times in Sydney.

Paul Fitzgerald, a med. student who lives at Darlinghurst drug re­ ferral centre, says, “ We had a guy in here the other day w h o’d shot up heroin that looked like it had been cut with plaster o f paris. He was laying over there with his heart doing a hundred and fifty, and his blood pressure was just up like a rocket.”

Another client had apparently been dealt shit cut with Ajax, the foaming cleanser. It turned blue in the spoon.

Readers are advised that heroin is often sold in Australia in an impure form that can be dangerous to health.

It is illegal to possess, traffic in, or use heroin. Heroin is a habit-forming drug, which produces a tolerance, so that increasing amounts are necessary to get the blast, and users get sick if they d o not obtain regular supplies.

Some Australians may be misled by American novelist, William Burroughs, who in his novel Junkie wrote that it takes a month to get a good addiction. Burroughs began his career at a time when American junk was o f poor quality. Quality shit and steady shooting can have you looking hard for more in less than a week.

— B. H.

rest o f the family, like your little blonde cousin w ho was merely a reminder o f the gin selling trade.

Some o f us stay on our “ missions” and marry our men or have children to whoever tickles our fancy at the appropriate time, and we imitate our mothers almost identically, and our men imitate their fathers and con­ tinuously conduct a com petition to lest their ability to withstand as many “ plonk” sessions as father did, to chalk up as many beatings on their lesser halves as father did, and to sire as many “ boories” as father did!

Will they succeed? Only time will tell and if they don ’ t, it w on ’ t be for the want o f trying, “ for I am as good a man as my father was,” whoever he was.

The rest o f us leave behind our “ missions” and move camp to the city, for the city is overflowing with so many wondrous, deliciously desir­ able things as: fo o d , hot water, electric lights, and beautiful, new, fashionable clothes and shoes, and bags, and hats, and gloves.

Oh! A t last, an opportunity to materialise all those wonderful dreams you had on those long, bitterly cold nights as you snuggled in closer to your brothers and sisters, trying to make those two thread-bare govern­ ment blankets stretch, to, protect you all from the icy winds barging their way through the cracks in the walls and in the doors . . . those dreams that were the best thing that ever happened to you throughout your life,dreams o f sleeping in your own warm bed covered with crisp, white, clean sheets and soft, thick, woollen blankets and maybe even one o f those lovely colored lacy covers; and eating one hundred meals a day o f all those delicious, juicy, succulent food s that y ou ’ d see in the shop windows on you r trips into town; and wearing all those bright, beautifully styled clothes that you ’ d seen worn by those white wom en w ho never seemed to run out o f them.

society, or o f a whitely indoctrinated black person, teaches you many things.

Y ou realise why mother and father lived where they did, and why they did some o f the things they did, and in general why they were like they were.

Y ou learn why your father could never get work and buy fo o d to pre­ vent the hunger, or warm clothes to ward o f f thè Cold.

You learn why you and your brothers and sisters were always ill, and why some o f you died.

Y ou learn that hunger travels everywhere, and that black men aren’ t the only ones who drink “ plonk” and bash their wom en and children.

Y ou learn too that white men rape wom en and children too.

Y ou learn more pornography, vice, corruption, unconcern and hatred for one another than you ever did on your “ mission” .

So some o f us go back and join the others to repeat the misery o f our childhood, to subject our children to the same degradation. We are burden­ ed with experience and knowledge, but not armed with strength, for that has long since been drained out o f us.

But our weakness is now plain to us, our awareness o f it is sharper and more damaging, because we haven’ t even got the advantage o f youth. So when we return to our missions, we will sink deeper than our mothers . . . we have been hurt much deeper.

And some o f us stay married to our white husbands and our white orientated black men. We have “ coffee breaks” with our white

neighbours, we convince ourselves we are happy and contented, and we hardly ever think o f or discuss our race; we gradually becom e “ possess­ ed” by our material achievements, we slowly but surely becom e just an imitation o f our white neighbours, at the cost o f our own individuality and our identity. Thus we are sen­ tenced to a life o f oblivion.

But there are some o f us w ho stand up and shout to the world: “ I am a gin and I am proud o f it, I am proud o f m y parents, o f my race and o f my heritage and its culture, I am proud o f my little “ boongs” who will carry on after me and w ho will one day stand beside me and fight the hatred o f my people, the killing o f my culture, the denial o f my heritage, the restrictions o f our children’ s education, the police victimisation and raping o f my black sisters, the illnesses and the deaths o f our babies.”

And we have a dream, and this dream will com e true, because our past oppression and suffering have given us enough strength to deter­ mine everything that must be done to make it com e true. We are deter­ mined that our children will not suffer or be oppressed, that they will never be made to feel ashamed o f or to avoid their heritage, that we will someday, somehow, throw o ff the weight that oppresses us, and that with pride, unity and strength, we will stand together and shout to the world: “ And never, in any way, at any price, will you be able to buy, destroy or deny that priceless and beautiful achievement, the identity o f a black wom an.”

National U

Back numbers

Helen Keenan, Subscriptions Manager, The Digger, P.O. Box 77, Carlton, 3053.

Page 2

A

black

w om a n 's rap:

R aped sooner or later; so w hy not sooner?

by Pam Hunter Who wants a gin, and for what, for how long, and at what price?

The half-caste Aboriginal woman’ s life usually begins as one member o f a large family, parented by a dis­ possessed, seasonal-working father and a mother overworked, under­ rated, beaten by her man. If your family is one o f the lucky ones, if your father’s efforts to work a few months in the year ensure that the family circle isn’ t broken and the children sent o f f to various institu­ tions, your pattern is as follows: G ood nutrition is as alien as m oon men, but you survive anyway, if only through constitution; that is provid­ ing you have survived the first few years o f infancy. This achievement is follow ed by your academic education which depends solely on the patern­ alistic compassion o f the white society governing the specific town in which your “ mission’ ^ is situated.

Y our literal experiences are some-

thing else; unrivalled by those o f any white child in the world.

It usually begins with a complete anatomical discovery first o f your own body, and then o f those o f the other kids in your immediate age group, but never o f those much older than you, for segregation is as em­ phatically practiced within the race as it is from without. But as usual in human behaviour there are exceptioris and extremities, and some o f us are raped when we are still children, by friend and foe alike; and sometimes relatives. So what? they argue. We are going to be raped sooner or later; so why not sooner? Practice makes perfect.

Your conversations with your mother don ’ t usually get past the “ It’ s your turn to d o this — it’ s your turn to do that” stage. Besides, your mother doesn’ t know how to con ­ verse very openly anyhow, for she wasn’ t as lucky as you to have been able to go to school and learn things.

When she was young “ boongs”

weren’ t allowed to go to school, and father was never around to talk to, so you have “ discussion sessions” with the kids o f your group. The psychological imprint o f these talks, coupled with the lack o f facts from parents, plus the mental vision o f continual physical cruelty remitted by father to mother and brothers and sisters, is deeply imbedded for life.

Your introduction to alcohol be­ gins when you are very young, for father’s “ plonk sessions” with his fellow indigines have been going on for as long as you can remember and as frequently as your meals, for whenever there was enough to buy fo o d , it automatically follow ed that there was enough to buy “ plonk” — “ Plonk” was as desirable to father as meals were to you , and perhaps it was this same type o f desire that sent mother to bed with those other men when father was “ ou t to it” . You wonder which o f those men fathered your younger brother or sister, the ones that didn’ t quite look like the

Here in the city, these things no longer remain a dream; if you work hard you can actually have every­ thing you ever wanted, and you may even be able to make friends with some white people and perhaps — just perhaps reach the ultimate goal, and marry a white man and live in a big white house with a white picket fence and have nice white neighbours, and have a couple o f nearly white kids w ho will in turn d o the same, and maybe some day there will be no trace o f the blood that subjected you to all those horrible, bitter memories o f your childhood, and maybe your children will be spared the hunger, the limited education, the sight o f their mother beaten down; spared the raping, the dirty stories and the gin selling, and the cold and the eternal lack o f warm clothing, the sickness and the deaths.

But you know if you marry a white man, your children will know none o f these things and you can put to sleep all your bad memories for­ ever. HA. Knowledge and experience with the white race or o f a white

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Page 3

The Digger

April

Daddy Cool;the latest/Spectrum; the end/Tommy/Zappa tour

by Jenny Brown

Will the real Mr. Problems: As you might well know , the con­ tinuing saga o f Spectrum/Murtceps/ Crumpets/Camels will be tinkling to an end in a couple o f weeks. The band/bands, in true form , will be dying with their guitars on, working up to the break (scheduled for April), but the usual endless round o f justone-m ore-goodbye gigs can’ t happen . . .drummer Ray Arnott, w h oreplacecTMark Kennedy about three years back, is leaving to join the growing ranks o f the Sons o f the Vegetal Mother (which now com ­ prises Ross Wilson on vocals, Ross Hannaford on vocals and guitar, Tim Partridge on bass, and Russell Smith, ex-Cocaine, on second guitar).

Arnott’s notice o f leave, which happened after a rehearsal one Thurs­ day a couple o f weeks back, went' something like this: “ Hey guys, I’ m leaving in a month. Is that co o l?”

It took Michael Rudd and the boys a little by surprise, to say the least, but after a short, abysmal fit o f the downs, the vibe was up again.

Rudd has decided this is his big chance to experiment with a second guitarist, as well as a new drummer and a totally new repertoire. The re­ mains o f Spectrum/Murtceps will be just a bare backbone o f Rudd (swapp­ ing lead for rhythm, or freeing his body to d o what it will), Bill Putt on bass, and the very talented John Mills, at present on organ. Trial re­ hearsals with the drummer and guitarist from a well-known recentlysplit Sydney band are well under way. Rudd and Putt (is that some pro-golf team?) plan to record the remainder o f their unreleased mater­ ial as soon as possible and go on to new and highly exciting horizons, momentarily mysteriously shrouded.

Meanwhile, Ross Wilson claims to have lots o f material to work with.

The early jams' o f the band, which happen when Ray and Russell Smith (who has temporarily rejoined a Sydney pub band for financial rea­ sons) are free to rehearse, will de­ termine the exact direction o f the music.

Wilson feels that the best way to keep a band playing togther, is to not stay together; that is, to keep out o f each other’ s pockets and hair.

Gulliver Smith, who was once going to reform Daddy C ool with Ross Wilson, Hanna and bassist Harry Brus, is nqw — wait fpr it — singing with Blackfeather, which must have had fifty reincarnations if it’ s had one. Singer Neale Johns has apparent­ ly left once and for all.

The band was having quite a few practically-onstage rows. Johns has the right to the name “ Blackfeather” in Sydney, and Pianist Paul Wyld, w ho has rejoined the Melbourne band, has it down south . . . doesn’ t it make you w anna. . .

50,000 Blowflies Can’ t Be Wrong: Big open-air gigs seem to be the order o f the day . . . Let It Be/Sunrise ran a one day festival at Morwell in early March, where unfortunately only a couple o f thousand showed up.

The La De Da’s, still three piece, was the tightest act, as well as winning the Spunkiest Band Award for good looks and sex appeal. As players, they have a rare confidence which lends the La Des fierceness others only occasionally touch . . .

Mississippi was interestingly earthier, with Kerryn Tolhurst sitting in on mandolin — watching them gives a deja vu effect; it’ s something like the Z o o t in their mean stage.

The 69ers were beaut, crude, lewd, shrewd and as witty as ever (“ This is a twelve-bar tune, ladies and gents; that’ s muso-talk for having twelve bars in it” ); and Murtceps did their picnic-set — which means they had ants in their pants, and wanted to Go Home, even if it wasn’ t too bad out there really and n o one had bashed them up or anything. Actually the band is playing blood y good at the moment, and it’ ll be sad to see ’em go.

Country Radio played their by now customary sundown set, sound­ ing better than they have for some weeks with a bluesy wah-wah guitar and a new leanness o f sound; they got called back twice.

The heat was staggering, the music up and down, the flies down and up, and the cops mean (they nabbed nearly all the booze).

However the boys in the bands, who were bussed to and from the

And Later: Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs con­ solidated quite a lot o f wavering fans with a rolicking set at AEE’ s Labor Day Showgrounds concert in Mel­ bourne, where, despite the special trains being cancelled, fifteen thous­ and showed up to view the new a la Pig Aztecs, as well as the Colored Balls, Madder Lake, Chain (with Ian Clyne on keyboards, and Mai Capewell on sax), the 69ers, Band o f Light, Blackfeather ( this time re­ portedly nearly getting physical on­ stage, and breaking up then and { there), and that cigarette salesmanmagnifique, the stunning Paul Hogan,

position on keyboards, but adds a third vocal to the band . . „ the Aztecs in three part harmony???

Tommy and the Teenage Macro-Vampire: Like the man said, the rock (dare we say it) opera by Pete Townsend and the Who, Tom m y, will play, for two nightsonly, in Australia — for the first time anywhere in the world outside its one-night London i debut.

Producer (as in the movie pro­ ducer — organisation, finance et al) Lou Reizner is in Melbourne till April — with Don Hawkins, the

drank with the wierd m ob Festival, Records invited to a press reception held on March 20th at the Old Mel­ bourne Inn (Festival distributed Ode’ s orchestrated Tommy).

Buzzing from rep. to journo to bar like a crazy giant bee, Reizner answered questions like “ Why bring Tommy here?” with answers like “ Why not?”

Cast for the show so far is Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbert) as Tommy; Brod Smith (ex-Carson) as the Father; Colleen Hewitt as the Mother; Keith M oon (the Who, various characters in drag) as Uncle “ Fiddle Around” Ernie; Ross Wilson (ex-DC,

Australian Tom m y stars. Left: Daryl Braithwaite (Tom m y), Top Centre: B ob b y Bright (the D octor), Lower Centre: R oss Wilson (Cousin Kevin), Right: Linda George ( the A cid Queen). gig, 120 miles each way, managed to save enough to get pissed on the ride home . . . bit o f the old popstar fun as George, the bus driver, drove most o f the route with a brassiere warming his eardrums. . .

whose Elvis imitation was the hit o f •the day.

Thorpe played old songs and new ones, to o , o f f the album Thumpin' Pig and Puffin ' Billy which the new Aztecs recorded not long ago. Warren Morgan not only takes a prominent

Englishman w ho directed Oust like in the movies) last January’ s stage premiere o f Tom m y in London; and both the original arranger and origi­ nal conductor o f the piece.

Reizner, a lengthy, get-it-on American, with a smile like a radiator

Sons o f the Vegetal Mother) as Cousin Kevin; Andy FairwfeatherLowe (ex-Amen Corner, original London cast) as the Local Lad; Linda George as the Acid Queen; B obby Bright as the D octor; Wendy Saddington as the Nurse; Doug Parkinson as

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the Hawker; Jim Keays (ex-Masters Apprentices) as the Lover — replacing Gary Young, whose band Hot Dog had too many commitments; and Graham Bell (ex-Bell and Arc, origi­ nal London cast) as the Narrator.

Storyteller unknown, and backing rock band unknown, although prob­ ably Australians.

A choir o f about 40 voices will be used to fill out the vocals and the 102-piece New World Symphony Orchestra.

Sounds ambitious . . . over to you, Lou — can this man really D o It All in five days’ rehearsal? And organise the airlift to Sydney in one?

Ross Wilson, for one, is really caken with his part as Cousin Kevin, a real nasty type who “ wants ta getta holda Tommy and bum cigarettes into his flesh and stuff, you know ?”

This line o f character is right up Wilson’ s alley; his theatrical sadism dates back to the song which Truth hated, the Party Machine’ s “ Don’ t It Just Make Y ou Sick?” which was about cutting up mammaries ha ha, and such . . . “ Nearly all the characters, outside of Tom m y himself, are some kinda example o f evil and perversion,” said Wilson, sounding more enthusiastic than he has for months. “ I suggested that I wear a kid’ s school uniform; shorts and blazer, and a little cap, and that’ s what’ s gonna happen. “ It all sounds like a fairly im -. pressive e v e r t. . . Myer Music Bowl done up like a giant pinball machine with those mushroom things, and flashing lights around the place . . . and visual stuff, films and all ex­ plaining the story, projected up be­ hind the stage, “ They’re hoping to have the show tighter than the London one was.

For that one, some o f the cast turn­ ed up twenty-five minutes before the show started. “ And they’re open to change . . . nobody wants to just duplicate the record. The cast have all been given a tape o f their part with the vocals wiped o ff, so they can learn to sing it in their own style . . . ” Wilson as Cousin Kevin? “ It’ s gonna be easy — what with my leering face.”

Tom m y plays Melbourne on March 30th (same night JC Superstar opens); Sydney’ s Rand wick Race­ course on April 1st.

packing on the opening night, the Country Club’s attendance has fallen o f f . . . which means it’ s easier to breath in, but harder to run, financially speaking. Possible cuts to Look Forward’ to are Sky Lights and the filmshow on the second floor The venue has so far given a handful o f great rock shows, three starring the more-and-more astonish­ ing MacKenzie Theory; and featuring, among others, Spectrum in drag, the theatrics o f Donna Nobis, and a rather boggling jam between Mac­ Kenzie Theory minus bass and Ross Hannaford on guitar and Tim Part­ ridge on bass; also giving some o f the better lesser-known bands — such as the Sharks, Home, Keith Glass and Sundown, and Danny R obinson’ s Country Fever a chance to shine a little light.

This Saturday, March 24th, the CCC features one o f the last gigs o f both Spectrum and Murtceps.

Aha! The Distant. . . :

At last Australia has tw o brand new recording companies all o f its own, both o f which look like giving our current set-ups (which are artistically crippled, finance fetished and just backdated-yeah) a gasp o f new gas.

They are Mushroom Records, run

by Evans, Gudinski and Associates, distributed through Festival; and Sunrise Records, run by the Sunrise/ Let It Be bunch, and distributed through.1WEA. Mushroom had a rather restrained reception at the Leonda Restaurant (what scandal was that?) a couple o f weeks back, during which tapes o f the forthcom ing Sunbury triple were used as a background to drinking, conversing and eating — chicken, mushrooms, and (!) chips . . . Madder Lake played, Friends didn’ t, and a good time had . . .

