A Response
A biased bloke, a quiet bigot,
he possessed the common sense
not to parade his lesser side
before an adoring public.
He was part of a Mason/Catholic divide
in his Test side during the thirties,
“liked to hear the sound of his own voice”,
according to Len Hutton.
Was as blunt as a sawn-off twenty-two
when the cricket wasn’t up to scratch.
“Geez, you bowled some rubbish, son,”
he once chided a young Test bowler.
A man who seemed to dislike
the public’s unstinting gaze,
yet couldn’t have done without it:
it made him who he was.
Cocky and smug, this little chap,
antithesis of the Aussie “mate”,
with the sporting genius’ age-old curse
of not fitting in with the team.
Madam: Archbishop Fisher (July-August 2024) does not resist the attacks on his church by the political, social or scientific atheists and those who insist on not being told what to do.
Aug 29 2024
6 mins
To claim Aborigines have the world's oldest continuous culture is to misunderstand the meaning of culture, which continuously changes over time and location. For a culture not to change over time would be a reproach and certainly not a cause for celebration, for it would indicate that there had been no capacity to adapt. Clearly this has not been the case
Aug 20 2024
23 mins
A friend and longtime supporter of Quadrant, Clive James sent us a poem in 2010, which we published in our December issue. Like the Taronga Park Aquarium he recalls in its 'mocked-up sandstone cave' it's not to be forgotten
Aug 16 2024
2 mins