herstory

Glen Waverley 1963

Introduction

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Europe

A white-haired boy brings black bread, tongue and eel to school for lunch.

Letter specimen, Mixed media, 2001

His name was Hakan, pronounced 'Hawk', like the bird he kept as a pet. Or did I get that wrong? With hair as white as snow and eyes the palest blue, just like my father's, I naturally found him attractive. He took photographs of wildlife and made specimen boxes for his butterfly collection. In 2015 I learn from Hawk's brother Ken, that the Lofhelm family came to Australia from Finland where they spoke Swedish, and that there is a whole social story behind that. I was always attracted by the cultural differences of the Lofhelms, which I considered far more interesting, intelligent and sophisticated than in ours. I was puzzled by Hawk's seeming desire to conform to Aussie values. But maybe I got that wrong too. Memory can play strange tricks on us. I'm sure there's more to this story.

The Australian government agreed to the United States establishing a navel communications installation on the North-West Cape, 1,150 miles from Perth. There was considerable controversy over the matter, with claims that such an establishment would attract a nuclear attack in the event of war.

The Australian Almanac, Pub. Angus & Robertson 1985