Meanwhile, up in Sydney, Roger Davies (Let It Be/Sunrise) was sign­ ing contracts with WEA, a company which has shown more continued interest, sympathy and daring with its worldwide artists than almost any other, despite rumors o f being run by the Mafia. Home is the first band to record on the label, and is currently mixing anLP called Cornin' at Arm­ strong’s studios in M elbourne. . . one o f the best felt-and-figgered-out bands around, and the LP will be worth sweating oyer, even if it’ s just Getting Any? for GJyn Masqp’ s compositions, which it w on’ t be.

English band Yes, known for their Mother Earth, whose vocalist is colossal harmonies and fast-expanding the turkish-delight-voiced Ms Renee compositions, should have played Geyer (ex-Sun) will be next on the Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne Sunrise label. by the time we hit the streets. . . it In-progress Mushroom LP’ s include will be interesting, to see if the band, those from MacKenzie Theory, with the professor o f rock, Rick Wake Madder Lake, and possibly Friends man, on keyboards (multiple) can and Healing Force. com e up to their recent recorded progress (Close to the Edge) live . . . (tee next issue f o r . . .). The Sydney Gentleman Sings The Blues: concert is at the Hordern Pavillion on March 26th (and 27th?). A poster in John Mayall and band should be planning (for no good reason) goes here by April 18th, and if last March’ s like this: “ No, presented by the Paul concerts were any kind o f yardstick, Clumsy Corporation, backed by local only the musically disinterested will hand, Away From Home . . . ” be sitting at home watching No. 96 Forthcoming tours (on the sub­ on the box , on the night they’re in ject) will be from as diverse a trio as town.

Frank Zappa and the Grand Wazoo, The lp Jazz-Blues Fusion released Jackson Five, and Muddy Waters. just after the March tour (with Phew. And a good man to catch slightly altered line-up, but much the might be that old rocker Carl Perkins, w ho wrote everything that Arthur Grudup and Elmore James arri Muddy Waters and Howlin’ W olf didn't, or jes’ ’bout; anyway he wrote “ Blue Suede Shoes” , and he’ s on the current Johnny Cash tour, which played Melbourne on the 20th, plays Bris­ bane March 23rd, Sydney on the 24th, Hobart the 25th, Adelaide the 27th, and Perth (still March) the 28th.

Fairport Convention and the Incredible String Band are now be­ lieved to be on separate tours, some­ time around May. Don McLean, for those interested, will be in Australia approximately April 1 3 — 22.

Still rumors that Harry M. is try­ ing for Alice C., whose Billion Dollar John Mayall, oluesman.

Babies packaging has to be seen, felt, same repertoire) is a hint o f what the smelt, tasted, popped out to be man was sounding like. Since then, believed. . .

Moving On has been released and once more, Mayall, how 39, has done just that, Roll Me Over In The Gover: Trumpeter, Blue “ Movie” The Carlton Country Club, which Mitchell, guitarist Freddy Robinson, was phase three in the rock and drummer Keef Hartley, will continuum o f the TF Much Ballroom supplement Mayall’ s vocals/keyand the Much More Ballroom, and boards/harmonica once more. But phase two o f the site o f Sebastian’ s Putter Smith, the Great White disco., is about to enter its own Wonder, will be replaced on acoustic phase two. bass by V ictor Gaskin, w ho has For the Country Club is losing played with Les McCann and Cannon­ money. Hugh McSpeddon, the brain ball Adderly, among others, for many behind the venues Sky (ex?-Edison) years, and gigged with Duke Elling­ Lights, reckons it’ s costing his brother ton, Mose Allison and the Jazz Cru­ Bani sixty bucks a night to run the saders. Saxophonist Red Holloway, joint. So Bani’ s nose is in the air who replaces the soulful Clifford while he decides whether the wind Solom on, is just as experienced. over the CCC will blow anyone any Mayall’ s bands can always hustle good . . . the likely outcom e o f the up a storm, but beautifully; that’ s story is that Phillip Knight, w ho has what he picks’ em for,and what’ s more the ultimate claim (i.e. lease) to the they’re usually willing to play around venue, will continue to run a lessthe universities, so turn o f f your T V . advertised CCC while Bani picks the and step out your door. It’ s fun, and acts. it don’ t wreck the body!

However, since the mashed-potato

Page 3

The Digger

April

Daddy Cool; the latest/Spectrum; the end/Tommy/Zappa tour

by Jenny Brown

Will the real Mr. Problems: As you might well know , the con­ tinuing saga o f Spectrum/Murtceps/ Crumpets/Camels will be tinkling to an end in a couple o f weeks. The band/bands, in true form , will be dying with their guitars on, working up to the break (scheduled for April), but the usual endless round o f justone-m ore-goodbye gigs can’ t happen . . .drummer Ray Arnott, w h oreplaced^Mark Kennedy about three years back, is leaving to join the growing ranks o f the Sons o f the Vegetal Mother (which now com ­ prises Ross Wilson on vocals, Ross Hannaford on vocals and guitar, Tim Partridge on bass, and Russell Smith, ex-Cocaine, on second guitar).

Arnott’s notice o f leave, which happened after a rehearsal one Thurs­ day a couple o f weeks back, went' something like this: “ Hey guys, I’ m leaving in a month. Is that co o l?”

It took Michael Rudd and the boys a little by surprise, to say the least, but after a short, abysmal fit o f the downs, the vibe was up again.

Rudd has decided this is his big chance to experiment with a second guitarist, as well as a new drummer and a totally new repertoire. The re­ mains o f Spectrum/Murtceps will be just a bare backbone o f Rudd (swapp­ ing lead for rhythm, or freeing his body to d o what it will), Bill Putt on bass, and the very talented John Mills, at present on organ. Trial re­ hearsals with the drummer and guitarist from a well-known recentlysplit Sydney band are well under way. Rudd and Putt (is that some pro-golf team?) plan to record the remainder o f their unreleased mater­ ial as soon as possible and go on to new and highly exciting horizons, momentarily mysteriously shrouded.

Meanwhile, Ross Wilson claims to have lots o f material to work with.

The early jams o f the band, which happen when Ray and Russell Smith (who has temporarily rejoined a Sydney pub band for financial rea­ sons) are free to rehearse, will de­ termine the exact direction o f the music.

Wilson feels that the best way to keep a band playing togther, is to not stay together, that is, to keep out o f each other’ s pockets and hair.

Gulliver Smith, w ho was once going to reform Daddy C ool with Ross Wilson, Hanna and bassist Harry Brus, is npw —: wait for it — singing With Blackfeather, which must have had fifty reincarnations if it’ s had one. Singer Neale Johns has apparent­ ly left once and for all.

The band was having quite a few practically-onstage rows. Johns has the right to the name “ Blackfeather” in Sydney, and Pianist Paul Wyld, w ho has rejoined the Melbourne band, has it dow n south . . . doesn’ t it make you w anna. . . *

*

50,000 Blowflies Can’ t Be Wrong: Big open-air gigs seem to be the order o f the day . . . Let It Be/Sunrise ran a one day festival at Morwell in early March, where unfortunately only a couple o f thousand showed up.

The La De Da’s, still three piece, was the tightest act, as well as winning the Spunkiest Band Award for good looks and sex appeal. As players, they have a rare confidence which lends the La Des fierceness others only occasionally touch . . .

Mississippi was interestingly earthier, with Kerryn Tolhurst sitting in on mandolin — watching them gives a deja vu effect; it’ s something like the Z o o t in their mean stage.

The 69ers were beaut, crude, lewd, shrewd and as witty as ever (“ This is a twelve-bar tune, ladies and gents; that’ s muso-talk for having twelve bars in it” ); and Murtceps did their picnic-set — which means they had ants in their pants, and wanted to Go Home, even if it wasn’ t too bad out there really and no one had bashed them up or anything. Actually the band is playing blood y good at the moment, and it’ ll be sad to see ’em go.

Country Radio played their by now customary sundown set, sound­ ing better than they have for some weeks with a bluesy wah-wah guitar and a new leanness o f sound; they got called back twice.

The heat was staggering, the music up and down, the flies dow n and up, and the cops mean (they nabbed nearly all the booze).

However the boys in the bands, who were bussed to and from the

And Later:, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs con­ solidated quite a lot o f wavering fans with a rolicking set at AEE’ s Labor Day Showgrounds concert in Mel­ bourne, where, despite the special trains being cancelled, fifteen thous­ and showed up to view the new a la Pig Aztecs, as well as the Colored Balls, Madder Lake, Chain (with Ian Clyne on keyboards, and Mai Capewell on sax), the 69ers, Band o f Light, Blackfeather ( this time re­ portedly nearly getting physical on­ stage, and breaking up then and ( there), and that cigarette salesmanmagnifique, the stunning Paul Hogan,

position on keyboards, but adds a third vocal to the band . . , the Aztecs in three part harmony???

Tommy and the Teenage Macro-Vampire: Like the man said, the rock (dare we say it) opera by Pete Townsend and the Who, Tom m y, will play, for tw o nightsonly, in Australia — for the first time anywhere in the world outside its one-night London ■debut.

Producer (as in the movie pro­ ducer — organisation, finance et al) Lou Reizner is in Melbourne till April — with Don Hawkins, the

drank with the wierd m ob Festival, Records invited to a press reception held on March 20th at the Old Mel­ bourne Inn (Festival distributed Ode’ s orchestrated Tommy).

Buzzing from rep. to journo to bar like a crazy giant bee, Reizner answered questions like “ Why bring Tommy here?” with answers like “ Why not?”

Cast for the show so far is Daryl Braithwaite (Sherbert) as Tom m y; Brod Smith (ex-Carson) as the Father; Colleen Hewitt as the Mother; Keith M oon (the Who, various characters in drag) as Uncle “ Fiddle Around” Ernie; Ross Wilson (ex-DC,

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Australian Tom m y stars. Left: Daryl Braithwaite (Tom m y), Top Centre: B ob b y Bright (the D octor), Lower Centre: R oss Wilson (Cousin Kevin), Right: Linda George (the A cid Queen). gig, 120 miles each way, managed to save enough to get pissed on the ride home . . . bit o f the old popstar fun as George, the bus driver, drove most o f the route with a brassiere warming his eardrums . . .

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whose Elvis imitation was the hit o f the day.

Thorpe played old songs and new ones, to o , o f f the album Thumpin' Pig and Puffin ' Billy which the new Aztecs recorded not long ago. Warren Morgan not only takes a prominent

Englishman w ho directed (just like in the movies) last January’ s stage premiere o f Tommy in London; and both the original arranger and origi­ nal conductor o f the piece.

Reizner, a lengthy, get-it-on American, with a smile like a radiator

Sons o f the Vegetal Mother) as Cousin Kevin; Andy FairwfeatherLowe (ex-Amen Corner, original London cast) as the Local Lad; Linda George as the Acid Queen; Bobby Bright as the D octor; Wendy Saddington as the Nurse; Doug Parkinson as

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the Hawker; Jim Keays (ex-Masters Apprentices) as the Lover — replacing Gary Young, whose band Hot Dog had too many commitments; and Graham Bell (ex-Bell and Arc, origi­ nal London cast) as the Narrator.

Storyteller unknown, and backing rock band unknown, although prob­ ably Australians.

A choir o f about 40 voices will be used to fill out the vocals and the 102-piece New World Symphony Orchestra.

Sounds ambitious . . . over to you , Lou — can this man really D o It All in five days’ rehearsal? And organise the airlift to Sydney in one?

Ross Wilson, for one, is really caken with his part as Cousin Kevin, a real nasty type who “ wants ta getta holda Tom m y and bum cigarettes into his flesh and stuff, you know ?”

This line o f character is right up Wilson’ s alley; his theatrical sadism dates back to the song which Truth hated, the Party Machine’ s “ Don’ t It Just Make Y ou Sick?” which was about cutting up mammaries ha ha, and such . . . “ Nearly all the characters, outside o f Tom m y himself, are some kinda example o f evil and perversion,” said Wilson, sounding more enthusiastic than he has for months. “ I suggested that I wear a kid’s school uniform; shorts and blazer, and a little cap, and that’ s what’ s gonna happen. “ It all sounds like a fairly im-< pressive e v e r t. . . Myer Music Bowl done up like a giant pinball machine with those mushroom things, and flashing lights around thé place . . . and visual stuff, films and all ex­ plaining the story, projected up be­ hind the stage, “ They’re hoping to have the show tighter than the London one was.

For that one, some o f the cast turn­ ed up twenty-five minutes before the show started. “ And they’re open to change . . . nobody wants to just duplicate the record. The cast have all been given a tape o f their part with the vocals wiped o ff, so they can learn to sing it in their own style . . . ” Wilson as Cousin Kevin? “ It’ s gonna be easy — what with my leering face.”

Tom m y plays Melbourne on March 30th (same night JC Superstar opens); Sydney’ s Randwick Race­ course on April 1st.

packing on the opening night, the Country Club’ s attendance has fallen o f f . . . which means it’ s easier to breath in, but harder to run, financially speaking. Possible cuts to ‘ Look Forward’ to are Sky Lights and the filmshow on the second floor The venue has so far given a handful o f great rock shows, three starring the more-and-more astonish­ ing MacKenzie Theory; and featuring, among others, Spectrum in drag, the theatrics o f Donna Nobis, and a rather boggling jam between Mac­ Kenzie Theory minus bass and Ross Hannaford on guitar and Tim Part­ ridge on bass; also giving some o f the better lesser-known bands — such as the Sharks, Home, Keith Glass and Sundown, and Danny Robinson’ s Country Fever a chance to shine a little light.

This Saturday, March 24th, the CCC features one o f the last gigs o f both Spectrum and Murtceps. *

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Aha! The Distant. . . :

At last Australia has tw o brand new recording companies all o f its own, both o f which look like giving our current set-ups (which are artistically crippled, finance fetished and just backdated-yeah) a gasp o f new gas.

They are Mushroom Records, run

by Evans, Gudinski and Associates, distributed through Festival; and Sunrise Records, run by the Sunrise/ Let It Be bunch, and distributed through! WE A. Mushroom had a rather restrained reception at the Leonda Restaurant (what scandal was that?) a couple o f weeks back, during which tapes q f the forthcom ing Sunbury triple were used as a background to drinking, conversing and eating — chicken, mushrooms, and (!) chips . . . Madder Lake played, Friends didn’ t, and a good time had . . .

Meanwhile, up in Sydney, Roger Davies (Let It Be/Sunrise) was sign­ ing contracts with WEA, a company which has shown more continued interest, sympathy and daring with its worldwide artists than almost any other, despite rumors o f being run by the Mafia. Home is the first band to record on the label, and is currently mixing anLP called Cornin' at Arm­ strong’ s studios in M elbourne. . . one o f the best felt-and-figgered-out bands around, and the LP will be * * * worth;^wearing oyer, even if it’ s just Getting Any? for Gjyn Masoq’ s compositions, which it w on’ t be.

•English band Yes, known for their Mother Earth, whose vocalist is colossal harmonies and fast-expanding the turkish-delight-voiced Ms Renee compositions, should have played Geyer (ex-Sun) will be next on the Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne Sunrise label. by the time we hit the streets. . . it In-progress Mushroom LP’ s include will be interesting, to see if the band, those from MacKenzie Theory, with the professor o f rock, Rick Wake- Madder Lake, and possibly Friends man, on keyboards (multiple) can and Healing Force. com e up to their recent recorded progress (Close to the Edge) live . . . * * * (gee next issue f o r . . . ) . The Sydney Gentleman Sings The Blues: concert is at the Hordern Pavillion on March 26th (and 27th?). A poster in John Mayall and band should be planning (for no good reason) goes here by April 18th, and if last March’ s like this: “ N o, prësented by the Paul concerts were any kind o f yardstick, Clumsy Corporation, backed by local only the musically disinterested will hand, Away From Home . . . ” be sitting at home watching No. 96 Forthcoming tours (on the sub­ on the box , on the night they’re in ject) will be from as diverse a trio as town.

Frank Zappa and the Grand Wazoo, The lp Jazz-Blues Fusion released Jackson Five, and M iddy Waters. just after the March tour (with Phew. And a good man to catch slightly altered line-up, but much the might be that old rocker Carl Perkins, w ho wrote everything that Arthur Ctudup and Elmore James and Muddy Waters and Howlin’ W olf didn't, or jes’ ’ bout; anyway he wrote “ Blue Suede Shoes” , and he’ s on the current Johnny Cash tour, which played Melbourne on the 20th, plays Bris­ bane March 23rd, Sydney on the 24th, Hobart the 25th, Adelaide me 27th, and Perth (still March) the 28th.

Fairport Convention and the Incredible String Band are now be­ lieved to be on separate tours, some­ time around May. Don McLean, for those interested, will be in Australia approximately April 13 — 22.

Still rumors that Harry M. is try­ ing for Alice C., whose Billion Dollar Babies packaging has to be seen, felt, same repertoire) is a hint o f what the smelt, tasted, popped out to be man was sounding like. Since then, believed. . .

Moving On has been released and * * * once more, Mayall, how 39, has done just that, Roll Me Over In The Gover: Trumpeter; Blue “ Movie” The Carlton Country Club, which Mitchell, guitarist Freddy Robinson, was phase three in the rock and drummer Keef Hartley, will continuum o f the TF Much Ballroom supplement Mayall’ s vocals/keyand the Much More Ballroom, and boards/harmonica once more. But phase two o f the site o f Sebastian’ s Putter Smith, the Great White disco., is about to enter its own Wonder, will be replaced on acoustic phase two. bass by Victor Gaskin, w h o has For the Country Club is losing played with Les McCann and Cannon­ money. Hugh McSpeddon, the brain ball Adderly, among others, for many behind the venues Sky (ex?-Edison) years, and gigged with Duke Elling­ Lights, reckons it’ s costing his brother ton, Mose Allison and the Jazz Cru­ Bani sixty bucks a night to run the saders. Saxophonist Red Holloway, joint. So Bani’ s nose is in the air who replaces the soulful Clifford while he decides whether the wind Solom on, is just as experienced. over the CCC will blow anyone any Mayall’ s bands can always hustle good . . . the likely outcom e o f the up a storm, but beautifully; that’ s story is that Phillip Knight, w ho has what he picks’ em for,and what’ s more the ultimate claim (i.e. lease) to the they’re usually willing to play around venue, will continue to run a lessthe universities, so turn o f f your T V , advertised CCC while Bani picks the and step out you r door. It’ s fun, and acts. it don’ t wreck the body!

