Ratbags at the gates

Featured in

  • Published 20090303
  • ISBN: 9780733323942
  • Extent: 256 pp
  • Paperback (234 x 153mm)

Shortlisted, 2009 Victorian Premier’s Literary Prize, The Alfred Deakin Prize for an Essay Advancing Public Debate

ON A JULY evening in Sydney in 1955, the nation’s arts establishment gathered to celebrate the beginning of a new era in Australian culture. It was the gala opening of the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust’s Elizabethan Theatre in Newtown and they were all there: a former High Court judge, scions of media and grazing dynasties from all the states, the hierarchy of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and of course the senior public servant who drove the changes in cultural policy for decades, H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs.

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

If you are an educator or student wishing to access content for study purposes please contact us at griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

Share article

About the author

Helen O’Neil

Helen O'Neil is Executive Director of the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and is a graduate of the University of Melbourne...

More from this edition

The river or the boat?

EssayLIKE TINY TERRORISTS, a slew of toxic memories from the last twenty years swarm through my mind when considering Australian culture in the abstract....

Willy and Roy

ReportageROY PRESTON LOVED loved the smell. When the amplifier's valves warmed up: their filaments glowing orange, they gave off a sweet musty odour. He...

Ecologies of creative diversity

EssayI AM NOT the greatest fan of the obligatory cultural tours that are increasingly anchored in the program of international conferences. In Vienna it...

Stay up to date with the latest, news, articles and special offers from Griffith Review.