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Australia between the wars: 1930s
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Contribution and significance of an individual in the 1930s
Topic : Contribution and significance of an individual in the 1930s
In this topic you will learn...
Chapter 1 :
Sir Donald Bradman
Bradman's batting skills were said to have developed when he practised hitting a golf ball off a water tank with a cricket stump as a child
In 1927 he was selected to play for New South Wales and the next year to play for Australia
His first Test match against England did not start well, however he soon worked his way into the record books as the youngest player to score a test century
In the 1930 Sheffield Shield competition Bradman made the highest personal score in a first-class match in Australia- 452 runs scored in a world record time of 415 minutes
Other accomplishments include captaining the South Australian Sheffield Shield team, becoming a selector for State and national teams and captaining Australia twelve times
The 'Bodyline' Test series of 1932- 1933 were directly linked to Bradman, during which the English bowlers attempted to stop him from his high run scores and consequently from the Australians winning the series
Bradman played his last Test match in 1948 where he needed four runs to bring his Test match batting average up to 100, however failed to score even one run, but still managed to hold the highest ever average of 99.94
Bradman's phenomenal batting accomplishments inspired people during the difficult times of the Great Depression.
Since 1882 when the first Australian cricket team defeated the English cricket team, cricket has been seen as a source of national pride for Australians
Chapter 2 :
Margaret Preston
Preston travelled to Europe where she studied the various popular styles of art at the time, particularly the French Post-Impressionists and Japanese art
In 1919, Preston married into financial security and a new name, which enabled her to move forward with her art
The subjects of Preston's work, including native flora and fauna as well as landscapes of Mosman, became uniquely Australian
After she moved from the suburbs to the bush, Preston's art was also influenced by her interest in Aboriginal artwork and Chinese landscapes
Preston continued to travel extensively and create artwork even into her latter years, leaving behind over 400 prints from her life of 88 years
The flat blocks of colour, light without shadows and asymmetry are all styles of the Post Impressionists which are evident in Preston's work
Preston was also influenced by the Impressionists who had a great interest in Japanese art, particularly woodblock prints
She also embraced Chinese stencils and the icons of Aboriginal artwork, pioneering a new technique which used the rough side of masonite
Some believe that Preston used Aboriginal symbols without any understanding of their meaning or context, however, it is also argued that she forced mainstream society to focus their attention on the previously-shunned minority and their culture
Chapter 3 :
Nancy Bird-Walton
Bird-Walton began flying on 11 August 1933 through the school of aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith and obtained her 'A' license on 28 September that same year
In 1933 she obtained her 'Advanced A' licence and in the following year she obtained her commercial pilot's licence, becoming the youngest female to do so in the British Commonwealth
Bird-Walton embarked on the first female 'barnstorming tour', where she met Reverend Drummond who asked her to help him set up a flying ambulance and baby clinic
She took out the Ladies Trophy in the 1936 air race from Adelaide to Brisbane, however she had become tired of the loneliness that went with flying and took up the offer to learn aviation abroad
In 1939 she married an Englishman and became Commandant of the Women's Air Training Corps of Australia
In 1950, although still without a pilot's licence, Nancy Bird-Walton formed the Australian Women's Pilot Association and became its president
In 1958 she renewed her private license before becoming the first woman from overseas to compete in several of the all-women 'Powder Puff Derbys' in the United States
Bird-Walton published two autobiographies, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1966 and the Order of Australia in 1990
The flying life was not easy owing to an initial lack of support from her father, vicious rumours circulating about her, not to mention the danger, loneliness and harsh climate that she had to endure
With the help of such organisations as the Australian Women's Pilot's Association, women today are able to work as airline captains, search and rescue pilots and as pilots in the Australian Air Force and Navy
Chapter 4 :
Roy Rene
Born in 1892 as Harry van der Sluice, he later changed his name and became famous for his stage persona 'Mo'- one of Australia's best vaudeville and variety comedians
He began singing as a young child, before entering into vaudeville where he changed his name to 'Roy Rene' and began to develop his persona and face make-up which identified him for the rest of his career
While Roy Rene himself was a private man and his alter ego was indecent, volatile and particularly immodest towards women
In 1916 he teamed up with Nat Phillips, to become the incredibly successful comedic act of 'Stiffy and Mo,' however they split in 1928
He made his first and only film, Strike me Lucky (1934), however the success of 'Mo' relied on a live audience to respond to and this film did not have one
Rene turned to radio after the end of World War II and found success with the devious character of 'Mo McCackie,' which he performed in front of a live studio audience
He continued working on radio and in a brief return to stage, before he died in 1954 at 62 years of age
He had a great impact on the Australian people during the Depression when they needed some entertainment to remove them from their miseries
Although he was made many offers to work in the United States, Roy Rene decided to remain in Australia where he knew his acts could be related to
After his death, awards which gave recognition to live entertainers was renamed the 'Mo Awards,' in recognition of his contribution to Australian entertainment
Chapter 5 :
Sir Isaac Isaacs
Born in Melbourne in 1855, Sir Isaac Isaacs started out studying part-time to graduate from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Law (1880) and a Master of Law (1882)
In 1892 he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly, later becoming Solicitor-General for Victoria (1893) and Victoria's Attorney-General (1894)
In 1897 he was elected to appear as a Victorian delegate at a constitutional convention, where he supported Federation
Isaacs was a member of the first federal parliament in 1901, refusing encouragement to stay on as premier, but instead being elected into a Victorian seat from where he advocated more radical policies and was a strong supporter of Edmund Barton
On 5 July 1905 Isaacs was appointed as the Commonwealth's attorney-general and the following year he was appointed to the High Court bench where he remained for twenty four years
In 1930, Isaacs who had been acting as chief justice during 1925 and 1927, was appointed to the position by the Labor Prime Minister James Scullin
To the reluctance of King George V, the Nationalist opposition and the public, in 1931 Australia's first Australian-born Governor-General, Sir Isaac Isaacs, was sworn in
Isaacs retired in 1936, but continued to cause controversy when he attacked Zionism
Many people did not like him or trust Isaccs, usually either owing to jealousy or his egotism
He was honoured on several occasions during his life with British Orders and since his death in 1948, there have been several Australian memorials in his honour
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