However, since the mashed-potato

Page 4

Why do nurses go on taking it?

That flat, blank manner they display smiling but brisk in a way that forbids an ordinary human approach: is this the shield they raise against the wretchedness (their own, and the patients’ ) they encounter every day?

How do they keep going?

In Melbourne Helen Garner talked with a group o f five nurses, and a couple more individually.

In Sydney Ponch Hawkes talked with five more. All were quite clear about their frustration with hierarchies in hospital staffs, and the slave-role a nurse is expected to play. Some were strong femin­ ists.

All the nurses but one (Gina, who likes her job for its unpredic­ tability, and the mobility it gives her), were deeply dissatisfied with their work and cynical about'their motives for having started in the first place. “ I started just to get away from home,” says Judy.

Trish mimics her mother’ s voice: “ T o have something to fall back on.” They all laugh.

Cathy says, “ I couldn’ t get into uni. I sat round all day getting fat. I knew I could adjust myself to being a nurse, though I wasn’ t cut out for it.”

The reasons for going into nursing all seem negative: I was bored with office work. I was sick o f pushing a pen. I wanted to get away from my family. And having something to fall back on. Is that the best a woman can hope for? * * * What jobs are there for women, these nurses ask bitterly, that aren’ t slave jobs? Isn’ t there work for women that they can do joyfully with a sense o f dignity?

Girls go into nursing, often, out o f despair. “ The low wages don’ t attract people who want to make nursing into a career: We get people with­ out ambition,” says Annette.

It’s not only low wages that make nursing an unalluring job : conditions are notoriously lousy.

Both during and after training; responsibilities y ou ’ re unequipped to handle are forced on you; and, most insulting o f all, your opinion is hardly ever asked for, no matter how much more you might know about a patient than the doctor does.

Linda, who trained at the Royal Children’ s Hospital in Melbourne, gives an alarming picture o f the strains a nurse is subjected to: (she stresses that the Childrens is the best hospital she’ s worked in, but speaks angrily o f the part o f train­ ing period spent at the Royal Mel­ bourne Hospital). “ Y ou ’ re made to feel it’ s un­ sporting to complain that you can’ t cope. And that’ s just it — a nurse has an impossible task.

Y ou’re skidding along; you can’ t handle the amount o f work you ’ re given to do. “ I once found out that a nurse we all thought was totally efficient, a really beaut, bustling girl, was making out charts falsely so it would look as if she was coping. “ It was a plastic surgery ward.

She had 15 babies to feed. Most o f them had cleft palates or hairlips and needed patient feeding to get enough fluid into them. But she didn’ t have time. So she’ d offer each child a 240 ml. bottle, and even if the kid only drank 100 mis she’ d write on the chart 240 ml, — slurring it over, to make it look all right. “ In a diabetic ward there were kids who needed 6-hourly insulin, and before each dose you had to give each one a blood sugar, and a urine test; a terrific job for one nurse. I came in one night and found out how this desperate girl was keeping everything going: to get all this done for a 6am in­ sulin dose, she had all the kids up

The Digger at 3am. There was nothing else she could do. But those kids were being woken up in the middle o f the night — what on earth must they have been feeling? “ Y ou ’re due to go o f f duty at 7.15am but you end up staying till 8 or 8.30 to get your work done. Y ou ’ d never claim this on your pay slip.”

Why not? “ Because if would look as if you were inefficient. Y ou tend to take on yourself the responsibility that’ s not yours.”

At the Melbourne if you were rostered for 7.15 am duty before you started breakfast the senior nurses had to clean the hand-basins, empty the dirty towels, replace the linen bags, put out stacks o f turers use to cover the matter in clean hand towels, wash out the Roman Catholic hospitals.” syringes, check for barbed needles, “ All I know about IUDs and so and make up a fresh injection tray. on I read in books written for d oc­ “ This meant you had to clock tors” says Judy. “ I found out on at 6.45, half an hour earlier nothing from my nursing exper­ than you were paid fpr. It was ience.” exp ected o f you; it wasn’ t just an O f course it’ s not only for the efficient nurse’s response. patient’s benefit that nurses ask “ When I left the Royal Mel­ for gynaecological teaching. Ann­ bourne I told the Matron I’ d ette reports that o f the 30 girls she hated it because I couldn’ t get started nursing with, ten got preg­ my work done with thoroughness. nant. Nurses as a group are preyed She just shrugged and said “ Other upon socially: male students treat people seem to.” But they didn't nurses’ homes as a storehouse o f I saw how they had to fake it.” potential fuck objects, and actually Do nurses martyr themselves? ring up and ask for a certain num­ Linda believes the administrat­ ion tries to instill in nurses the ber o f girls (whom they’ ve never idea that their work is a vocation. seen or met) to com e to their “ And it is a vocation, for some parties. The disjointed life trainee o f us. But the administration has nurses lead cuts them o f f from no right to expect this o f you. normal social life, and if they res­ If you do your jo b efficiently, the pond to this kind o f objectifying extra dedication is yours to give, approach it’s partly because they’ve not theirs to ask. Y ou should be got no other social outlets. paid for the work you d o.” * * * Many o f the nurses talk o f the Nurses agree that doctors’ frightening responsibilities they’ d knowledge o f their inadequate been forced to take on before they training means they are not con ­ were adequately trained. sidered or treated as profession­ “ Night duty was the worst,” als. says Judy, who trained at the “ Doctors don’t feel nurses are Royal Melbourne. “ On day duty, satisfactorily trained to observe even if the sister’ s a harridan, you or report,” says Lorraine. know someone’ s there. But at “ Nurses aren’ t well-trained night it’s just you. I remember my enough to notice,” says Annette. first time: there were tw o o f us, “ Not only that, you ’ re not encour­ first year nurses, in charge o f 30 aged to do quite simple things: if patients. We did nothing all night a patient’ s heart stops you can ad­ but pack death.” minister ECT, it’s simple proced­ Y ou do get used to it after a ure and diagnosis, but what you while, they agree, but then you have to do is page the doctor, and look back in horror, to things by the time he comes it’ s too late. you did in your ignorance. Judy In Casualty there aren’ t enough tells how she began to realise doctors to go round. Nurses could what drugs she’ d been handing out be trained to do much more.” without knowing what they were.

Linda remembers humiliations “ Digoxin, for example,” she . she experienced when trying to says. “ It’ s a heart-stimulator, and learn what little she was taught. an OD can kill someone. I was “ The worst thing is in theatre,” given the job o f handing out the she recalls. “ It’ s an acute time, drugs, well before I’ d done my you ’ re learning the ropes. The sur­ materia medica course. I used to geons have got terrific pressures dish out Digoxin to everyone.” on them, and they won’ t put up “ Y ou could refuse to hand out with inefficiency. Which is fair the drugs,” says Kathy “ but you enough. But they know you ’re feel you ’ d be putting a burden on trying to learn. Y ou can under­ someone else.” stand them getting angry when Annette: “ I’ d only graduated time’ s important, but often they’ re six months and I was in charge o f so arrogant, they roar at you and the intensive care ward in South make you panic more.

Sydney Hospital. I had one nurse “ A t Easter time once it wasn’ t helping me, and seven patients — very busy and a group o f us were very heavy cases on artificial res­ shoved into theatre to watch a sur­ pirators — and about four people geon working on a burns patient. died when I was there. Every night Plastic surgeons are notoriously I came on duty I knew that if temperamental — I guess because there was a mistake someone would their work’ s so finicky. die.” “ He was cleaning the wound. * * * It’ s called debriding (pronounced as in breedl. He looked at us and snapped, ‘ OK' you three stooges.

What’ m I doing?’ “ We were to o terrified to an­ swer. Then the shyest one whisper­ Overworked and undertaught ed, ‘ I suppose y o u ’re debriding . . . and even when you drag your­ the wound.’ She said it like in self o f f duty, it’s hard to learn to bride. switch o ff, says Kathy. “ What have “ He absolutely bellowed at her, I forgotten? Did I turn that drip ‘ De-bride-ing, de-breed-ing — de­ o ff? I used to go to sleep and pends on what school you went have nightmares about it.” to !’

In training, compulsory lectures “ And after that we were struck are often slotted into what’ s o f­ dumb, didn’ t dare to say another ficially free time. word. Is that teaching?” “ At St. Luke’s, in the Cross,” * * * says Lorraine, “ most o f the lec­

W om en 's w o rk : th e n u rses' s to r y :

“T h ey think of us as expert bum-washers”

Nightm ares

tures and clinics were in your time, and when you ’ re already working a 40-hour shift all your spare time is valuable. I was so shat o ff. It was compulsory to attend a certain number o f lec­ tures. Sometimes y ou ’ d be on night shift and have to get up in the middle o f the day to attend lectures” .

You go, they say, but you ’ re too tired to absorb the lecture or just not interested because your requests to be taught certain things .have been ignored. “ Nurses are taught nothing about contraception, abortion, vaginal matters — anything con ­ nected with intercourse,” says Judy. “ When I was at the Royal Mel­ bourne, a nurse asked the tutor sister for a lecture on contracep­ tion and abortion. The sister got up and said ‘ This disgusting, filthy girl!’ and refused to give the lec­ ture.” “ When a gynaecologist at our hospital did lecture on gynaecolog­ ical matters” , says Suzanne “ the tutor sister was really embarrassed.

Everyone was rapt!” “ But in district or field nur­ sing,” insists Judy “ knowledge about these things must be essen­ tial. Y ou could be working in a gynaecology ward and n o t know what was going on .” “ A fte r marriage, ” says Kathy, “ that’s the phrase gynaecology lec­

“ The worst thing,” Kathy reckons, “ is that you have no right to voice your opinion about a patient, even after y ou ’ ve got through your training. Y ou ’ re with the patients all day, but your op­ inion’ s not asked for. “ Y ou ’ re the doctor’ s hand­ maiden. If he listens to you, he’ s probably only doing it to be nice.

It makes no difference to what he does.”

Trish laughs when she remem­ bers a film they were shown dur­ ing training: “ It was a round­ table discussion about the patients in a ward, the nurses were really involved. But when you get into the ward it’s never like that. If we all sat down at once we’ d get the sack!” “ Nurses are sponges,” says Cathy. “ Everyone round us is an expert, but we soak up everyone else’ s opinion.” “ They think o f us as expert bum-washers,” says Trish.

Kathy talks about the diffic­ ulty nurses have in re-adjusting to normal ward duty after being in intensive care. “ Intensive care nurses are in­ volved in spot decisions, not just administration. It’ s advanced med­ icine. Then when you go back to the ordinary wards, you can’ t cope, because y ou ’ re pushed back into the old unquestioning obedient role; your superiors resent you if

one public hospital went out over pay claims in their state. “ It was a successful strike,” says Suzanne. “ They held out for seven Intensive care is one o f the few weeks, and finally got their demands. ways a trained nurse can keep on But no-one died. They had rostered actually nursing, instead o f being pushed on up the line into adminis­ a skeleton staff, so that each nurse worked one week out o f the seven. tration.

Things that weren’t emergencies just “ They train you. as a slave for didn’ t get done. three years,” says Suzanne, “ Then “ The matron backed the strike — sit you at a desk. There’ s no way in fact the administration was be­ you can use your experience.” hind the nurses; it wasn’ t a case o f * * * the nurses doing it to spite their ad­ ministration. In fact it was already a fairly democratically-run hospital.”

Well, with that example before them, why don’ t nurses take heart Only recently have rules about and organise? trainee nurses living-in been relaxed.

Lorraine thinks it’ s partly because Judy s^ys what makes nurses’ “ there’ s no professional feeling homes so depressing is that “ there’ s among nurses. There’ s a tremendously no opportunity to get away from high turnover rate. There aren’ t the nursing environment.” If you many professions where they lose so can’ t get out o f it, she suggests, you many people. Hospitals are always can’ t get a clear perspective on it, or short-staffed, and morale among see how your jo b fits into society nurses is low. There are so many at large. Nor can you see how you ’re different unions and associations.” being exploited.

The NSW Nurses’ Association (a Linda agrees. “ Y ou argue and trade union) appears to be the most talk in the dining room , about the militant organisation for general way you can’ t cope. But that’ s as nurses. In Victora the Student Nur­ far as it goes. Y ou tell horror story ses’ Association has no teeth, being after horror story, until you get sick affiliated to the Victorian College o f it and someone says, let’ s talk o f Nursing, the body which sets about something else. No action, no exams, hands out qualifications, and changes com e out o f it.” runs nursing education. Y ou join “ And in the nurses’ home you ’ re one, you join both. treated like children,” says Judy. “ There’ s the Hospital Employees’ Annette remembers curfews; Federation,” says Judy. “ Mostly psy­ Linda recalls the locked door when chiatric nurses join this union. At she came o f f duty late and the bawl­ Prince Henry’ s we were warned by ing she had to endure along with “ the lecturers not to join. I think there girls who’ d been kissing to o long are only about 150 general nursing with their boyfriends in the car.” members.” “ A t Prince Henry’s (in Melbourne) Gina,,a psychiatric nurse, explains our room s were searched,” says Judy. that in her branch o f nursing, women They’ d go through our drawers and are outnumbered by men, who are cupboards without permission. I more union-conscious. Thus condit­ guess they were looking for contra­ ions in psychiatric nursing are better ceptives, or hospital equipment.” at least in one sense: Suzanne remembers the time a “ It’s always been more tolerant,” home sister walked into her room says Lorraine. “ There are camps, while she was asleep in there, on a longhairs, drug-takers. Usually they day off. are despised by general nurses.” “ What are you doing in bed at Psychiatric nurses, it will be rem­ 11 o ’ clock in the morning?” embered, are more hard-nosed about “ What’s it look like? I’ m sleeping.” striking. “ Young girls should be out in the Nursing aides, too, have toughened fresh air.” their souls and struck for improved “ We handed in a petition to the conditions. Linda describes the awk­ hospital administration,” says Suz­ wardness o f their successful campaign anne. “ They said they didn’ t know against “ dirty work” : the searches were being conducted. “ During their strike they refused There weren’ t any more after that.” to change dirty beds, or clean up “ Y ou can’ t bring a man into vomit and shit. So you got the awful your room ,” says Cathy. “ They’ve situation where you put a patient only got the foyer to sit in. Y ou just on a pan — if she shat in the pan, can’ t get away from women. I used the aide wouldn’ t empty it, and just to walk round muttering bloody left her there till the nursing sister wom en! as if I were a man.” came and did it. This had a really Judy tells about a girl “ who was bad effect on the patient — in effect an intelligent, excellent nurse, but the aides were saying ‘ If you piss — she was kicked out o f Prince Henry’ s you ’re OK, but bad luck if you shit.’ training school because she was a “ It’ s as if the aides play a father’ s lesbian. It was all hushed up.” role and the nurses a mother’ s one.

An all-female^ institution like a Like the way men say to their wives, nurses’ home doesn’ t, nurses say, as if it were to their credit, ‘ I don’ t produce militancy. mind changing wet nappies, but “ All nurses do is sit around and the shitty ones are you r department.’ ” * * * bitch,” says Lorraine. “ Y ou can’ t All the nurses we spoke to were have proper consciousness-raising very much concerned with how they sessions because most nurses com e see patients being treated. We asked straight out o f school. them if they found themselves having “ They’ve tried to make some to get hard to get out. changes — they’ve appointed a nur­ Lorraine’ s been nursing for over ses’ representative to the Education six years. “ Y ou get blase really board in NSW, but o f course she’ ll be quickly. I haven’ t killed anyone yet. over-awed by tutor sisters and d oc­ But it shits me when we’re really busy tors. And they’ve appointed a nurses’ and understaffed and you can’ t give counsellor. It’s just a sop to make patients the care they need. the kids think something is happen­ “ Things still move me, sick chil­ ing.” dren freak me . . . and I can’ t handle What militancy there is, accor­ ding to Lorraine, is promptly crushed. death. B lood, shit, vomit and gore — you get used to all that. But at first “ One o f the rocks wom en perish it’ s a rude shock. Y ou see people in on is their inability to organise. the most intimate situations. I seem They’ re not trained to show initiat­ to be able to draw back. Some kids ive in an adept way. In hospitals break down over people dying.” they only want to see initiative in Annette: “ Whatever I d o, I try work. If you want to take control o f to look at it from the patient’ s point ;your environment, they mark you as o f view. Anything I hated to do, the a rebel and try to get rid o f you. “ In the Royal Women’ s Hospital patient hated ten times more. But in Paddington where I work, nurses it’ s really hard to feel you should do who’ ve been involved in unrest and more for a patient while people protests have been cracked down on. around you are saying d on't g et Nurses who were sitting for their mid­ involved. ” wifery certificates — all trained nur­ Suzanne: “ The patient is last in ses, 22 or 23 years old — were ros­ the line. They com e in to get things tered on night duty the night o f done to them, it’s done and then their exams. Nurses aren’ t supposed they go home.” to be put on night duty for two “ They don’ t get told enough” , weeks before an exam. says Judy. They don’t know they “ After it was all over, the Matron have the right to refuse to be exam­ ined by students. I’ve seen women called them up, and the punishment was that, because o f their disgusting in tears from pain and embarrass­ ment, being examined by half a dozen and unprofessional behaviour they students. wouldn’t be given a graduation cere­ Cathy says it’s easy to stop iden­ mony. I mean — they just laughed.”

Even militant nurses feel squeamish tifying with the patient. “ Y ou have to remind yourself constantly.” about striking. “ The unavoidable fact is,” says Linda saw it from the patient’ s angle when she wais having a child Linda, “ that if y ou ’re not there, in the public ward o f an English hos­ someone will die.”

In 1969 the nurses at Canberra’ s pital. you know what’s wrong with a patient, or even if you only want to know.”

