History

Going to sleep on Christmas Eve was difficult. As a child, growing up in Newcastle, Australia, in the 1960s and 1970s, I was unconsciously witnessing great changes in Australian "culture". The introduction and spread of television, consumer credit and the optimistic belief that increasing prosperity was a national birthright made for bright, shiny Christmases full of exciting material presents. Toys and games, big, brightly illustrated books, dragster pushbikes, Lego sets and endless supplies of sweet foods arrived with December 25, punctuating the long hot summer holiday like the bright star on the top of the tinsel…