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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Smith's Weekly was primarily an illustrated broadsheet newspaper carrying whole pages of cartoons, political comment and comic strips. It was named after and initially funded by Sir James Joynton Smith (1858-1943), an Englishman who became lord mayor of Sydney. For much of its life Smith's Weekly was also regarded as 'the Digger's newspaper'. During the 1920s and 1930s it became a leading advocate for the welfare of returned servicemen and women, and throughout its life it ran a regular page of news, correspondence and other items intended for Diggers. This continued in the years following World War II.
Notes
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Vol. 1, no. 1 (March 1, 1919)-v. 32, no. 35 (Oct. 28, 1950)
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From 1930[?] has subtitle: The Public Guardian.
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The December 1921 issue includes an item titled 'The Makers of Smith's Weekly' (p. 12), which consists of a series of thumbnail sized portraits of the journalists and illustrators then on staff. They are: Reg Moses, Alek Sass, George Finey, Charlie Hallett, Cecil Hartt, Bill Nicholas, Jim Donald, Ernest O'Ferrall, Jack Drayton, Ernestine Hemmings, Jack Gell, W.B. Dalley (the younger), Cliff Graves, Ernie Brewer, Errol Knox, Stan Cross, Bartlett Adamson and Ben Jordan.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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“For Gorsake, Stop Laughing : This Is Serious!”—Australia’s Fragile Cartooning Archive
2023
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , vol. 47 no. 1 2023; (p. 200-220)'Stan Cross’s “For gorsake, stop laughing: this is serious!” (Smith’s Weekly, 1933) is the symbol and bellwether of the Australian cartooning tradition. It is often lionised as a national treasure, but its archival history has been perilous in a way that shows a lack of care amounting almost to national negligence. The original of this most famous cartoon of the Depression era was lost for 80 years before being rediscovered in 2014, and this article notes for the first time that Trove Newspapers lacks a record of its initial publication. We use this troubled material history of one significant cartoon to raise a range of issues about the quality and purpose of collecting and presenting Australian cartoons as a resource for Australian studies in fields ranging from media and humour studies to cultural and political history.' (Publication abstract)
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Kenneth Slessor and Bertha Blither: Two Sides of an Australian Writer Between the Wars
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Sydney Studies in English , no. 41 2015; 'Very little of the material Kenneth Slessor contributed to ‘Smith’s Weekly’ has received scholarly attention despite the divisions and incongruities it reveals in his approach to writing. One could read Geoffrey Dutton’s biography, or more recent criticism by Philip Mead, and remain ignorant that Slessor was chiefly famous as a humourist during the 1920s and 30s. This essay focuses on Slessor’s part in the development of a comic character featured in ‘Smith’s Weekly’ from 1929 to 1938. Originally conceived as a lampoon of Dorothy Dix, Bertha Blither gradually assumed more diversified responsibilities at the paper as her outrageous behaviour won popularity. By the early 1930s the hard drinking Bertha was an ‘expert on everything’ and her career constituted a grotesque commentary on advances made by women in the public sphere. Bertha allowed Slessor to inhabit the persona of a crass and domineering woman whose views and values were diametrically opposed to his own, a ploy foreshadowing later excursions into cross-dressing by Barry Humphries. The degree to which Slessor’s best writing was a product of such contradictory impulses is a central concern of the essay.' (Publication summary) -
In the Wake of War : The Rise and Rise of Australia's Media Since 1918
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Making Australian History : Perspectives on the Past Since 1788 2008; (p. 375-381)'Lost in the traditional stories of Depression and unemployment is the extraordinary technological and media revolution that was taking place in Australia of the interwar years. For it was in these years that we now find the origins of the great media empires of the twentieth century: the house of Murdoch and Packer. It saw, too, the birth of widespread radio technology and the iconic Australian serial, The Australian Women's Weekly. Indeed, as Bridget Griffen-Foley demonstrates here, the 1920s and 1930s were far from being just an age of economic hardship. Rather, this was perhaps the first period in Australian history in which most citizens were afforded the opportunity to experience extraordinary new communications technology.'
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Did You Get It?
2001
single work
biography
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 24 November 2001; (p. 34-38) -
Drawing Blood
2001
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 19-20 May 2001; (p. 8-9)
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In the Wake of War : The Rise and Rise of Australia's Media Since 1918
2008
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Making Australian History : Perspectives on the Past Since 1788 2008; (p. 375-381)'Lost in the traditional stories of Depression and unemployment is the extraordinary technological and media revolution that was taking place in Australia of the interwar years. For it was in these years that we now find the origins of the great media empires of the twentieth century: the house of Murdoch and Packer. It saw, too, the birth of widespread radio technology and the iconic Australian serial, The Australian Women's Weekly. Indeed, as Bridget Griffen-Foley demonstrates here, the 1920s and 1930s were far from being just an age of economic hardship. Rather, this was perhaps the first period in Australian history in which most citizens were afforded the opportunity to experience extraordinary new communications technology.'
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Kenneth Slessor
1999-1998
single work
biography
— Appears in: A Handful of Hacks 1999; (p. 48-64) -
Smith's Weekly Goes
1950
single work
column
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 1 November vol. 71 no. 3690 1950; (p. 7) -
In Print
1985
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: This Australia , Winter vol. 4 no. 3 1985; (p. 49-52) - y The Sea Coast of Bohemia : Literary Life in Sydney's Roaring Twenties St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 1992 Z365461 1992 single work criticism