Locked in

April “ I was helpless,” she says. “ They didn’ t care what I wanted, though I’ d worked really hard on painless childbirth methods. It seemed they were quite arbitrary in their decisions as to whose labor they’ d induce, whose waters they’ d break, who they’ d send home. “ I don’ t suppose I grasped it all until the doctor came in and said to me, as if he was talking to a rather dim-witted child, ‘ Righto, just curl up on the edge o f the bed like a little bunny rabbit’ . “ I said, * L ook, I don’ t need a spinal anaesthetic.’ “ The doctor was a bit taken aback. I said, ‘I’ m a nurse, and I know what curling up like a little bunny rabbit means.’ “ But knowing didn’ t make any difference. They made my husband go home, and forced me to have the epidural anesthetic, against my will.

The only thing that stopped them from delivering me with forceps was a change o f s t af f . . . a nurse took over who believed in natural child­ -birth, and I delivered him myself, with normal pushing. “ People suffer the utmost indig­ nity in hospitals, not only adult patients but parents admitting their children. You don’ t mean to be hard, but you ’ re frantic to get it all done and sometimes you forget their an­ xiety and suffering or make light o f it.”

Ultimately it’ s the patient who suffers from the understaffing and inefficiency o f hospitals. But the system suffers from more than just inefficiency.

Suzanne tells wl^at happened at the Royal Melbourne when she was working in a relatively undemanding ward: “ There’d be a couple o f empty beds, and there’ d be a call, in the middle o f the night from Casualty that an accident victim was coming in from Box Hill. We had to drop everything, and keep the person alive with the breathing bag” — she makes a rhythmic squeezing m otion with her hand — “ until the vultures des­ cended — the doctors waiting for a kidney to transplant. They’ d whisk the patient o f f to theatre and we knew that as soon as the kidney was removed they’ d turn the machine o ff arid the person would die.” “ What about that fucking creep in South Africa with his trans­ plants?” says Gina. “ He had a team o f 32 who did the bulk o f the work, and they were the nur­ sing staff. Those patients were in hospitals for months afterwards, being taken care o f by nurses. And he got all the glory.”

fall down the bed, and we’ d have to lift her up and try again. “ It was no good complaining they’ d just take the jo b away from us and give it to someone else.

Her husband used to sit beside her, he’ d weep, tears would pour down his face — he’ d keep saying, ‘ Let her go, oh, let her g o !’ But the doctors wouldn’ t let us. I think the doctors who are for euthanasia are the bravest.” * * *

Priests’ m otel In Melbourne recently the new private section o f St. Vincent’ s Hos­ pital was opened — a massive grey building with a quiet courtyard, a fountain, a rock garden. Nurses call it the Fitzroy Hilton. It’ s on the edge o f Fitzroy, one o f Mel­ bourne’ s oldest, poorest inner sub­ urban areas, and round the corner from the Champion, the rough pub.

On its other side stands St. Vincent’ s itself, a big roaring messy public hospital — overcrowded, understaffed, like every hospital these nurses have ever worked in.

Trish has been working in the Hilton fo r a few weeks. “ It’ s luxurious,” she says. “ I’ ve been doing flowers all this week — there’ s nothing for me to d o.” “ Half the rooms are em pty,” says Cathy in. disgust — “ Each room has a tiled area where the bed is, then carpet, a private bathroom and television. During the Eucharistic Congress it was used as a motel for visiting priests.” * * *

Suzanne believes there’ s to o much emphasis placed on hospitals, and not enough on the idea o f “ community medicine.” “ Go out into F itzroy,” she says, “ and you ’ ll find out how much incidence there is o f small disease-nutrition problems — kids who don’ t get a proper breakfast.

Not hospital sickness. “ I want to find out what or­ dinary people think is needed in a health service. There are hundreds o f people out there who expect — and get — humiliating treatment when they go to outpatients, or to a doctor. ‘What’ s the point o f going to a doctor?’ they say. ‘ Why worry?’ ” Judy mentions the health ser­ vices nurses have set up in the United States. “ They set up clinics and treat people who are to o alienated to look for a doctor. They can’ t pres­ cribe drugs — but there ¿re plenty o f things they can do to help “ Medicine can do great things,” says Suzanne, “ but the system people.” beats you. We had a woman at (Recently Melbourne’ s Free the Melbourne who came in with Store anarchists tried to set up a severe burns. She had nine kids. Her free medical service in Fitzroy. husband left her because she Their doctor, a woman, was not looked so hideous. We saved her allowed to carry on her free prac­ life, we did commendable things tice there because o f a council to make her better. It shouldn’ t regulation requiring two parking matter that she’ s ugly. But the bays for medical practitioners’ way things are for her now, may­ cars). be she should have been allowed Suzanne realises the enormity to die. She’s beaten by the system.” o f the problem o f community Judy: “ We had a woman whose health. “ We have to find out exactly heart stopped twice. She was saved what the problems are, and start by heart massage. She asked me, working; otherwise everything we ‘Why didn’ t you let me die?’ She say is just ranting.” knew she’ d have an arrest some­ A small but hopeful start is the time when she wasn’ t in hospital. formation, in Melbourne, o f a She died six months later.” group o f hurses to produce a pub­ “ In the Geelong hospital,” lication called Jab, The Nurses' says Linda, “ We had an 85-yearold woman, an unstabilised diabetic, Voice. These women want to hear from any nurses who share their which meant we had to take a dissatisfaction with nurses’ roles, blood test every six hours to hospital administration and general know how much insulin to give community attitudes to health her. She was so old that we had and medicine. Write to 499 George to try many, many times for each Street, Fitzroy. Right on, Sister! blood sample. She’ d groan, and

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April

The Digger

Page 5

Page 6

The Digger

Breasts mean something; knife alters meaning

by Beatrice Faust We live in a mammarocentric uni­ verse, the feminists say, and they are unhappy about it. Some see tit worship as an example o f the way men set women up as sex-objects, others object that girls who have more money than bosom resort to plastic surgery which is partly re­ fundable by the medical benefits scheme — that is the tax-payer is subsidising what is basically cosmetic surgery.

Fact is, the desire to have an adequate padding o f mammary tissue is not just culturally induced.

Breasts are part o f the equipment o f a sexually mature female. The exact shape and quantity which passes for adequate will depend on the period o f history, the demands o f the culture and the potential o f the individual’ s racial heredity. Chinese tend to small bosoms, and for a long time, Chinese fashion decried big breasts as vulgar, which was very con ­ venient for the majority who fitted the stereotype, and sad for the buxom women who were overen­ dowed for their time and place, but who would have been welcome in any nineteenth century London bordello, where big bosoms were really swing­ ing. Here is a “ beauty expert” writ­ ing from the Middle Ages: “ The breast o f a beautiful woman should be rather broad, and as white as snow or clear as crystal. The breast must be small, round as a pear or an apple o f paradise, and soft as silk to the touch. Large breasts and long hanging breasts are considered ugly.”

This is in direct contrast to the Japan­ ese ideal which, through most o f history has been melon-shaped, and the preference among some New Guineans w ho prefer boobs that look like nothing so much as a recently discarded condom .

But change is a l l . . . the “ apple o f paradise” breast was follow ed by

a brief period when girls were bound up with linen wraps over iron plates to stop their breasts erupting. And the flappers’ chest was obtained by a corset just as crippling as the ones used to produce the S-bend on the Gibson girl, or the Victorian wasp waist. Flat-tops are rare, and short­ lived, for the simple reason that not enough women fit the stereo­ type to make it a going concern.

Culture reinforces nature much more easily than altering its bent, and breasts are a naturally occurring phenomenon.

The flat-chested woman, the man who’ s bald at twenty-three, and the thalidomide baby who hits the world legless and armless share a com m on sense o f deprivation that differs in degree but not in kind.

Deprivation is personal, so it’s no use telling the girl who looks like Twiggy five years after Twiggy be­ came a back number to be grateful she has arms and legs. She will have anxiety, just as any visibly different person feels anxious, including the men who imagine their penes are smaller than the stan­ dard issue. Contrariwise, the girl who is overendowed and does not want to go into show business, or who has Ann Margret’ s circumferal dimensions on a five-foot-nothing frame, may feel her boobs are a real burden. Imagine trying to get your arms to the typewriter around the sweep o f an E-cup bra. Or even trying to buy an E-cup bra that isn’ t made o f pink calico and whale­ bone. Imagine trying to discuss world politics at a business lunch, when your main worry is how to keep your boobs out o f the prawn cocktail.

And while dancing and tennis are more or less optional extras, what happens when Miss Mammary 1973 unhooks her bra to frolic? A male camp friend o f mine once tried to cross the floor, and picked on a

good-looking, big-busted co-operative girl to guide him. It was a disaster.

When they tried balling in the fe­ male-superior position — which is the least demanding for men who are unsure o f themselves — he felt as if he was being assaulted with a sandfilled sock — two sand-filled socks.

When he laid the lady on her back, her boobs slipped sideways under her arm-pits, and he had a dread that he might injure her. *

*

*

Culture has colluded with nature in producing an inflated demand.

Anyone who has no bosom at all is guaranteed to be anxious. Pro­ surgery lobbyists argue money spent on psychotherapy needed to help someone live with herself, which often does not work, might just as well be spent in one hit on surgery that does work. A lady psychiatrist, who has a bust like Bessie Smith

each. The same strictures about movement and touch apply. The patient I interviewed about her augmentation mammaplasty had been operated on in winter, and was sleeping on her back under a cradle draped with blankets and surrounded by hot water bottles to keep her igloo warm. She was startled at the painlessness o f it,

and to find that the breast tissue and skin is infinitely stretchy. For a brief time, her nipples looked flat and pink with huge, pale, virginal areolas. After the stitches were out, and the figure-of-eight strapping re­ moved (it usually is replaced once before leaving the hospital, and re­ moved about 10 days later), she found that her nipples resumed the smaller size, and browner color o f women w ho have been pregnant.

This operation was visually and psychologically a success, but not perfect.

Breasts consist o f a great deal o f fatty tissues, and clusters o f ancini glands which change during the menstrual cycle, and during preg­ nancy. These are organised almost exactly like a halved orange: the glands are divided o ff into segments car lobes by strong fibrous tissue.

The breast is as richly supplied with nerves as the penis, and these nerves carry touch-messages to the brain which feeds back hormones into the blood. The hormones rouse the whole body in sexual excitment, with especially potent effects on the wom b — this is why breast-feeding is such a pleasurable and healthy follow-up from the hard work o f giving birth. The scrupulous surgeon will be careful to separate out the main nerves and cut between them.

Others cut across, producing tem­ porary, and sometimes permanent reduction in sensitivity. This happens to about one woman in four, and the girl in the igloo was the unlucky fourth. On balance, she felt she had gained more than lost.

This is the only bad side effect, and it is up to each woman to de­ cide if she wants to take the risk, and to quizz her surgeon to see how aware he is o f the problem. You can always change surgeons, but the severed nerves are more or less irre­ placeable. Cancer is not a probable side-effect: If anything, having an insert is likely to make it easier to feel a cancerous lump by pushing the glands and ducts forward, away from the chest wall, and spreading them out over the insert which may be silicone or dextran, a synthetic sugar.

Although no-one dies for lack o f it, mammaplasty is more than cosmetic surgery.

countries except Iran and Afghani­ stan, where you can get it at the border. Embassies and High Commi­ ssions often will give you tips on where to obtain this. You also need a road pass in West Pakistan which can be obtained from the Embassy in Australia, and a Carnet de Passage en Douane, which is a p ro o f o f owner­ ship you may need in India. You can obtain it from a motoring organisation (NRMA, RACV, A A A ). An Inter­ national Certificate for Motor V e­ hicles and an International Driver’ s Licence are also useful (NRMA, R ACV, or A A A ). * * *

necessary. Eastern Europe is quite passable if you are prepared to spend some m oney, or alternatively, very cheap tours are arranged by inter­ national or communist-affiliated groups from England — look in the ‘ New Statesman’ , a British weekly which advertises these tours.

mam

fibrous septum

Journeying through tetracyclin territory have simply vanished.

It’ s hard to find things out in advance, specially through straight Getting out o f Australia is not nearly as expensive or difficult as tourist agencies because they mostly people often make out. The hardest don’ t cater fo r freaks, or people who part is deciding to go. Y ou can get want to get to Europe overland, ’ '•'pe for $400, in three months, which is a very intricate business to passing through Indonesia, Singa­ plan. Even if you do get information pore, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Paki­ (maps are essential), be prepared for stan. Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. it to be out o f date or just plain This is the regular, by now well- wrong, as situations change fast. trodden route, although the number What news you hear on the road will o f freaks or travellers in any place probably serve you better. You have at one time is usually, small (except to start thinking quicker, that’s all,, in places like Bali and Nepal). You and needing less com fort from ad­ can hitch, take buses, trains and vance plans.

Basic essentials are a passport and ships most o f the way — cheap, but an International Health Card. Visas crowded and often uncomfortable, specially if you don’ t enjoy pro­ are needed for some countries and longed close physical contact with can be obtained from the country’ s your fellow-humans. Most people get embassy either in Australia or in the country preceding the one you are to like it more.

Two is the best number for about to enter. You can’ t usually travelling: one gets lonely and more get a visa at a border. And don’ t than two can become unwieldy. It’ s get them too far in advance as they easy to split up and regroup when are often tenable for only six you meet other travellers on the months and you may change your plans. They are usually easy enough road.

Borders are easy to cross if your to get, providing you look reasonably documents are in order and you straight, although sometimes they keep you waiting for a few days. don’ t look too freaky. A neat beard Visa prices vary. Approximate is about as far as a guy can go in some Asian countries: there are well- prices are: Indonesia $3, Thailand $5, documented stories o f fierce border Nepal $2.50, Afghanistan free, Iran guards in out o f the way places who 81. Two or three photos may be re­ love playing barber. Singapore is the quired, plus some money or travellers heaviest: they simply w on’ t let you cheques to flash if you look ragged. in if your hair (guys) covers your Airline tickets impress; you won’ t get ears, collars or forehead. People have an Indonesian visa unless you have a been known to leave Melbourne ‘plane ticket. Y ou can get one Medan-Penang from Garuda Indon­ looking like missionaries in order to crack the security o f this hippie- esian Airways (embassy officials like fearing island. Consolations: Singa­ this one, it is their national airline), pore is one o f the first stops on your or Qantas. It can be cashed in Penang.

Y ou need vaccinations for small­ journey and by the time you reach end point you should be adequately pox and cholera, and should get TAB blurry round the edges again. If you shots (typhoid, paratyphoid and just can’ t bring yourself to cut your tetanus), about a month before you hair, give Singapore a miss altogether: leave, as there are often side-effects take a ship to Medan, in Sumatra, which make you feel ratshit.

Another useful document is an and thence across to Penang in Malaysia.

International Student Card, which Other border problems are money will often get you sizeable reductions and dope. Y ou may have to show on train and air fares (try United you have enough money to carry on Burma Airlines, Thai International « i t o f the country in question. An and Garuda). If you haven’ t got one, open reservation airline ticket im­ there is a healthy black market trade presses in this situation — it can also in this area. be cashed in when you get to Jenique’ s restaurant in Bali had a Europe, and in any airline office notice up about student cards and along the way if you lose your very well printed they are too — cost m oney. (Pan Am, BOAC or Qantas about $2. Alternatively you can are known names, even in the write to the Communist student sticks.) organisation IUS, who dispense cards Iran and Turkey are very tigm freely on any reasonable evidence about dope, and you may be that you are a student. Address: searched, though this is fairly unusual, International Union o f Students, when com ing out o f Afghanistan.

C /o International Student Travel Penalties are stiff — long prison Bureau, Praha 2, Czechoslovakia, terms. Some whisper death. People Naplavni 11.

neck. The only time she went back to the psychiatrist after the operation was to kiss her good-bye and thank her for writing the referral.

Augmentations are slightly different. A girl can be built up from a minus A-cup 10 inch teeny bra to an average 34 B, through two cuts about an inch and a half wide with only half a dozen stitches in

collecting duct*

H ow to travel from h ere to In d on esia , th en ce to T u rk ey , and h ow m uch it c o s ts :

by Chris Moss

and a bigger heart, said “ O f course it works! I’ve lost half o f my patients that way.” The overendow­ ed girls are usually young. When a woman builds up a 44” bust during 15 years o f marriage, and a steady diet o f roast potatoes, pavlova and sherry, she hardly notices the change. But when a nymphet goes to bed virginal, and wakes up with bushes under her arms, and breasts that make Mums lock up their sons when they see her coming, she is going to develop a distorted selfimage.

The girl I spoke to had not been outside the house in twelve months except to visit her shrink, who re­ commended surgery as a last resort.

This involved a general anaesthetic, about a four-hour operation, 180 stitches in each breast, and sleeping on her back for 10 days. The surgeon in this case was meticulous about the healing process as much as the surgery. It was no use removing the bulk, and leaving the patient with a network o f scars. The breast must be protected from the slightest pressure or movement, so, as it was summer, she had to lie on her bed with only her pyjama bottom s and 2” wide elastoplast strapping to protect her modesty. But she didn’t care! she was radiant — she could see her toes without cricking her

The word student on your pass­ port gets you 50% reduction on Indian railways, and the British embassy issues a back-up letter if student is on your passport.

International Youth Hostel cards are useful in Europe, specially in winter, but most youth hostels in Asia are more expensive than cheap hotels. An International Driving Licence can come in handy too and is another piece o f paper to impress border guards with. Y ou will need about 30 photos for various docu­ ments along the way, and the machine ones you get here in Australia are much cheaper than what you ’ ll get in Asia. Money belts seem tight-arsed but if you have one you w on’ t get all your money and papers pinched.

Most Asian countries have poor health facilities. It’ s best to carry your own supply o f essentials., Tetracyclin, the strongest anti­ biotic there is, should be carried for serious disease, and if you start a course o f it you should always complete it — four tabs a day for five days. Local preparations for dysentery and diarrheia are often OK but it’ s best to take Enterovioform or a similar preparation as well.

Indonesia has no good health facilities, but most o f the other countries have US hospitals if things get really desperate. In most countries you can get medicine without a pre­ scription.

The recommended treatment for serious illness in Indonesia is a ’ plane to Darwin.

