Interviewer: When were you born?
Interviewee: Well… 1947; 26th October to be exact.
Interviewer: How was the 1960s?
Interviewee: It was the best decade, the 1960s was free, and it was the time period where you could freely raise a family, it was much more settled.
Interviewer: Well in the society we live in today people tend to become bored within seconds…so during the 60’s what were your favorite activities to pass your time?
Interviewee: I was a great friend of the Irish comedian Dave Allen, I toured with him a few times, in winter I usually played soccer and in the summer I worked in a camp as an entertainer, I loved music. Back then, you were generally more around family members and you got together after church of a Sunday and played the piano or did some socializing, there was much more a family atmosphere then.
Interviewer: What do you remember about the protest that took place during the 60’s?
Interviewee: World wide protests were seen on television, most of them evolved around JFK and Martin Luther assassinations, but also the Vietnam War. In Australia, University students protested, the hippie movement had to do a lot with it, as they were seeking peace and better care-ship for our environment.
Interviewer: What was the effect of the assassination of JFK on Australia, what was the response by the Australian government?
Interviewee: He was a wonderful man and would have been the best president the United States would have had, if he wouldn’t have been assassinated. I wasn’t in Australia at the time of his assassination, because I had broken my leg at the time, in fact I heard about the terrible news while I was in hospital, I can’t comment on Australia’s response, but the British were in complete shock, we couldn’t believe it.
Interviewer: What were some technological changes in the 1960s that effected daily life?
Interviewee: Space exploration was the biggest technological change, but I guess it didn’t really change our lives, but what did play a major part in changing our life was the introduction of the television, the British and the American’s got television much before the Australian’s did, Australia got television in 1958, so television definitely effected daily life in Australia. Also, little radios made life better, I can remember the first program on television in Australia, it was called Felix the cat.
Interviewer: How about terms of home appliances?
Interviewee: Ah, you probably wouldn’t know, but the old fridges which you really had to push into for the door to open were just out, dishwashers were new; toasters came out in the late 1960s, basically technology changed in the 1960s and made life a whole lot easier for people living in the age, but mind you, a lot of the appliances were in their infancy and most broke down quite often and power surges occurred once in a while as well because the limit would be passed. Also, one of the most important things were introduced in 1961 I think it was, heated water in Britain, before then you had to preheat water to have a bath, now heated water was with cold water and for the first time it was introduced in Britain, it was these small inventions that alternated everyday life in the 1960s.
Interviewer: What type of cars were famous back in the 1960s?
Interviewee: The 1960s was a great period for cars, the most popular cars were German, I had a Volkswagen Beetle in 1960, I had it until I left England in 1967, in Australia, I bought a brand new car, It was a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and she’s still ‘hard-raw’ as she was back in 1967. American muscle cars changed the motor vehicle industry, the German cars now for once had some major competition, the Fords, Chevrolet’s and General motors sold in the market rapidly, but the European car manufacturers hit back by creating MINI. Towards the late 1960s and early 1970s, the European cars launched many advertisements showing how much petrol muscle cars gobble up, and then Volkswagen produced the van, which to this day is the top selling vehicle of all time.
Interviewer: How was transport like in the 1960s?
Interviewee: Oh in England, well London city, the transport was pretty good, I had no complaints about that, but when you went to the countryside, getting a bus or a train would mean hours on end wait if you missed one. When I came to Australia, even in the heart of Sydney, the wait for a train or even a bus would be simply too long, it would be hours and hours before another train came if you missed one, but in saying that, it’s probably because in Sydney not as much people caught the train as London, and trains aren’t cheap to run, especially in the 1960s when the majority of the trains were running on coal.
Interviewer: How was school like in the 1960s?
Interviewee: I didn’t attend school in Australia or even in the 1960s as a matter of fact, but my recollection and personal opinion is that back in the 1960s in Australia, schools were sadist. I hate to use that word but it’s the truth, sadism was a daily way of life in school. Learning was productive, but the way it was taught disgusted me, I was taught that way in the forties and fifties and the sixties hardly anything changed, change didn’t occur until the middle of the 1980s for that.
Interviewer: Did the Beatles play a big part in Australian culture?
Interviewee: The Beatles were a British band, and the reason why they were so popular is because they played music which the world had never heard of before, they were simply addictive when it came to music, thought I don’t like to think of the Beatles as great role models. The Beatles were womanisers, they smoke pot and were arrogant people who did whatever they wanted, because they thought there were above everyone else. But also in saying this, the Beatles played a major part in Australian culture through so much more things than the music, it was the start of the “Free love period”, the Hippie’s came at large, and the dawn of Pop culture reigned supreme. Free love is regarded to as those people who wear flowers on there ears, I don’t want to go into the extremes of it though
Interviewer: How did the rise of feminism effect Australia and Australia’s future generations?
Interviewee: Oh it effected Australia in so many ways, when I was new to Australia, in the late 60s, I’m not sure who lead the movement, but I can remember many women burning bra’s because there weren’t conservative, they wanted to be different, have equal pay as well, the rise of feminism has allowed generations of young women to have aspirations for previously male industries, such as the army, also it has allowed the glass ceiling in the corporate world to finally no longer exist, all because of the actions of Australian women in the 1960s.
Interviewer: What part did space exploration play in the 1960s?
Interviewee: Firstly, to give you an overview, after 1945, the Americans and the Soviet’s took over Germany, the Soviets took the fuel man, while the American’s got the rocket man. The fuel scientist developed the fuel to get to space, while the Americans got there later, the rocket technology the American’s had allowed them to reach the moon before the Soviets could get there.
Interviewer: If you could change one thing from the 1960s, what would you change?
Interviewee: Well the beginning of the European Union was formed in the 1960s, mainly because America was so big and powerful, and the Soviets were also so strong, Europe felt surrounded, suffocated by the weight on either side, the Americans and then the Soviets, and Europe fell somewhere in between. The European Union was formed not only for unity but for trade agreements as well. It might be good and well. But I would like to see more rules about people moving from one country another.
Interviewer: Overall how would you rate the 1960s out of 10 and why?
Interviewee: Well the 1960s was a great time which included a lot of change and a variety of aspects, in particular the ones which improved rights and freedom and shaped the future. I honestly believe that the 1960s was a great time especially as the changes had big effects on many things and it changed many ways that things were done and completed.
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