Summerhill Rd
Acorns ago when I was a boy
as full of sap as empty of sense
we lived in an outer suburban house
redgum posts grey paling fence.
Outside the kitchen a gully trap
Mr Hill’s rotary ruled the yard
spidery shed, bolted vegetables
housekeeper Wilsie fried with lard.
Mother worked to keep us afloat
I’d pedal half to school, return
spend the day high in the treehut
Phantom comics, much to learn.
Others had fathers, went to matches
1 had free rein, Gardy Creek to explore
Sally the mongrel, kind Phil the postie
could any Glennie boy ask for more?
Today that outer suburb is inner
Joffa Jukes, Mrs Darbyshire … all dead
Gardiner’s Creek runs in pipes
and the G.I. blues in my head.
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