Y ou should not drink unboiled water anywhere in Asia except maybe Singapore and the major cities in Malaysia, as westerners are not immune to the local bugs. A good medical kit includes Niquivine (to be taken in malarial areas), Tetra­ cyclin, Enterovioform, insect re­ pellent (a tube, not a spray pack), antiseptic cream, bandaids and multi­ vitamin tablets.

The Australian dollar is good in Indonesia, but it may be unkown in the less-travelled parts o f the world.

Even in Europe there are people who have never heard o f Australia. The US dollar is still the currency with the most push, although you should watch out for any new devaluation.

A comfortable budget is $600 for 6 months. You ought to carry this in more than one place or form, for obvious reasons. Y ou can have money sent to you in three days by tele­ graphic transfer between banks. You arrange this with your bank before you leave.

Travellers cheques are the most

convenient way to carry money — preferably First National City Bank o f America or American Express.

You can claim back any money lost very quickly if you keep separate note o f the serial numbers. Half cash and half travellers cheques is cool.

The black market exists in many countries, and is usually strongest in the countries with the strictest currency exchange regulations. Be­ fore you enter these countries you have to fill out a form saying how much money you have, and you will have to account for it all (with bank receipts for money exchanged) on your way out. Therefore to use the black market you should declare less than you actually have and hide the remainder. Black markets are strong in India, Nepal and Burma. Marketeers will approach you in the street; wait till you hear a couple o f offers before you take one and you may make a killing. Otherwise you can ask other travellers, taxi drivers or other sinis­ ter looking characters.

Y ou w on ’tmake any spectacular profits from importing goods across borders unless you know your mar­ kets. Very few Asians can afford new watches, radios, etc., even at very cheap prices. However, western gear such as jeans, cords, denim jackets are always saleable, make good pre­ sents or can be used for bartering.

Woollen and other warm clothing goes well in Bali. India is the place to sell radios, watches, color film and razor blades. Y ou can flog cigarette papers in Afghanistan. B lood can be sold in Timor, Istanbul, Meshed (Afghanistan), and Kuweit, for varying prices — about $2 a pint.

Stories are told o f unsterilised needles and hospitals taking to o much blood* leaving you weak. How desperate are you for m oney? Be careful.

Women travellers have special pro­ blems, particularly in Moslem countries where most local women still go about veiled from head to ankles, and are considered^ chattels.

Young men and women don’ t meed socially; often a man doesn’ t see his wife’ s face until after they are married.

What this means to western travellers is that in smaller towns and villages (but also in cities) men get a buzz out o f staring at you because you go around bare-headed, wearing jeans and a jumper or other tight (by their standards) clothing.

Unfortunately some d on ’ t stop at staring: they don’ t scruple to make flying grabs at your cunt as you walk down the street, or to punch you really hard in the breast.

You can wear less outrageously independent clothing: a loose dress over jeans, covering your crutch — the sight o f a crutch revealed by trousers is probably the most in­ flammatory aspect o f western dress.

Or you can learn to hit back — this is risky — or to duck and weave. Don’ t be foolhardy about venturing alone into alleys or police stations. Horrible stories are told.

*

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Once in Asia you can travel by train, bus or ship most o f the way.

Unfortunately you have to cross Burma by air as the government has closed the borders. There are rebels in much o f the highlands (Shans, Kachins Karnes who are non-Burmese and Communists, who have been fighting since the end o f the 2nd World War). Much o f the world’ s best opium is grown in this area (The Golden Triangle — Thailand, Burma and Laos). Y ou can get a 7-day visa and land at Rangoon on United Burma Airlines or Thai Airlines for US$97 (1973 rate), with hotel thrown in.

To give an idea o f prices T will give details o f the most com m on route to Singapore. This is one o f the most difficult and expensive parts as it includes a sea crossing and an air crossing., (R efer to chart below.)

You can get student concessions on Indonesian trains — about 25%.

Taking your own vehicle is an­ other way o f doing it.

There is a good through road from India to Europe, suitable for ordinary cars, but you cannot travel across Burma so you would have to ship to Malaysia and then to Australia from Singapore, or direct to Australia.

Vehicle insurance is necessary for all

Eastern Europe is less expensive than the west, and you can hitch fairly easily in all o f Europe except France, Yugoslavia, Spain and Communist countries. In France it is illegal, in Yugoslavia merely difficult.

Y ou can go from Turkey to Greece, Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, Bel­ gium, England. Greece and Yugoslavia are fairly cheap. There is a boat from Dubrovnik to Rijeka for about $5 calling at three islands where you can stop over and swim in the warm Adriatic, and cheapish buses in both countries.

Germany and Belgium are fast hitching but expensive. The whole journey can be done in a week if

*

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The most useful guide I have found is the Golden Guide to South and East Asia, published by the Far East E conom ic Review, Hong Kong. This has articles on Motoring to Europe, India-England by car, and descriptions o f all countries from Pakistan to Indonesia. — C.M. The Digger invites constructive information on travel from other

readers — P.F.

This is Joni her latest hi Route

Method o f Travel

Price (Aust. $ unless specified).

Melbourne-Darwin

Hitch ( takes at least 1 week).

Train or bus to Alice Springs then Pioneer bus, or bus from Brisbane.

Allow at least $20 for food and accommodation. $80.90

Darwin-Denpasar (Bali).

Stay: Kuta Beach.

Plane (Merpati).

Must book through TAA; few travel bureaus handle it.

B ook early or take chance at Darwin.

Leaves every Friday.

$80.60 (before US de­ valuation but after Aust­ ralian revaluation).

Denpasar- Surabaya Stay: Transitro Hotel.

Bus

1,000 rupiah (about $2).

Surabaya-Jogjakarta Stay: Rachmat or H otel Jogja.

Bus. Train ( train is slower).

600 rupiah, $1.20.

400 rupiah, $0.80.

Jogjak ar ta-Djak arta Stay: Youth hostel K ebon Sirih.

Train

500 rupiah, $1.00.

Stay: Lameroo Beach (askclientele at R o c k y ’s Place).

Djakarta-Tandjung Ship Pinang (Mon. night — Stay: A ny losmen Pelni). (cheap Chinese hotel). Also goes to Medan

4.000 rupiah, $8.00.

Tandjung PinangSingapore Stay: Youth Hostel International, 32 S t Thomas Walk.

$40 Singapore, $A14.00.

Ship (Every day — 12 noon).

6.000 rupiah,

$10.00.

Total: $A 115.60

Manufactured and Distributed by E.fvf.I.

7 April

Page 7 A . K . W eil, a H a rva rd -tra in ed m e d ica l p r a c tit io n e r and d ru g resea rch er, b e lie v e s all illn ess is p s y c h o s o m a tic .

Higher consciousness as preventative medicine After decades o f jabbing fingers into our guts “ to see where it hurts” , placing ice-cold stethoscopes on the more sensitive parts o f our torso, and poking spoons down our throats and suppositories up our arses, the M.B., B.S. boys have been getting a bit o f their own back lately. Everyone from Bill Hayden and Mungo McCallum up to Ivan Illich has been putting in the boot, and now, to top it all o ff, they’re getting it in the neck from one o f their own number, Heads will remember Andrew Weil with affection as the Harvard doctor and author o f the first and still one o f the only scientifically valid research projects on the effects o f marijuana, the results o f which were published in Science (Dec. ’ 68) and in condensed from in National U during 1969. Briefly, Weil found: 1. It is feasible and safe to study the effects o f marijuana on hu­ man volunteers w ho smoke it in a laboratory.

2 J n a neutral setting persbns w h o are naive to marijuana do not have strong subjective ex­ periences after smoking low or high doses o f the drug.

3. Marijuana-naive persons do demonstrate impaired perform­ ance on simple intellectual and psychometer tests after smoking marijuana.

4. Regular users o f marijuana do get high after smoking marijuana but d o not show the same de­ gree o f impairment o f perform­ ance on the tests that naive sub­ jects show. In some cases, their performance even improves slightly.

5. Marijuana increases heart rate moderately and causes dilation o f conjunctival blood vessels.

6. Marijuana produces no change in blood-sugar levels, respiratory rate, or pupil size.

7. In a neutral setting the physio­ logical and psychological effects o f a single, inhaled dose o f mari­ juana appear to reach maximum intensity within one half hour o f inhalation, diminish after one hour, and completely dissipate by three hours.

Weil used the “ double-bind” ex­ perimental design in which neither the subject nor the experimenter knows whether the substance being tested is marijuana or a neutral sub­ stance. He claims any drug research which fails to do this will succeed only in revealing the prejudices o f the experimenter, since both ‘ set’ and ‘ setting’ have decisive influence on the effect the drug will have. Most current drug research suffers from this debility.

On the basis o f his experiments and much anecdotal evidence Weil concludes that marijuana is little more than a “ harmless placebo” which will have whatever effdct the

user wishes or expects it to have.

Weil’ s attack on his medical brethren is not the main object o f the book but is an explication o f his main thesis. This thesis proceeds in two steps. First he claims that there are two types o f consciousness or thought process, stright thinking and stoned thinking, whose characteris­ tics are outlined below. Secondly, he argues, people take drugs (and do many other things) simply to satisfy a natural and time-honored human drive to experience the altered con­ sciousness o f stoned thinking.

Of course there is nothing new, apart from the trendy and ‘with-it’ nomenclature, about the idea o f two types o f thought, a concept with a long pedigree culminating in the modern distinction between alphaconsciousness and beta-consciousness as detected on an electroencephograph. But in explaining the nature o f the two types Weil embarks on a sustained attack on modern medical practice as exemplifying all the wt>rst faults o f exclusively straight thinking.

He begins with insecticides:

laboratories. Hospital infections with these virulent strains have been increasing sharply, as all medical personnel know.

Predictably, the more powerful antibiotics are much more toxic to human cells and can be as dangerous to life as a generalised infection. Penicillin, the first true antibiotic to be discovered, inter­ feres with the cell-wall formation o f certain bacteria, and bacterial cell-walls are different in import­ ant ways from human cell-walls.

But many newer, more powerful antibiotics are toxic to basic cellular processes — processes we have in comm on with bacteria.

From here he moves on to attack one o f the cornerstones o f medical thinking — allopathic medicine:

Straight thinking imagines that hostile appearances o f nature can be banished by direct application o f force. But the use o f cellular poisons in our houses and food must, in a very real way, be hurt­ ing us, regardless o f the amount o f damage we can now measure. This way o f dealing with insects direct­ ly rebounds on us.

Does the method even achieve the desired objective? As vigorous selective agents, insecticides in our world play a significant role in the evolutionary development o f all insect species. They neatly weed out the susceptible members o f families, concentrating in insect gene pools all over the world the genetic factors that confer resis­ tance to these chemicals. Thus, the use o f insecticides, by straight forward principles o f natural tion, creates new races o f insects, resistant to these substances often more aggressive or tough in other ways. Already we have got into fast-moving arms races with a number o f species, and their resis­ tance has escalated to match our escalations o f toxicity. In some cases, the patterns o f insect des­ truction o f crops are now more devastating than they were before powerful insecticides were first used years ago.

This, which has been said before, is only the start. From there he moves into an attack on antibiotics: The parallel between anti­ biotics and insecticides is striking.

In their importance as selective agents modifying the evolution o f bacteria, antibiotics are strictly analogous to chemical poisons used to control insects. Their in­ creasing use over the past 30 years correlates exactly with the appearance, in ever-greater numbers, o f organisms that are more virulent in their parasitic relationships with man and terribly adept at developing re­ sistance to the latest antibiotics out o f the world’ s pharmaceutical

Allopathy is the system o f medicine that medical doctors learn the world over. Its unifying principle is that one must treat illness by counteracting the symp­ toms o f illness. Thus if high blood pressure is a manifestation o f a disease, antihypertensive drugs are administered; if serious in­ flammation occurs on the surface o f the body, anti-inflammatory medications are applied. Yet,

allopathic practice has been un­ able to control well the phenom­ ena o f health and illness; often it unwittingly produces methods that intensify illnesses rather than ameliorate them. I d o not expect readers w ho are allopathic practitioners or patients to accept my view on faith, but I d o ask all readers to give thought to these arguments and to test them against their own experience. *

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We live in a world full o f germs, some o f which are correlat­ ed with physical symptoms o f in­ fectious disease. But only some o f us get infectious disease, and we get them only some o f the time.

Why? Because there are factors in us that determine what kind o f relationship we will have with those germs that are always out there — a relationship o f balanced coexistence or one o f unbalanced

antagonism. Further, outside o f laboratories scientists do not (usually) go around innoculating us with potentially dangerous micro-organisms. Fulfillment o f the third o f K och’s postulates by­ passes the whole system by which relationships with germs are de­ termined internally. I admit that it looks as if germs cause disease, but remember: acceptance o f appearance o f reality is a distin­ guished feature o f straight think­ ing.

My experiences in allopathic medicine, as a patient and as a practitioner, have led me to con­ clude that all illness is psycho­ somatic. I do not use the word in the sense o f “ unreal” or “ phony” , as many allopaths do. Rather, I mean that all illness has both psychic and physical components, and it seems to me that the physi­ cal manifestations o f illness (in­ cluding the appearance o f germs in tissues) are always effect,, while the causes always lie within the realm o f the mind, albeit the unconscious mind. In other words, the disease process seems to me to be initiated always by changes in consciousness. In the case o f infectious illness, the

initial causative change is not that germs appear to attack the body but that something happens in the person that permits a breakdown o f the normal harmonious balance between the body and the micro­ organism surrounding it.

For example, the staphylococci that seem to “ cause” boils are normally inhabitants o f our skins. Most o f the time, their re­ lationship to us is symbiotic — mutually beneficial. Occasionally, that balance breaks down and boils appear. The problem is to re­ store the balance, not to make the staph germs disappear. Anti­ biotics merely kill o ff the germs that are most inclined to form harmonious relationships with us, leaving behind the more aggressive tougher ones. Many times, our use o f materials becomes more and more desperate when we see them begin to fail and do not under­ stand why they are failing. In our desperation, we often look for

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sciousness can cause in the physi­ cal body are far beyond where most o f us imagine them. *

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The unconscious mind turns against the body only when a higher part o f the mind forces it to. Potential circuits exist for con­ ducting unconscious impulses up­ ward, as anyone who knows who is aware o f his daydreams and intuitions. The sealing o f these channels from above forces un­ balanced unconscious energies down the autonomic nerves to produce negative physical effects.

The reasons for this sealing from above are well known to all Freudians. The unconscious mind becomes the storehouse o f every­ thing the ego fears. Consequently, the ego attempts to block o ff the channels o f communication to keep fears out o f awareness. If we never learn to open the channels by disengaging our minds from ordinary consciousness, we con­ demn ourselves to sickness. *

li Mitchell

WHO DO WE THINK WE ARE!

better or stronger substances.

I can see no essential difference between this pattern and that o f drug dependence. The user who depends on drugs to get you into a desirable state o f consciousness becomes tolerant to them and cannot maintain his highs. If he fails to realise the nature o f the problem, his use o f drugs becomes desperate, and he must search for something stronger.

The parallel between the addict who needs and relies on more and more chemicals to maintain a state o f mental well-being and the typical patient who requires the same thing to maintain his physical well-being is striking. If we are distressed by the first, we ought to be more distressed by the second, which is more com m on, and perhaps more fatal.

We must find alternative explanations o f disease. And alternative means coping with it.

My intuitions about disease are: first, that it is, above all, an un­ natural condition; second, that its physical manifestations are caused by unnatural restraints placed on the unconscious mind; third, that the limits to what human con­

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The power to heal, like the power to make ill, resides in the patient. An outside healer, how­ ever dramatic his methods, can really do no more than two simple things: 1] he can remove any obstacles to healing that are present, and 2] he can motivate the patient to get well.

When allopathic practitioners cure patients o f illnesses they do so in the same way, usually in spite o f their methods. If a patient came to me, dependent on antibiotics, with recurrent cycles o f worsening infection, the first thing I would d o would be to remove the antibiotics. Similarly, the presence o f foreign matter in an open wound constitutes an ob ­ stacle to healing, as all surgeons know. Such obstacles need not be physical; anxiety is a powerful one that stands between many patients and health.

In contrast to the allopathic fixation on symptoms, many nonallopathic healers ignore symp­ toms totally. Treatment o f symp­ toms, however sophisticated, focuses the patient’ s attention on symptoms. This reinforces the anxiety and other negative feel­ ings that helped produce the symptoms in the first place. An important first step in correct treatment is to distract the patient from his condition. Witch d oc­ tors and medicine men in Indian societies are very adept at this sort o f distraction, their elaborate dances and rituals serve to get the patient’ s attention away from his illness, thus greatly increasing the likelihood that healing will occur.

The second aspect o f healing — motivating patients to heal them­ selves — is more subtle. The pro­ cess requires a kind o f unconscious communication between healer and patient. It is especially note­ worthy that healers get to be healers by being healed, in much the same way that psychoanalysts becom e psychoanalysts by being analysed.

To the straight mind nonallopathic healing sounds very mystical.

Faith healing is held in contempt by most rational people, despite

the abundant evidence o f cures.

What rational people fail to under­ stand is that thier systems require faith, too — faith in the intellec­ tual and the rational process.

Weil also argues the allopathic m o­ del in psychiatry, which he claims was adopted in the infancy o f disci­ pline in a misguided attempt to en­ sure its legitimacy and acceptance.

Weil’ s ideas echo those o f Laing, Cooper, Goffman and Szatz: Now the essence o f neurosis is ambivalence — the simultaneous experience o f opposite feelings.

Ego consciousness cannot mkae sense o f ambivalence because the ego in its self/not-self classifica­ tions, thinks in terms o f either/or.

Consequently, ambivalence (a very real feeling) is threatening to the ego because it violates straight logic.

The problem is not ambivalence, but the way one looks at it.

Once people learn to accept ambi­ valence as a natural state o f man then they need no longer be neurotic about it. It is interesting to note that one o f the aims o f Gestalt ther­ apy is to enable patients to accept and take responsibility for the way they are. This is seen as the first step towards change.

