A Guide to Australian Bushranging on tour, 2019 [Blog]

With November 2019 seeing the 140th anniversary of the Wantabadgery Siege, the decision was made to make a pilgrimage to Wantabadgery. As no formal acknowledgement of the anniversary or notification of any organised commemoration thereof had been announced, I decided … Continue reading A Guide to Australian Bushranging on tour, 2019 [Blog]

Spotlight: Reckless Kelly at 25

Australia has produced some unique and often bizarre comedy – The Castle, Alvin Purple, Kenny – but few Australian comedy directors have the same stature as Yahoo Serious. Serious’ debut Young Einstein was a landmark comedy for its decidedly Aussie take on the rags-to-riches story of a Tasmanian apple farmer named Albert Einstein who invents bubbles in beer and rock ‘n’ roll. Serious followed up with a satirical look at gun culture using the cultural touchstone of Ned Kelly as a jumping off point. Continue reading Spotlight: Reckless Kelly at 25

Spotlight: For Frank Gardiner

Owen Suffolk was a bushranger who spent more than a decade in prison for a range of crimes, particularly Pentridge Prison. Suffolk gained the moniker “The Poet” for his deftness with poetry much of which refers to the experience of convicts and bushrangers. Perhaps his most well-known is For Frank Gardiner. It is a bold declaration of defiance and desire for freedom at any cost, the sort of liberty the outlaw archetype represents free from the constraints of the law and the mores of society; a liberty denied Frank Gardiner when he was finally apprehended at Apis Creek and dragged back to New South Wales. Continue reading Spotlight: For Frank Gardiner