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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Jacko the kookaburra is taken from his nest at three weeks of age and raised in captivity. He talks about his relationship with the Yorkshire terrier, Splinter, with whom he is raised. He also describes aspects of his daily life, such as eating a mouse, and being attacked by a hawk, and reflects on his mixed feelings about being raised in captivity. Jacko is taken to Melbourne so his laugh can be recorded on a gramophone record. He gains some fame when his laugh is broadcast on the radio, and he subsequently tours the eastern states of Australia quite extensively before returning home.
Notes
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Author's note: 'This is the true story of Jacko, the Broadcasting Kookaburra, that so many Australians have heard laughing over the air from the wireless stations of Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane &c.' Brooke Nicholls trained the bird, whose voice appeared at the opening of the newsreels, Movietone News.
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The loved character, Blinky Bill, devised by Dorothy Wall, first appeared in this book. He later became the subject of his own books.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The 'Voice' of Nature? Kookaburras, Culture and Australian Sound
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , September vol. 35 no. 3 2011; (p. 281-295) 'Linking auditory and animal history, this article examines the kookaburra's transformation from a 'bird of evil' to a symbol of and way of hearing nation. From the early colonial period, responses to the bird's aurality and behaviour were highly ambivalent and negative discourses in relation to the kookaburra continued well into the twentieth century. Yet the interwar years became the 'heyday' of the kookaburra as a symbol. The analysis focuses not on the use of the kookaburra as a visual icon in this period but on the kookaburra's growing aural power and presence. Here, discussion is particularly concerned with the role of new mass communication media in integrating nation with nature via the kookaburra. Central to this is the story of Jacko, the 'Broadcasting Kookaburra', a narrative that not only helps to explain the bird's ascent in national consciousness but also the limits to that identification.' [Author's abstract] -
The New Books at a Glance
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Women's Weekly , 30 September vol. 1 no. 17 1933; (p. 39)
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; In Pursuit of Patrick 1933 single work novel -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 7 December 1933; (p. 8)
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Horsham Times , 8 December no. 7719 1933;
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; Blinky Bill, the Quaint Little Australian 1933 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The New Zealand Magazine , 16 December 1933;
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; Blinky Bill, the Quaint Little Australian 1933 single work children's fiction
-
The New Books at a Glance
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Women's Weekly , 30 September vol. 1 no. 17 1933; (p. 39)
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; In Pursuit of Patrick 1933 single work novel -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 13 September vol. 54 no. 2796 1933; (p. 5)
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction -
Two Christmas Publications for Children
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Narrogin Observer , 16 December 1933;
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; Blinky Bill, the Quaint Little Australian 1933 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The New Zealand Magazine , 16 December 1933;
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; Blinky Bill, the Quaint Little Australian 1933 single work children's fiction -
Untitled
1933
single work
review
— Appears in: The Horsham Times , 8 December no. 7719 1933;
— Review of Jacko - the Broadcasting Kookaburra : His Life and Adventures 1933 single work children's fiction ; Blinky Bill, the Quaint Little Australian 1933 single work children's fiction -
The 'Voice' of Nature? Kookaburras, Culture and Australian Sound
2011
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , September vol. 35 no. 3 2011; (p. 281-295) 'Linking auditory and animal history, this article examines the kookaburra's transformation from a 'bird of evil' to a symbol of and way of hearing nation. From the early colonial period, responses to the bird's aurality and behaviour were highly ambivalent and negative discourses in relation to the kookaburra continued well into the twentieth century. Yet the interwar years became the 'heyday' of the kookaburra as a symbol. The analysis focuses not on the use of the kookaburra as a visual icon in this period but on the kookaburra's growing aural power and presence. Here, discussion is particularly concerned with the role of new mass communication media in integrating nation with nature via the kookaburra. Central to this is the story of Jacko, the 'Broadcasting Kookaburra', a narrative that not only helps to explain the bird's ascent in national consciousness but also the limits to that identification.' [Author's abstract]
Last amended 27 Apr 2015 11:30:23
Settings:
- Healesville area, Yea - Eildon - Warburton area, Melbourne Outer North, Melbourne, Victoria,
- Melbourne, Victoria,
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