Weil distinguishes three types o f argument against drug use: medical, psychological and practical. Of these only the practical arguments have any validity. Weil claims: “ No associa­ tions have been demonstrated be­ tween regular use o f psychoactive drugs and direct medical conse­ quences.” As far as the psychological arguments are concerned, Weil argues that although drugs may “ act as a trigger” o f psychosis, as may other experiences, this is not to say the drug “ causes” the psychosis. Toler­ ance, Weil admits is a problem, but, he claims, there are ways in which a mature user can cope, as many o f us have learnt to do with our tolerance o f alcohol.

The biggest danger from drugs, according to Weil, is that people will come to see the attainment o f stoned consciousness as a property o f the drugs themselves and not as a natural if uncom mon human state, and that this will prevent them seeking other nonchemical methods o f achieving such states. In other words, the over­ use o f drugs will hide from people the full potential o f their own mental processes and becomes in the end a barrier to liberation. For this reason drugs should be seen only as crutches which are to be abandoned when the subject can stand on his own psychic feet.

Weil suggests that a model for the civilised use o f drugs can be found in the practices o f certain “ primitive” Amazonian tribes: There exist in the Amazonian regions societies that make liberal use o f drugs to alter awareness but do not appear to have problems with them. That is, they do not take drugs to rebel against parents or teachers, to drop out o f the social process, or to hurt them­ selves. Neither is their drug use in any way linked with antisocial patterns o f behaviour. And since the drugs in many cases are the same ones that are tied to anti­ social patterns o f use in the United States, the differences cannot have much basis in pharmacology. What then are these Indians doing differently that enables them to live with drugs and not suffer the negative manifestations o f drug use?

First, I consider it most signifi­ cant that the Indians use drugs in natural forms. They often prepare natural substances in elaborate ways, but they do not attempt to refine the substances into pure, potent forms or to extract active principles from natural drugs. By contrast, most o f the drugs in use in our society — aside from wine and beer, caffeine beverages, to­ bacco, marijuana, and occasional peyote — are highly refined, often synthetic chemicals.

The difficulties individuals and societies get into with drugs appear to be correlated with the purity or potency o f substances in use: the more potent the drug, the more trouble there is associ­ ated with them. Opium forms a relatively harmless habit in that a high percentage o f users can smoke it for years without devel­ oping troublesome problems with tolerance. Dependence on opium, if it is stable, can be as consistent with social productivity as depen­ dence on coffee or tobacco. When morphine, the active principle o f opium, is isolated and made available, problems do appear. The same kinds o f comparisons can be made between coca leaf and co ­ caine, peyote and mescaline, t h e , “ magic mushrooms” o f Mexico and psilocybin. In all cases, the more potent formsare associated with more problems.

I consider the Indians’ pre­ ference for natural drugs one reason that they do not have a drug problem. Another reason is that they recognise the normality o f the human drive to experience altered states o f consciousness periodically and the prominence o f the drive in growing children.

Rather than try to thwart the ex­ pression o f this need, the Indians choose to introduce children to

these experiences by letting them try drugs under supervision, usually by the witch doctor.

Further, the use o f drugs in Indian societies is highly ritualis­ ed — they take drugs in certain ways for certain purposes. Some drugs are used only by witch doctors for divination or for diag­ nosing illness. Ritual surrounds all drug uses: at every step, from the cutting o f the plants to the taking o f the prepared drugs, the Indians do things in traditional, careful, often elaborate ways.

This kind o f ritual seems to protect individuals and groups from the negathe effects o f drugs, possibly by establishing a frame­ work o f order around their use.

We can see this protective func­ tion o f ritual in our own society with our uses o f alcohol. Persons who lay down a ritual for drink­ ing — e.g., only after 6 pm, only when others are present, only when there is fo o d , and only for a specified period before supper — are not those who get into trouble with alcohol.

Thus, if one decides to use drugs as a primary method o f altering consciousness, one would be wise to take the Indian way and: 1. Use natural drugs in natural ways. Try the coca leaf rather than cocaine, beer and wine rather than hard spirits, moreover introduce drugs into the body in natural ways. Intravenous injec­ tion o f any chemical is an un­ natural route o f administration and thus, to my mind, an unrea­ sonable practice.

2. Use drugs ritually. It does not matter what the rules are as long as they are acceptable and con­ sistent with other beliefs. Such rules might concern times and places for using drugs and should define the purposes for which drugs are taken.

3. Seek advice from persons who know what they are talking about.

The best guidance comes from analogs o f tribal witch doctors — that is, from persons qualified by virtue o f their own experience. O f course, drug experience in itself does not necessarily confer this kind o f authority. But academic degrees and membership in pro­ fessional societies by themselves certainly do not confer it, 4. Use drugs for positive reasons.

The Indians use altered states o f consciousness for positive ends, not for such negative goals as escape from boredom or anxiety.

Many Americans take drugs for escape, or for no reason at all, and I suspect this difference is a final key factor in our having a drug problem.

All law enforcement “ answers” to the “ problem” o f drug taking are based on straight thinking. What we must do is to recognise drugs for what they really are — part o f human* ity’ s drive for transcendence. Once we do this the so-called problem changes it’ s nature.

We must proceed by: 1] en­ couraging those who wish to use drugs to use them intelligently for their own good and thereby for the good o f society; and 2] en­ couraging them to progress beyond drugs to better methods o f alter­ ing consciousness.

T oo many people at the moment take drugs for the wrong reasons and this is the cause o f the “ problem” .

The answer to the fire-bug problem is not to ban matches. Drugs have a function and we should be educating people about them.

Give copies o f Weil’s book to your local Drug Squad agent, your local MP, your family doctor, your shrink, and anyone else you can think of. One would imagine that coming from someone, with Weil’ s impressive academic background it could make them think. But on the other hand, look what happened to Tim Leary.

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Page 8

The Digger

“ Our n eed fo r fo o d in volves fiv e o f th e h o les in o u r b o d ies, m ore h o les than any o th e r sin gle n eed , ” a ccord in g to a relia ble sou rce.

FfabMACK This is a guide to getting fed. We want you to help write it, so it’ s called feedback. We want letters about cheap ways to buy food , good cheap recipes, and cheap places to eat out. Besides the satis­ faction o f helping fill other people’s holes, there are . . . prizes. For a start, Mushroom Records is giving two dozen copies o f The Mush­ room C ookbook away, one to each contributor whose info, is printed.

Send your contributions to feedback, C /o The Digger, P. O. Box 77, Carlton, Vic., 3053.

Here’ s the first feed b a ck ’s contributions, from our staff hungries.

They reckon the Vatican didn’ t know it was doing anything illegal when it made several hundred thous­ and dollars in short term profits on the New York stock exchange.

Through a former liquor sales­ man, Irving Eisemberger, whom it had employed as an investment re­ presentative, the Vatican acquired about $36 million worth o f shares, representing 20% o f stock, in the Californian company, V etco O ff­ shore Industries. Dealings in the company’ s stock were suspended after the exchange learned that a mystery investor (the Vatican) had been making short term profits — illegal on the grounds that owning more than 10% o f a company’s stock gives you special knowledge and an unfair advantage over other investors.

An extortionist planted two highly explosive b oob y trap bombs

Buying food in bulk saves you a quarter to a half on staple items like flour, rice, dried beans, and oatmeal, as well as fruit and veggies.

Let’ s take the first example, and prove that statement: In retail outlets, plain white flour costs 9c to 11c a lb. (Golden Grain 41b* @ 36c; McAlpines 41b. @ 42c.) The difference in prices de­ pends on product quality, as well as the purer logic o f packaging and tprom otion.

At Noske Flour Mills, 359 Plummer Street, Port Melbourne, Laurie Gleeson quoted us 5c a lb.

(10 kilos [221b.] @ $1.10).

Wholemeal is 5c to 10c at mills in 10k or better lots; it ranges from 10c to 15c at most retailers. It’ s best to ring the mill to check avail­

in Sydney. They were defused by bom b disposal experts . . . Police blamed IR A provisionals for two London bom b attacks which killed one and wounded 200 . . . Two men were arrested and are being tried on one count o f arson and 15 counts o f murder following the bombing o f a Brisbane nightclub.

The police prosecutor said the bombing was part o f a plan for ex­ tortion . . . A standover racket is flourishing in the Melbourne and Sydney mail exchanges according to the Melbourne Observer report.

Thousands o f dollars are supposed to change hands in the “ buying and selling o f preferred and lucrative shifts” . The Amalgamated Postal Workers’ Union has lodged a com ­ plaint with the new Post-Master General, Mr. Bowen, and an investigation is under way . . . A salesman charged with murder told

ability o f wholemeal before going to pick it up.

Self-raising is about 9c at the mill (KMM, Lennox Street, South Kensington, V ic.); it ranges from 9c to 11c at retailers.

Most established food c o ­ operatives are Health F ood oriented.

But if you can get together ten or more people to buy bulk togther, you can make bulk buys in meat and smallgoods, wine, or toilet papers, light globes and tinned sausages if you all please.

A co-op. needs a place to de­ liver, sort, weigh out and pack the goods. The members can take it in turns to collect the orders from each other, and enough money to meet estimated cost. It’ s best if the person w ho’ s best at it buys, and brings the goods back to be divvied up.

In Melbourne, Earth People’ s Co­ op. has good experience. Address: 3 Theatre Place, Canterbury, Vic. Toni, on 83.1234 will advise about getting people togther, and has a list o f smaller co-ops. in various suburbs.

In Sydney, a good contact is ACT, Glenfield Farm, 602.8095. The Alternative Pink Pages, available for ,

a Sydhey court that he agreed to hand over $30,000 in protection money to a policerhen involved in a car stealing racket. He said he gave $25,000 to a detective behind a suburban police station . . . The Attorney General Lionel Murphy wants to involve members o f the public in the “ war on organised crime” — particularly those people in fields where international crimi­ nals were likely to move in. These groups included brewers, liquor trade unions, musicians and actors.

The Melbourne City Coroner, Mr. Pascoe, commended a tattooist who shot and killed a man he disturbed attempting to rape a woman outside his shop. Mr. Pascoe found that John David Roberts, 20, had died through ‘ misadventure’ — death being caused by a bullet wound inflicted by John William Entwhistle, 25, while attempting a civilian arrest.

Entwhistle shot Roberts in the back with a .22 rifle, as Roberts, who had a blood alcohol reading o f .110, was running away. Mr. Pascoe said: “ If my daughter, wife or sister had been placed in the position o f the woman in this case and Mr. Entwhistle had com e to her aid, I w ould, in all piousness, have said,

April

$1.20 through P. O. Box 8, Surry Hills, NSW, has good info, on food co-ops.

Success can spoil co-ops. Earth person Toni says: “ It was originally planned for people to get cheap fo o d and learn to help themselves, but we are sort o f being treated as a health fo o d shop, and we haven’ t been very successful in getting people to d o it themselves.”

However Toni reckons that with their bulk buying plan and a 10% mark-up to cover rent and the ’phone bills, Earth People still manage to provide food at half health fo o d shop prices.

One reason for the problems o f bulk buying co-ops. is that most people eat what the media tells them to buy at retail outlets. Staples aren ’t the high price part o f your cooking.

Check out your spending. Most o f your fo o d money goes on what the trade calls “ weekly repeats” .

These are the lines that pay grocers’ rents: breakfast foods, tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, pet food , butter, cream and margarine.

If you look on the shelf in your local store, y ou ’ll see breakfast cereals running at 26c to 61c a lb.

(Nabisco Vita Brits 24oz. @ 39c;

‘Thank God for Mr.'Entwhistle’ .”

The winder o f the federal government’s “ superwoman” quest will be chosen from 18 finalists at an all-expenses- paid weekend o f parties and interviews at Canberra’s Forrest M otor Lodge. The “ superwoman” will be required to advise the PM on wom en’s needs at a f salary o f $10,000 plus expenses, a year. One o f almost 200 applicants who didn’t make the finals said: “ It sounds like the finals o f the Miss Universe contest” , and a pro­ minent woman ALP member said: “ It’s male chauvinism — if they were offering a man a $10,000 a year job this wouldn’t happen.” . . .

The Victorian government will introduce legislation which it claims would remove the last vestiges o f discrimination against wom en in the public service. Proposals include shorter working hours for mothers, extra aid for child minding centres, family clinics in the suburbs and family planning advice . . . At nearly all times in their lives women are better drivers than men according to an NRMA survey.

The Australian-born speaker o f the PNG house o f assembly, Barry Holloway, claims that the territory’ s army could endanger PNG dem o­

Uncle T ob y ’s Muesli 16oz. @ 61c.)

Rolled oats cost 10c to 12c a lb. in hundredweight sacks.

The way to get food bills down is, obviously, to organise — npt only in buying, but the way your patterns o f consumption affect your living arrangements.

The P eop le's Guide to Cheap F ood No. 1 (or How T o Smash the State Without Really Trying), produced by people unknown, says this: “ Most wholesalers don’ t care too much whether you are a shop or not. Just assume you are a shop when you talk to them. Crap on is the rule. The only disadvantage in'not being a shop is that you will have to pick up most o f the food yourself; few firms will deliver to a private address. And always deal on a cash basis.”

The Earth People’ s Co-operative is happy for people to use their name if short o f one yourself. sfc

*

Sf:

A fridge is really essential if y o u 1 are going to buy perishable food s in large quantities. Most green vegetables start wilting after a few days in the open, and delicate things like lettuce will be well on the way to extinction before you even buy them. While it is possible to preserve meat by salting,

cracy. It could never be large enough to fend o ff a major attack, and was to o large for internal security,he said. He feared that it “ could be compromised in a commitment to Australia that it might be unwilling to maintain in the future.” . . . A new black elite would damage PNG’ s society, chief minister Michael Somare says. “ We do not want to build a modern society if that means a society in which only the wealthy and power­ ful can get the benefit.” . . . The Peruvian government will help the PNG government in its negotiations with the mining com pany, Kennecott Pacific, on the development o f the copper ore body in the Star Mountain, Papua. .Peru is one o f the world’s major copper producing countries.

Now Whitlam knows too, but he’s not going to tell either.

According to an Australian report, the PM said on Friday 16 that he would not, after all, be able to fulfill Labor’s pledge to disclose informa­ tion about the purpose o f the American bases in Australia. O f the Pine Gap and Nurrungar bases he said: “ They are not Australian secrets. I now know why the Americans don’ t want those secrets

pickling or smoking, or for a day by marinating, a fridge with a freezer is a more accessible device.

So, some advice on buying a secohd-hand fridge: Put your hand in the freezer and feel around the surface. If you get any oil on your fingers there is a leak in the aluminium casing and the machine w on’ t freeze properly.

Turn the fridge on and look at the m otor at the back to make sure that the m otor mountings are firmly attached and that the m otor doesn’ t have a loud ringing knock.

Check the rubber seals round the door. If they are perished find out the price o f new ones from someone without a vested interest in selling you the fridge. On old models they can cost up to $14, if you can get them at all.

Also check the rubber seals for paint — sometimes used to disguise splits and perishes.

On a reconditioned fridge you should first make sure you get a 90 day guarantee.

Then having checked as before, go round to the back and find a small piece o f copper tubing that looks a bit like the gas bom b in a soda syphon. In a reconditioned fridge it

revealed. But I accept that they are not parts o f weapons’ systems and .cannot be used to make war on any cotintry. “ Y ou can believe us or not. I will tell you that and I will tell you no more.”

According to an A ge report which appeared on the same day he also said that Australia’s arrangements with America over the top-secret North-West Cape Base were “ thoroughly obnoxious and would have to be renegotiated.”

According to a New York Times commentator’s report, when Nixon received Whitlam’s letter protesting the December bombing o f North Vietnam, Nixon instructed that a message be sent to the Australian embassy saying that he ‘ disdained to answer’ .

Nixon is likely to order ‘ mili­ tary reprisals’ if North Vietnam does not stop sending troops and weapons into South Vietnam. US sources estimate that between 400 and 450 armoured vehicles have gone into South Vietnam since the ceasefire, and in the week preceeding March 16, 1,100 trucks . . .

MeanwhileAmerioan bombers and fighter bombers are thrashing Khmer Rouge and North Vietnamese posi­

should usually be new.

When you get it home watch it during the guarantee period and ring up the people you bought it from straight away if it freezes up too much, doesn’ t freeze enough, cuts out a lot, develops knocks, or any other nasty defects.

Places to buy: from the classified ad. section o f the newspapers — The A ge has by far the most ads. o f any Melbourne daily. There are also tw o fortnightly advertising papers — The Melbourne Bazaar and The Trading Post, both o f which run around 40 pages o f ads. ranging from cars to clothing. Local papers may also be a good source o f ads if you ’rfc not in a hurry; the advantage o f these is that anything you want to buy will be fairly near and cost less to transport home.

Next month, feedback will include a guide to cheap eats in the great cities. We’ve got 25 entries now, in tw o categories — under a dollar, and up to two dollars. So that’ s especially urgent for you to write about. Send us everything else, too.

Feedback, C /o The Digger, P. O. B ox 77, Carlton, Vic., 3053.

tions in Cambodia . . .

Federal agents surrounding the Sioux Indians occupying the town o f Wounded Knee, South Dakota, have withdrawn. The Indians see this as a victory against the Justice Department in the fight for improved Indian conditions and rights . . . The National Co­ ordinator o f the radical American Indian Movement, Vernon Dellecourt, said unless the Indians’ lot was improved substantially by the 1976 US bi-centennary “ the Indian people are going to blow the candles out on your cake.”

Former PM McMahon supported the suggestion for a Liberal-Country Party amalgamation. A couple o f days later Country Party leader Anthony revealed that he had had very informal talks with DLP leader Jack Kane about a possible amal­ gamation o f those two parties, initiated by the DLP. The Labor Prime Minister said: “ I am longing to see the legitimisation o f the union between the Country Party and the DLP — to see the old harlot churched at last.”

The South Australian Labor government was returned to power on Saturday 12, with the loss o f only one marginal seat.

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April

The Digger

Page 9

A . J. W eberm an , g a rb o lo g ist, lays his im age o f W hat I t A ll M eans:

Four Great M om ents o f R ock A , J. Weberman, self-styled Dylanologist, collector o f celebrity trash, Miami Beach zippie and dethroner o f A bbie Hoffman, writes his own inter­ pretation o f Ann Duncan’s painting series, Great Moments in Rock.

