Jetty Road Weekly Blog 20/7/25
- jettyroad09
- Jul 20
- 4 min read
Sushi at the 'G
When the hoi polloi were still eating pies and chips
Gordon and Cherry Parker - Parker Family Archives
We were at a conference in Richmond. My mate Harry and I. It was in the year 2000 and Melbourne were playing North in the Preliminary Final. Harry had been a Melbourne fanatic since birth. This was a very good Melbourne side. Neal Daniher was coach and a couple of handy Tasmanians in Brad Green and Russell Robertson were high ranking senior players. Harry and I were able to get seats alongside his Mum and Dad way up in the Southern stand. At half time Harry’s Mum fed us sushi. Certainly not regular Aussie fare for me and certainly not at the footy, but it was most certainly a dish that she had grown up with. Harry’s Mum was a war bride. Harry comes from hardy stock. Not only did his Mum survive Hiroshima, both his Mum and Dad also broke down the open post war hostility from the Australian Government and general public at the time to build a successful life in Melbourne. His parent’s story was featured in the Guardian this week. It is a great read. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/16/80th-anniversary-hiroshima-bomb-japan-white-australia-policy
When Slim Dusty Came to Town
Touring with Slim were Rick and Thel Carey
Appearing in Rosebery circa 1963, Slim and his entourage performed on stage at the Memorial Hall. Rick and Thel sang a duet about a couple breaking up and splitting up their possessions with the refrain from either partner being: “I’ll take the dog.” Times have changed and not just in musical styles. You can’t just take the dog anymore, in the latest ruling from the Family Court, a dog is no longer a chattel.
‘Pets will no longer be recognised merely as property, but as “companion animals”. Family law courts must now consider animal abuse, including threats to harm pets, when deciding which partner is awarded ownership.’ Source: ABC
A decade later another Country and Western troupe arrived in Rosebery. These were an unruly lot with a full-on cat fight taking place in the Ladies’ Lounge at the Bottom Pub. Such was the ruckus and the intemperate language that the commotion could be heard loud and clear in the main bar. This prompted Leo McRedmond to shout across the opening between the bar and lounge. “Ladies could you please mind your language. There are gentlemen drinking over here!”
Roy Dick would have had his dog Ted anchored at the bar. On occasions Ted would be adorned with Roy’s spectacles and sometimes an unlit pipe. Ted would have not approved of either the language or of being regarded as a chattel. He was that kind of dog.
Song: I’ll Take the Dog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP4wksHH_WI
The UN Turns 80
1. The Role of Doc Evattt.
2. “All the vision.
All the wisdom.
All the knowing what went wrong”
Kevin Johnson
From The National Museum Australia:
Herbert Vere Evatt became Minister for External Affairs in 1941, when John Curtin’s wartime Labor government came to power. Having displayed relatively little interest in foreign policy up to this point, Evatt quickly overcame his lack of experience and went on to take a prominent role in the founding and early running of the United Nations.In light of the threat posed by Japan’s entry to the war, and the subsequent discovery that Britain and the United States had privately agreed on a ‘Beat Hitler first’ policy, Evatt’s early activity was focused on improving Australia’s fighting position in relation to the rapidly approaching Japanese forces.
When he discovered that Roosevelt and Churchill had agreed with China on peace terms for the Pacific without consulting Australia, he was furious. He set about formulating an alliance with New Zealand that would form the basis for post-war regional security. Rejection of this by the US bolstered Evatt’s support for a new international organisation being put forward by Britain, America and Russia.
Evatt threw his support behind the new attempts to build the UN. In supporting the idea of collective security, there was at least the possibility that smaller countries like Australia could achieve a better say in international negotiations. It also gave more likelihood of protection for smaller countries against aggression.
Such a grand vision for the UN which is now at a crossroads. The big boys have really chosen just to look after themselves. We are as vulnerable now as we were in 1941. The world has become seemingly even more unstable. The weapons even more deadly. The partisanship, religious division and jingoism more strident. On ABC RN (Friday 18/7) David Marr interviewed Chris Wallace on the decline of teaching History in our Universities. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/latenightlive/chris-wallace/105538106
I was doing a bit of garden enclosure construction last year. In my shed I have a collection of old cassettes. One of which was a mix tape with songs by Kevin Johnson. I had not listened to him for at least twenty years. Still love his songs. One in particular is just as pertinent today as the year it was recorded (1982).
Song: Reasons. Kevin Johnson
Feedback: tony.newport@bigpond.com
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