From Melbourne
1.2.82
Dear Alan
I
have just received back a letter which I wrote to you in mid-September and it
apparently arrived after you had changed your address. Although it was a five
page letter I think you would have caught up with most of the news it contained
by now.
I did
mention an ABC radio series on “images of Africa” which I found interesting but
the recent TV series on the “White tribe of Africa” was more graphic. We also
learnt a lot more about South Africa through the reading of a book on apartheid
by a Sri Lankan who is professor of Law at Monash University. However our
knowledge through reading would be insignificant compared to your first-hand
experience.
Your
letter re Zimbabwe arrived the other day and that tour must have been quite an
experience. I see from a recent news report that Mugabe is very disappointed
with the attitude of the whites since independence but I don’t suppose they
were going to change overnight.
From
your letter it was hard to tell whether you went on your own or in a party,
whether it was very costly or if there were any restrictions on travel.
On the
home front, news is not all that plentiful as we have just been through the
January holiday period. Sport has been the main interest with great attention
being paid to cricket. It seems to be on TV almost every day and there have
been many exciting days, particularly the one-day matches with the West Indies.
We went on the first day of the Melbourne test against the West Indies and it
proved to be one of the greatest days of cricket I have seen. Lois and Beverley
were there and they enjoyed it very much, particularly as they were barracking
for the West Indies. That’s because were all anti-Chappell – a legacy of the
under-arm incident. South Africans are very keen on sport I believe and I was
wondering whether they show any interest in the Test cricket here?
It’s a
strange thing, after all the fuss over the rugby tour of New Zealand, that a
South African can win the Aust tennis championships and there not be a murmur.
I note too that golfers have no qualms about playing in South Africa and there
were plenty of big names among the drivers in the South African Grand Prix.
Incidentally the motor race was televised live in Australia.
During
the holidays we spent some time at Trentham but that was mostly work
interrupted with a bit of bush-walking. No elephants or rhinos to see just
kangaroos and echidnas. We did see kangaroos or wallabies on quite a few
occasions this summer –more than previous years.
However it’s back to work
tomorrow for everybody as the school year starts then. Lois was lucky enough to
receive an appointment with the education department but she has been sent to a
small town near Mildura–just about the furtherest school in Victoria from
Melbourne. She drove up on Sunday with all her gear and was a bit apprehensive
about the heat. But she can take comfort knowing she was one of only nine from
her course of 80 graduates who obtained permanent positions with the
department.
Speaking of graduates I believe
that the situation with dental graduates is worse this year than last year
regarding job opportunities. It’s a matter of going where the jobs are. Ian
Gartley has found that out and he has gone to Mildura Base Hospital. Lois
intends to look him up.
Beverley has left her job and is
preparing to go back to Monash. I think she will approach it in a more mature
way and a change of subjects should be to her advantage. It means that if Bev
lives out that way we’ll have lots of spare rooms.
Glenn and his wife left for
Malaysia two weeks ago and before they went we had them for dinner. The set-up
seems a good way to see another country–a well-paid permanent job, plenty of
servants and opportunities for travel. Similar to your situation.
Work is going to be harder in
the printing industry from now on as from tomorrow we start a 37 1/2 hour week
and at the end of the year it reduces to 35 hours. In addition there is a hefty
wage hike of $25 per week plus a further increase in June. That of course means
more inflation and fewer jobs. Nobody seems to have found the solution to the
inflationary spiral and the so-called resources boom seems to have faded
somewhat. But it’s still the lucky country!
Your tax return hasn’t turned up yet but I
spoke to the accountant just before the holidays and he said he had the matter
in hand. The hold-up is due to some money owed to you from Blackwater. I’ll
contact him again if nothing transpires in the next week or two.
Everybody well at present,
kindest regards
Dad
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