Category Archive: AUSTRALIANIA
All things Must Pass
(2017: Holden manufacturing (with wages well above market level) in Australia ceases; 2020: The Holden car (its models no longer competitive at the list price) ceases for good. Certain commentators suggest governments should have ‘done more‘) ‰ We’ve had much hand-wringing of late And cries for intervention by the State, To return us to the good old times Of subsidies and other nursery-rhymes. ⊕ ”Invest” (in losers) interventionists cry, Raise the prices till no one can buy, The Holden car, well ‘she’s a bloody beauty’; When markets fail, we all have a duty. ⊗ (One absorbs the books by Marx,…
Continue Reading →Australian Classic Fiction
The Varnished Culture thinks some Australian novels are worthy of the whole world: An Imaginary Life (by David Malouf) The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak) Capricornia (by Xavier Herbert) The First Man in Rome (by Colleen McCullough) Gould’s Book of Fish (by Richard Flanagan) The Harp in the South (by Ruth Park) The Magic Pudding (by Norman Lindsay) The Man Who Loved Children (by Christina Stead) The Merry-go-round in the Sea (by Randolph Stow) My Brilliant Career (by Miles Franklin) My Brother Jack (by George Johnston) Oscar and Lucinda (by Peter Carey) Picnic at Hanging Rock (by Joan Lindsay) Power Without Glory…
Continue Reading →Tasmanian Art Gallery
November 2019 If you’re still reeling from the inanities of MONA, why not check out Hobart’s more staid collection, on Davey Street (but enter on the landward side), a stone’s throw from the docks? The Gallery combines artistic works with natural history pieces of local significance: For instance the famous Thylacine, a carnivorous marsupial otherwise known as the Tasmanian Tiger, due to the stripes along its coat. Although last seen alive in 1933, we like to think the wily animal exists and flourishes somewhere in the wild western half of the island (there have been some unverified sightings in recent years)….
Continue Reading →MONA
November 2019 MONA (The Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart, is a must-see. Crouched on a promontory on the Derwent River, it can be approached from land – by car, dedicated bus, airport shuttle, or bike for the insanely fit (or insane) – or you can take one of the two Mona Roma ferries ($22 pp), as we did, a 20 minute cruise going under the infamous Tasman Bridge and featuring a nice little bar (our cab driver from the airport recommended this, saying, presciently, “You’ll need a drink before you see the Art.”) The Gallery itself sits…
Continue Reading →2019: The Year of the Tiger
The Year Before The Varnished Culture summarised Glenelg Football Team’s 2018 season in emojis – see here. The Tigers won their last 6 matches in 2018, including a close one at Prospect against North Adelaide, the eventual 2018 Premier. It showed that, in retrospect, despite a 9:9 win-loss record, Coach Mark Stone’s message was getting through. 2019 Minor Round The augury was good, and the 2019 Minor Round was much happier: whilst we were pipped at the post by Norwood in Round 1, and narrowly headed by South at Noarlunga in Round 10, the first half of the season had…
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