From 1968-1970 I did nothing but put Dylan’ s poetry under the microscope o f my intellect trying to figure out what it all meant. I w or­ shipped him at the time and saw my role similar to that o f the ancient Talmudic Scholar or Cabalist attempt­ ing to decipher god-given truth from what appeared to most as an arbitrary arrangement o f w o r d s . . .

But when I found out my GOD was a junkie I was catapulted back into the present!

While I was going through this change Ann Duncan was putting the various metaphors I deciphered on canvas in the form o f an oil-painting titled Dylan Shooting Up — the first in her series called Great M oments in R ock . . .

In the upper right-hand corner o f the portrait Bobby is riding a “ big white goose” through the sky. This is a pictorial representation o f the line “ Saddle me up a big white goose/ Tie me on / And turn her loose” (Country Pie — Nashville Skyline).

But what’s this got to d o with heroin?

In order to find out we’ve got to look at the line through the lens o f analytic criticism which entails figuring out exactly what Dylan means by a particular word by digging out how he uses it in all con­ texts. T o facilitate this I’ve invented a computerised Dylan Worjd Con­ cordance which gives me every word in his poetry (inc. Tarantula, liner notes, etc.) in alphabetical order along with the line o f context. “ Saddle ” This word only appears as a verb once throughout the bod y o f Dylan’ s poetry (in this context) since all other references have it attached to “ bag” or “ side” (e.g. saddlebag, side•saddle) so it’s probably n ot a symbol. “ me up ” ‘ Up’ appears about 100 times and is often linked to dope — “ Margrita the pusher wheeling a cartful o f Thursday up Damiams R ow ” “ the pleasures are few on chemical isle, little girls hide perfume up their shrimps” “ She’s known as horse chick up in Cheyanne” “ I nieed nothing from you — you are so much tied up in it though” (nothing — 4Maria I long for you r nothingness” hypothesise ‘heroin’ for Maria) “ There’ s a hatchet (death) in Maria’s makeup” “ he begins to shpot up the barbeque beef signs” if anything drastic comes up takes these pills” “ It strangled up my mind” ^‘ Some­ thing is tearing up your mind” .

S o ‘ saddle’ means make ready’ and ‘ up’ tells us drugs are involved. “ a big” ‘ big’ appears many times and is generally linked with dope — “ I am

gazing into the big dipper” “ com ­ pared to the big day you find Lord Byron shooting craps” “ up in T oronto on the big day” “ So I sh oot dope once in a while — big deal” “ Lay across my big brass bed/Stay lady stay while the night is still a head” “ I can’ t wait to sn iff that air if it’ s snuff I w on ’ t have no care that big rockin’ chair . . . ” (Dylanghosting for Band) “ That big fa t m oon is gonna shine like a sp oon ” ‘ Big’ is often linked with ‘fat’ another heroin symbol. Dig Open the D oor Homer — “ There’ s a certain thing that I learned from my friend Jim/That he’ d always make sure I’d understand” (literal) And that is that there’s a certain way a man must learn to swim (you’ ve got to go along with the mainstream o f political thought and not be too radical) If you expect to live o ff the fat o f the land (If you want to be a superstar and use junk) Open the door Homer (Open the people’ s minds, Dylan the poet) I heard it said before but I ain!t gonna hear it said no more (he ain’ t gonna d o it any m ore)” “ w hite” “ the contemporary fix along black winds and white Fridays” “ six uhite horses that you did promise” “ White heap sneezes, passes out and rips open A utum n ’s gag” “ while mothball wom an, white, so sweet” (see Marie under ‘up’ references — Sw eet Marie) “ goose ” “ G oose John Henry the negro medicine man” “ spray chancellor Erhard with goose fa t” ‘ big’ ‘white’ and ‘ goose’ are all heroin linked words or heroin symbols “ tie me o n ” This is ‘junk-slang’ pure and simple meaning ‘ tie a belt or string or necktie or gag around my arm so that my veins will fill with blood and be­ com e better targets for m y needle’ “ and turn her lo o se” “ tie” or a word linked to it often precedes ‘ turn’ and/or ‘loose’ — “ Tie my shoelace and keep walking then I turn” ( ’Shoelace’ is similar to ’gag’ [e.g. ’A utum n ’sg a g ’] ) u n d er‘ white’ references and also in “ I’ m-foldin’ out my gag gonna turn you loose, like an old caboose (‘ caboose’ rhymes with ‘ goose’) got a tail I need to drag (got a habit I have to support) so “ tie me on and turn her loose” means “ prepare me for a shot and let her rip — shoot me up Can you dig it? If you d o this to many other lines in Dylan’ s poetry the same thing happens — you find that for a long time Dylan was supersubtly (this is the key word) singing about junk . . .

The next work in this series, Jim Morrison ’s Cock, shows sex-symbol Jim keeping the customers satisfied in Miami Beach. In the upper lefthand corner- o f the painting there’ s a couple making love in the ocean. This illustrates Morrison’s sex-water meta­ phor that appears throughout his poetry. For example in Horse

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Latitudes he wrote — “ When the still sea (when old people, no longer into making love) “ Conspires an armour and their sullen and aborted currents breed tiny monsters” (implant dis­ torted puritanical ideas in the minds o f the young) “ True sailing is dead” (uninhibited sexuality is made1 impossible). In L ocked in a Prison o f Your Own Device he advises virgins to ‘ get it on ’ so they ‘ w on’ t miss (their) chance to swim in mystery’ and M oonlight Drive contains myriad sex-water metaphors — “ Let’ s swim to the m oon let’ s climb through the tide/Penetrate the evening that the city sleeps to hide” “ Let’ s swim oit tonight love, it’ s our turn to fly / Parked beside the ocean on our m oon ­ light drive” “ Surrender to the waking worlds that lap against our side” “ Down by the ocean side/Gonna get real close/Get real tight/C’m on baby gonna drown tonight” The inset in the upper right-hand corner is the way Ann visualised the lines “ Dead President’ s corpse in the driver’ s car” (a genocidal maniac rules the land) “ The engine runs on glue and tar” (whose system uses organic material — like the human flesh o f the Vietnamese — as fuel) “ C’ mon along not goin’ very far/ Goin’ East to meet the Czar” (hop on the butcherwagon and join the feast o f flesh as Amerika heads for internal totalitarianism) Yeah, Jim knew where the swine w ho rule Amerika are at and that’ s why he tried to incite kids to riot at his concerts, that’s why the pigs maced him, that’ s why he was barred from so many cities and that’ s why the people loved him.

It’s really tragic that a powerful symbol o f sexuality and life was destined to meet with a premature death . . . I really find it hard to believe the dude had a heart attack — why was he buried a week before his demise was publicly announced if not to avoid an autopsy?

Judging from the kind o f poetry Jim was writing just before he died it was an overdose o f heroin that stopped his heart from beating . . .

The story o f the Lizard King will continue to repeat itself as long as hip culture is treated as a product; cause when fame and fortune Severs an intense life-force like Morrison from the community that nurtured and sustained him then surrounds him with greedy, ugly hip capitalist swine who kiss his ass and hustle him at the same time, there’s nowhere to go and although one sweet dream came true, it lead only to endless flight, endless night, endless, endless, endless night. . .

AVENGE JIM MORRISON! The next picture shows Abbie Hoffman gettin’ hit on the head by Peter Townsend o f The Who at W oodstock while attempting to do a rap about political prisoner John Sinclair. This was one o f Abbie’ s better moves and I can only admire his courage.

Above left: B ob Dylan shooting up. Left: Jim Morrison flashing his cock in Miami. Top: Pete Townsend hitting A bbie Hoffman over the head at Woodstock. Above: The death o f Janis Joplin.

Lately Abbie’s changed — he’ s been calling o f f demonstrations he hasn’ t organised (like the one during the Democratic Convention in Miami) and has been branding the leaders o f the Zippies — the action faction o f the Youth International Party — ‘ police agents’ , myself included! What’s worse, he’ s been using his access to the media to tell people “ It’ s the wrong time for street demonstrations” while Amerika bombs North Vietnam back to the stone age! In return for becoming a

T he C o lo n els fe e l so m e h ea t:

Greek-Australians back resistance Waves o f student protest in Greece this month rocked the ruling military junta and may well mark the re-emergence o f a mass movement against the fascist regime.

The immediate cause o f this national protest was the junta’ s attempt to crush already existing student dissent by drafting student spokesmen into the Greek armed forces.

The resurgence o f open protest was partially sparked by the announ­ cement that Athens would becom e the “ hom e” port o f the US Navy’ s Mediterranean fleet. The colonels thought that 10,000 permanent American military residents generat­ ing over $13 million annually would be a stabilising factor in the econom y.

The b oom had a double edge, however, and its negative aspects have begun to cut deep into the fabric o f Greek life. The most immediate effect on the average Greek is an incredible inflation which grows worse each month.

American sailors have created other kinds o f social problems as they roam the city for wom en and entertainment. Construction workers have fought with them on occasion and even the police have had serious confrontations.

The initial econom ic impact o f the first 2,000 Americans seemed to bear them ouu There was a flood o f new jobs in various service build­ ings and entertainment areas.

The most uncompromising resis­ tance to the junta comes from the small clandestine groups o f urban guerillas, particularly the Resistance, Liberation, Independence ( AAA) and the 20th o f O ctober groups.

The A A A cell has taken credit for some 20 bombings, primarily o f automobiles belonging to American diplomats. The 20th o f October cell has carried out more ambitious projects, including the bombing o f the rail link between Athens and Pireaus and an electric power station.

The latter occurred during a visit

by US Vice President Spiro Agnew.

The clear call for socialist re­ volution posed by the various groups o f the new Greek left is in con­ trast to the appeals o f the centerist Pan-Hellenic Liberation Front (PAK) dominated by Andreas Papandreou and by both factions o f the Greek Communist Party (KKE).

The Papandreou group are social-demo­ crats advocating a program that amounts to little more than a Rooseveltian New Deal. Both KKE factions subordinate the struggle for socialism by following bourgeois leadership in the struggle to over­ throw the junta. *

*

*

Most o f Melbourne’ s 115,000 Greek immigrants are against the junta, says Jim Gogos, editor o f N eos Kosmos, Greek bi-weekly news­ paper. “ Though the majority o f Greeks

collaborator most o f the charges against him have been dropped at the government’ s request and ten to one he’ll never do any time . . .

So aside from being a Great Moment in R ock, what we have here is One o f Abbie’s Last Great Moment s. . .

The painting o f Janis Joplin 5 minutes after having OD’ d is another grim reminder o f what culture vul­ tures do to people with talent. Janis was managed by hippy-hood and

here may not be active in the anti­ junta movement, there is a strong feeling against the colonels. A baro­ meter o f this is the circulation o f Greek newspapers in Australia: Neos K osm os and Sydney’ s Hellenic Tribune, both anti-junta, have a com ­ bined circulation per issue o f 40,000, far ahead o f the circulation o f pro­ junta papers.”

Gogos Claims that all pro-junta newspapers in Australia are subsidised by the junta “ either through advert­ ising or by other means.” George Zangalis, member o f the Committee for the Restoration o f Dem ocracy in Greece believes the junta finances these papers directly. “ How else could they survive?” he asks. “ Their circulation is not big enough to cover their expenses. And in Athens the junta makes public statements about their support to projunt newspapers in other parts o f the world. O f course, they do get advert­ ising, from Onassis’ smaller outfits like Olympic Airways, but certainly not enough to keep them afloat financially.”

There are only four cities in the world with a bigger Greek populat­ io n than Melbourne’ s: Athens, Salonika, Pireaus and Patras. Sydney has 85,000 — 90,000 Greeks.

Support in Australia for anti-junta fighters in Greece is mainly moral, suggests Gogos, but m oney is raised by social occasions organised for the Greek community by the Commi­ ttee for the Restoration o f Dem o­ cracy, and local Greeks try to harm the junta through boycotts. “ But,” says Gogos, “ we can only do small things from here. The main burden is on the people still in Greece — that’ s where the final struggle will be fought. Outside people can’ t liberate their country.

Resistance organisations are starting

W oodstock Real Estate Baboon Albert Gross-man w ho, if ya ask me, specialises in handling strung-out performers (Dylan, Paul Stokey o f Peter Paul and Mary etc.)’ I bet he has a business card that reads — “ Albert Grossman Management Associates — We Supply Our Stars With Everything — fame-moneygroupies-dope Cable SMACKSTAR” Lately I’ ve been doing a little art work o f my own — it’s called Garbart. Dig, after I got international exposure for my theories about Dylan by sorting through his dustbins I gradually became addicted to his garbage! Since Bob beat the shit out o f me one day when his wife caught me in her can I had to go on the MethaDylan Maintenance Garbage Program so I started garbanalysing the trash o f other New York City Piggies. Soon I began to realise that there’s a mystical relationship be­ tween what someone throws away and what they are and that as a garbologist I could act as a medium and bring this to light!

So I began to make collage por­ traits o f people exclusively out o f their rubbish. The picture shows one I did o f John F. Kennedy’ s advisor and speech writer,-Arthur Schlesinger Jr. Notice the little pill bottle — it was marked Dexamil 5 mgs. What a scandal — Artie’ s a speed freak! I also found a note on Playboy stationery asking Artie if he wanted ‘ Blanche’ as a ‘ baby-sitter’ . (If he doesn’ t want her she can always com e over and baby­ sit on, I mean, for, m e!).

In order to fully appreciate garbart you ’ ve got to understand the aesthetic principles that guide me — I believe that art is everywhere and everything can be beautiful even Death (when it comes to those w ho are killing others or depriving them o f a decent life). I see beauty in trash, something many consider to be greasy, smelly and ugly. Ann seems to share this feeling since she sees it in the bizarre folklore o f rock culture — exposed penis, fallen heroes, Billie Holliday Blues Singer Incarnations turned blue from the quiet sleep o f junk-induced death, uptight egotisti­ cal superstars with no feeling for any­ one but themselves etc.

I also believe that as Amerika piles the bodies higher, as she eats her way through the world’ s wealth, artists have got to at least tell the world about i t . . . if not actually go out there and stop it with our bodies, lives and force . . .

Y ok o Ono, whom I respect, says — ‘ Killing is such an artless act. People who kill most often becom e the next establishment after they’ve killed the old.’ Although this has proven true in some cases (USSR) we’ve also got to remember than an automatic weapon can be the most beautiful piece o f sculpture in the world to a Vietnamese peasant. . .

So everything, including art and beauty, is relative to where you look out at the world from and the dude who turned the Pieta into garbage as a protest against the Catholic Church is an artist t o o - .. , . — OZ/UPS

to realise this* Unfortunately there is not enough unity in the resistance movement — left-wing groups main­ tain their separate identity. It’ s like among Christians — to be a heretic is worse than to be an atheist.

shows that Greece w on’ t becom e another Spain. The junta has not stabilised its regime. If the United

“ Some governments which you would imagine might support the struggle are only interested in main­ taining the status quo in the Mediterr­ anean. This latest student movement

States withdrew its support the junta would be out in 24 hours.”

John Vines, General Vice-President o f the Australian Union o f Students, has been in Athens for the past three weeks. An AUS spokeswoman said, “ He may have been arrested — or he may just be having a good time.”

PERTH W IN THR O P H A L L , March 28, 30, 31.

(With the Guild of Undergraduates.)

A D E L A ID E TOWN H A L L , Mon. April 2.

M ELBO URNE DALLAS BROOKS, Wed. April 4 and Sun. 8 (at 3 pm).

S YD N EY TOWN H A L L , Wed. April 11 and Sat. 14.

CANBERRA TH E A TR E , Mon. April 16.

BRISBANE M A Y N E H A L L , Tues. April 17.

(In association with Harpo.)

Booking at usual agents.

“ . . . H IS A R T I S A C O N S T A N T M IR A C L E A N D W O N D ER . . . A G U IT A R IS T T O W IN F A N S IF E V E R T H E R E WAS O N E , A N D A G R E A T A R T TST ”

Guardian — London.

Page 10

The Digger

April

SYDNEY FLYER And finally there is a group o f about five o f his most recent paintings o f love goddesses in all their chocolate box coyness, all in very strong blues, influenced he says by living near the water.

Each in turn has something in com m on with a Botticelli figure but are more like five different aspects o f the Feminine.

These most recent paintings are very delicate and ethereal, although he reckons they’re a realistic trip.

The exhibition runs through till April 7 th.

Gallery hours, are Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Lindsay Blue Sky High Up in the loft, the top floor o f the Fuetron Building, at 31 Bay Street, Lindsay Bourke opened this week an exhibition o f paintings and music, together with screenings o f some o f Mick Glasheen’ s recently finished movies that he made in Central Australia.

The highlight o f it all will be Mick projecting his film Uluru, o f timelapsed Ayers R ock through a fisheye lens and encounters with an aboriginal tribe in the desert, onto Lindsay’s giant 12’ by 12’ canvas called Mandala o f the Universe. And while this is going on, Lindsay will be seated underneath the painting playing his organ as the soundtrack. He reckons it’s a five dimensional experience.

Lindsay’s exhibition is o f some ninety paint­ ings, all done in the last five months, ranging from landscapes and other oils to wall hangings, which he considers to be his best works to date.

But as well as that, Mick has erected on the r o o f one o f his unbelieveable domes, and having finally solved the problem o f circular projection, he will be projecting films, his and others’ , on the entire enclosure o f his 30 fo o t hemisphere, billed as the Geodesic Movie Machine with Abovideo Dreamtime scenes.

The whole building is owned by Lindsay’ s brother John, and contains facilities for printing and photography, a film school-workshop, and there is o f course the furniture showroom on the ground floor, which is apparently into inflatables in the furniture line, and even domes.

The building is an unmistakable gloss yellow, all five floors o f it, and sits just behind Grace Bros., Broadway. It sounds as though there’s going to be a lot more happening there too.

Rock’n’roll movies For a couple o f months now the Filmmakers Copp. has been without a home in which to screen their movies, although they’ve been speeding around behind the scenes expanding the distribu­ tion side o f their operations, to provide filmmakers with the means o f making a living out o f their films.

Each program is worked along a loose theme and are mostly o f recently completed films that haven’t been seen before. Over the next few weeks there’s going to be a program called L ove and Lust, a series o f male and female views o f the old question. It was originally designed as a pro­ gram o f films by women directors, to which token­ ism some female Coop, members objected. It is still mostly films by women with several additions and sounds really interesting.

There’ s another called Films fo r L en t which include Martin Fabinyi’ s hard-core fantasies.

Airplane Jelly and T V Dinner, as well as nearly half a dozen films that came out o f the Lawson Film Workshop that ran all through February. , 1 The Coop, has finally settled, on jjdat& lo jd move into its new cinemaythe New Theatre in St. Peter’ s Lane after many hassles with the pre­ sent tenants over fixing a definite1 moving out date. The New Theatre’s new premises in New? town (542 King Street) appear to be ready at last.

But until they get their very own Cinema, there will be the Sunday night screenings at the R ock ’n’ Roll, with the added advantage o f Bronwyn’ s cheesecake and coffee.

Sunshine City

style will soon be upon us. Lonesom e Cowboys goes before the censors on April 2 1 s t . . . it’ s rumored that the National Film Theatre is bring­ ing some in and the Sydney Film Festival organ­ isers are also in the running.

She ad’s decade An exhibition o f mixed media paintings by Garry Shead opened at the Watters Gallery last week. It’ s a cross-section o f his work spread over a ten year period, drawing, collages, funky ob­ jects, sculpted paintings and oils. There’s even several o f his North Shore paintings on the Morality o f the North Shore Line, that caused such a stir back in 1965 or whenever they were first shown, with their underwear clouds and glossy photographed faces, encased in chrome shaggin’ wagons and sterile back lawns.

There are several portraits too, a nudie o f Richard Neville amongst them, from the period when Garry used to be a cartoonist from the original Oz, back around 1963.

Then there are some from a series on violence and classic Australian crimes, like thé Wanda Beach murders, and the Bogle and Chandler

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Sat. 24th-28th March: Cisco Pike (Kris Kristofferson) plus World Without Sun (Cousteau under­ water trip).

Thu.29th-4th April: (at least) Blushing Charlie (funny R cert, film by guy who directed I Am Curious [Y ellow ]).

T o follow this (probably starting 5th April) first release: The Assassination o f Trotsky; Richard Burton; R om y Schneider and Alain Delon. Direct­ ed by Joseph Losey. Nightly 7.45 pm.

SUNDAY SPECIALS

166 Glebe Point Road (660.6207).

Sat. 24th-28th March: Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLean as Parisian streetwalker), plus Some Like It Hot (Jack Lemmon and T ony Curtis in drag.

Hilarious double bill directed by Billy Wilder.

7.15 pm nightly.

Thu. 29th-4th April: The French Connection (pace action drama about smack smuggling), plus Elliot Gould in Move. 7.30 pm nightly.

Thu. 5th April (probably for two weeks): Life, Love, Death, new Lelouche anti-capital punish­ ment first release, plus The Thomas Crown Affair (with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway), and a Tom and Jerry cartoon. 7.30 pm nightly. mystery. And one o f D. H. Lawrence at Thirroul, with doll’ s house pictureboxes underneath, which apparently inspired Brett Whiteley’s Lawrence painting on which they collaborated.

There are also paintings that don ’t seem to fit into any o f his self-articulated phases, like the gaudy juxtaposition o f Donald Duck and Francis Bacon, or an object that was his contribution to an Arts Vietnam exhibition, bed base toilet seats, american flag, all in a rough collage o f objects covered in bottle top medals and inscrib­ ed Lest We Forget, or another funky object a bit like a one-armed bandit, pigeon-holed, with a penis up a tree, ice-cream cone, and other memorabilia.

As well there are several rather surreal land­ scapes, with windows superimposed so you are looking through into space.

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Sunday 25th March: Shirley Thompson Versus The Aliens. Aliens from outer space in a Parra­ matta Road Milk Bar in a science fiction spoof.

Directed by Jim Sharman, this is its first public screening. Plus Homesdale, bizarre games in a mental Luna Park, directed by Peter Weir, with Graham Bond.

Sunday 1st April: Deep End (Jane Asher, and Diana Dors in her first serious acting role).

Sunday 8th April: Putney Swope. Hilarious sendup o f Madison Ave. advertising.

And the fallowing two Sundays, tw o first release Godards.

Sunday screenings at 7.30 pm. ■

T he Heat is on Andy Warhol’s, or more correctly Paul Morrissey’s film, Heat has been cleared by the censors and will open at the New Art Cinema in Glebe on April 19. Starring Warhol’s superstar creation Joe Dallesandro and Sylvia Miles (remem­ ber Midnight C ow boy?), it’s a film “ about H ollyw ood” , described by Morrissey as “ a varia­ tion on Sunset Boulevard” — the 1950 Billy Wilder movie in which Gloria Swanson makes a come­ back playing herself making a comeback.

In an interview with Stuart Byron fo r Rolling Stone, Morrissey went on to say “ It’s so realistic it frightens people. The actresses, the columnists, the agents, the producers look white after they see it. They say ‘Is it based on m e? ’ Ross Hunter told me that Sylvia was every actress he’d ever worked with.”

Given the new federal censorship attitudes, Australia is due for a flood o f Warhol-style realism.

Warhol’s desire to turn fantasy into reality to­ gether with Morrissey’s home movie directorial

Albie Thoms leaves the country next week with his just-completed feature film Sunshine City. His first stop with it is the Oberhausen Festival in Germany.

He’s only screening it twice before he goes, tw o nights this week at Boynthon’s. It’ s a two hour color epic about Sydney and his very per­ sonal response to it, that he’s been working on for the last eighteen months. It zaps through a lot o f different scenes that he’ s been into in the time in a weird cross between Warhol Real time and some diary o f Underground happenings, variations in city light, color, and a lot else besides.

Also' o ff to Oberhausen, though not with Albie, is a parcel o f shorter films entered in the Festival by the Filmmakers C oop., by invitation apparently. These include Paul Winkler’ s Scars, and Mick Glasheen’s film on Bucky Fuller.

The Sunshine City screenings are on the 27 th and the 28th March at Bonython’s, at 8.30 pm.

SUNDAY SPECIALS Sunday 25th March: Wilder com edy double same as nightly shows: Irma La Douce plus Some Like It Hot. Screenings 4.40 pm and 7.15 pm.

Sunday 1st April: Les Enfants du Paradis (1944, directed by Marcel Carne, with Jean-Louis Barrault, Pierre Brasseur). Screenings at 4.00 pm.

EXTRA SPECIAL Opening Thursday 19th April; Australia’ s first Warhol movie: HEAT (R ); passed uncut by the censors.

Mosman Classic Spit Road, Mosman Junction (969.5186).

Sat. 24th-28th March: Blue Angel (Marlene Dietrich, directed by Joseph von Sternberg in 1930), plus Tristana (LuisBunuel’ s latest dissection o f hypocrisy, with Catherine Deneuve).

Next programme: Passionate Anna plus Mississippi Mermaid. Screenings Mon.-Fri., 6.00 pm and 8.15 pm; Sat. 3.45 pm, 6.00 pm, 8.15 pm; Sun. 2.00 pm, 5.00 pm, 8.00 pm.

SUPPER SHOWS Saturday 24th March: Straight Jacket (Joan Crawford suspense), plus an episode o f the con­ tinuing Batman (genuine 1930 vintage).

Saturday 31st March: The Old Dark House (hilar­ ious horror with Joyce Grenfell and Robert Morley), plus the next episode o f the Batman serial, the.first ever made; plus the Three Stooges.

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Acupuncture, massage, deep relaxation, naturopathy, color, music and fragrance — programs for sensory stimulation, hypnosis, osteopathy, psychotherapy, group sensitivity groups and special psychic healing.

23 Collins St., Surry Hills. 212-2152

Thu. 24th-4th April: The French Connection (different support each week: till Thursday 29th — Sporting Club, then Mephisto Waltz).

Screenings — weekdays 7.30 pm, Saturdays 7.45 pm.

SUNDAY SPECIALS Sunday 25th March: Kiss Me Kate (1953, Kathryn Grace and Howard Keel), plus Jumbo (Doris Day).

Sunday 1st April: Maytime (Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald), plus Toast o f New Orlenas (Kathryn Grace again).

Sunday 8th April: Marx Bros. — A Day At The Races, A Night At The Opera, plus Laurel and Hardy — Flying Deuces.

Sunday screenings at 6.00 pm.

Soft porn Tuesday 29th March, Wallace Theatre, Sydney .

University. Ladies in Leather. Soft core fantasy stuff with rock music. 8.00 pm.

Sunday 1st April, Rock ’n’ R oll Cafe, Darling Street, Balmain. TV Dinner and Airplane Jelly, not so soft film collages (in with a pro­ gram o f other more straight-down-the-line films).

8.00 p.m.

Thursday 19th April: HEAT. First Australian re­ lease o f Warhol, passed uncut by the censors.

New Art Cinema, Glebe.

Village Twin New South Head Road, Double Bay. Everyday: Cineiha 1 — Deliverance, 2.15 pm, 5.30 pm, 8.30 pm.

Everyday: Cinema 2 — Decameron, 1.00 pm 3.45 pm *, 6.00 pm *, 8.15 pm. Sunday, 2.00 pm, 5.00 pm, 8.00 pm. (* Feature only).

SUPPER SHOWS Friday 30th March: Sterile C uckoo (Liza Minnelli) Friday 6th April: If . . . (Lindsay Anderson’ s Public School stick up), plus on both programs, the continuing episodes o f Deadwood Dick; a rip­ roaring forties serial, the first two o f 15 episodes.

Screenings 11.15 pm. “ Light supper’ .’ is served before the show.

Dendy Pacific Highway, Crow’s Nest» Sat. 24th-probably 7th April: The Sisters, plus This Man Must Die (Chabrol). Screenings — Mon.Fri. 7.45 pm, Saturday 3.30 pm, 8.00 pm, and Sunday 4.30 pm, 7.30 pm.

Galleries Watters Gallery 109 Riley Street, East Sydney.

Garry Shead; Paintings 1962-1973. Opened March 21st. Amazing cross-section o f 10 years o f mixed media paintings. Gallery hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00 am — 5.00 pm. Exhibiton closes April 7th.

Top Floor Fuetron Building, 31 Bay Street, Ultimo.

Exhibition o f paintingsiand music by Lindsay Bourke. Open daily. Plus Mick Glasheen’s Geo­ desic Movie Machine erected on the roof. Each evening there will be films and music (live) as well, a sort o f event. Opened 22nd March. Will run for a month. No rigid hours, drop in any time.

Theatre

SUNDAY SPECIALS Sunday 25th March: Death Valley (n oodle western in Shawscope lurid hollyw ood replica color).

Sunday 1st April: probably The Boat Woman (Chinese again).

Screenings 2.30 pm Sunday. ALso screened at MIDNIGHT MOVIES on Fridays, 12.00 midnight.

Same program as the Sunday.

Next program: Joseph Losey’s Assassination o f Trotsky, with Richard Burton, R om y Schneider and Alain Delon.

R ose Bay Wintergarden New South Head Road.

Nightly: Harold and Maude. 7.30 pm, also 1,15pm Saturdays. No Sunday screenings.

O ne shots R ock V R oll Cafe Darling Street, Balmain.

Filmmakers Co-Op. Screenings.

Sunday 25th March: Love and Lust. A series o f male and female views o f the old question, mainly by women directors. Films include Phantasma by Kara Wynn, In An Onion by Jeanette Grant-Thompson, Di Fuller’ s Flies, as well as two longer films, Mediterranean Hell and Film. 8.00 pm.

Sunday 1st April: Films for Lent. Martin Fabinyi’shard-core fantasies, T V Dinner and Air­ plane Jelly, and films from the Lawson Film Workshop, including Barry Creasey’s on Lindsay (Blue) Bourke, Sprouts, Monster Bats and Scaries, Love from Bronte, and others. 8.00 pm.

Bonython Gallery Victoria Street, Paddington.

Tuesday 27th March and Wednesday 28th March: Sunshine City, Albie Thoms’ just com ­ pleted feature. These are the only Sydney screen­ ings before he leaves for the Oberhausen Festival in Germany with the print. Screenings, 8.30 pm.

Commonwealth Theatrette Chifley Square.

NFT Westerner Series. Screenings 7.30 pm.

Tuesday 27th March: Stagecoach, plus 3.10 to Yuma.

Tuesday 3rd April: The Searchers, plus Law and Order.

Commonwealth Theatrette Chifley Square.

NFT Orson Welles Series. Screenings 7.30 pm.

Thursday 29th March: Lady from Shanghai, plus Compulsion.

Thursday 5th April: Journey Into Fear, plus The Trial.

AMP Theatrette Circular Quay.

NFT Classic Series. Screening 7.30 pm.

Friday 23rd March: The Southerner, plus The Golden Coach.

A rt Gallery Theatrette Renoir’s Screen Language. Series o f 10 screenings and talk/discussion with Sylvia Lawson.

Thursday 29th March: Regie De Jeu (this session pulls it apart).

(Thursday 5th April: Swamp Water.

Screening at 7.30 pm.

Union Theatre Parramatta Road.

Sunday 25th March: Bloody Fists. 3.00 pm.

Monday 26th March: Justine, plus Curse o f the Demon.

Saturday 31st March: Polish movies, probably unsubtitled. 1.00 pm.

Sunday 1st April: Chinese movies, 1.45 pm.

Marat-Sade, plus Le Voleur, 7.00 pm.

Monday 2nd April: Contempt, plus The Tall T, 7.00 pm.

Saturday 7th April: Marx Bros. Special. 1.00 pin.

Sunday 8th April: La Religieuse, plus the Witchfounder General.

Australian Theatre Newtown. Corner o f Lennox and Probert Streets.

The Coming o f Stork. Williamson. Tues.-Sat., 8.15 pm, Sunday, 7.30 pm. Finishes March 31st.

Opening April 5th: Dazzle by Michael Cove. A satire on the artificiality o f television programs.

Tues.-Sat., 8.15 pm, Sundays, 7.30 pm.

Nimrod Street Theatre King’ s Cross.

Opening Friday 30th March: Hamlet. Directed

by Richard Wherret and John Bell, with John Bell as Hamlet, plus Arthur Dignami •and Anna Volska. Seven week season only till May 19th.

Tues.-Sat., 8.30 pm, Sundays, 7.30 pm.

New Theatre St. Peter’ s Lane.

Continuing season o f Reedy River. Friday, Satur­ day and Sunday only, 8.15 pm. Closes April 15th.

Folk clubs Sydney Folk Singing Club: Elizabeth Hotel, cnr. Eliza­ beth and Liverpool Streets.

Fri. & Dat. nights, 8.00 till 10.00 pm.

Irish Musicians' Folk Club: Elizabeth Hotel. Wed. night, 8.00 till 10.00 pm.

Balmain Volunteer: 1 Queens Place, Balmain.

Wed. to Sat. nights.

Edinburgh Castle Folk Club: EC Hotel, 284 Pitt Street.

Sat. night, 7.30 till 10.00pm Brittania Folk Club: Britt. Hotel, Cleveland Street, Chippendale. Fri. ngith.

Macquarie Folk Club: Castlereagh Hotel, Park Street. Thurs. night, 8.00 till 10.00 pm.

Bush Music Club: 8th floor, Marcus Clark Building. Tues. 8.00 pm onwards.

Hero of Waterloo Hotel: The Rocks. Fri. nights.

Wentworth Park Hotel: Harris Street. Sat. afternoon.

Pact Folk: YWCA Cellar, Liverpool Street. Fri. & Sat. nights, 8.00 till 10.00 pm. Wed. night, folk workshop.

Kirk Gallery Folk Club: 422 Cleveland Street, Surrey Hills. Sun. night , 8.00 pm till 12 midnight.

The Place: 57 Bayswater Road, King’ s Cross.

The Shack: 463 Pittwater Road, Bronkvale. Fri. & Sat. nights 8.00 till 11.00 pm.

Wayside Chapel: 29 Hughes Street, Potts Point.

House of the New World: 65 Ryedale Street, West Ryde. Fri. & Sat. nights.......

8.00 till 11.00 pm.

Manly Coffee Shop: Manly Youth Centre, Kangaroo Street, Manly.

Sat. & Sun. nights 8.00 till 11.00 pm.

The Cottage: Cambridge Street, Epping.

The Bridge: 16b Bridge Street, Epping.

The Upper Room: 437 Hume Highway, Yagoona.

Chattswood Folk Club: 15 Spring Street, Chattswood.

North Ryde Coffee Shop: Cnr. Warwick & Blenheim Streets. Sun. night 8.00 till 11.00 pm.

NSW Uni. Folk Club:, are holding concerts on March 15 & 29, April 12, May 3 & 24, June 7, in the Pumpkin Lounge, 1st floor, Blockhouse. 8.00 pm. Phone 663.1911 for details.

Syd. Uni. Folk Club: are also holding concerts.

Ring 660.0522 for details.

Secondary Students’ Stake, April 11. Contact NSW Education Action Group, PO Box A444, Sydney South, 2001.

9

Sundown 266 ANZAC PARADE KENSINGTON

Science Theatre University o f New South Wales.

Friday 29th March: The Conformist, 7.30 pm.

A rt Gallery Theatrette Thursday 28th March: NY NY A Day In New York, plus The Art O f The Real (an exhibiton at the Museum o f Modern Art, N Y). FREE. 12.10 pm, 1.10 pm, 6.10 pm.

Thursday 5th April: The Vision o f William Blake (British Council Experimental Fund put up the m oney). FREE. 12.10 pm, 1.10 pm, 6.10 pm.

WEAVING TEACHER WANTED Phone T h e Digger S y d n e y O ffic e

660.6957

First in a series of weekly events Sunday 25th March after dark featuring obscure foreign films obscure bands (and a couple of famous ones) peculiar lighting effects exotic and mundane refreshments sword swallowers and a couple of other things.

All this and more is yours fo r tw o bucks. . . not bad for a buzz.

£rtC£ucj*WA/6i.y

irofri minutes unrest..

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