Journal Article

A 'Grim and fascinating' land of opportunity: The 'Walkabout' women and Australia

Robyn Greaves

2014

Overview

'Walkabout' (1934-1974) was a popular general interest magazine that enjoyed a diverse readership and had a wide circulation. Its contributors included many well-known Australian writers such as Frank Clune, Ion Idriess, Mary Durack, John K. Ewers, Ernestine Hill and Henrietta Drake-Brockman, along with a number of respected scientists and anthropologists. Its production coincided with the period in Australia during which 'the distinctive forms of mid-century middlebrow culture... emerged more clearly' (Carter, 'Mystery' 189). From its first issue Walkabout professed to have 'embarked on an educational crusade' with the aim of inspiring 'an infinitely greater knowledge and appreciation of' Australia for those within the country and beyond its shores ('Walkabout' 1.1 (1934): 7). This brief fits David Carter's definition of a middlebrow institution which is 'committed to expanding the circulation of culture and \"education\" through culture' ('Mystery' 177). While popular at the time of publication, Walkabout has since fallen into relative obscurity, and the magazine and its contributors have received little critical attention. This is changing, however, as scholars such as Sean Latham and Robert Scholes recognise the importance of 'periodicals as cultural objects,' arguing: 'if we really wish to know the past and not just a few moments preserved from it, we must study the way that art and commodity culture influenced each other... And this means exploring more fully and more intensely the fascinating world of periodicals' (519-21). Anna Johnston argues that 'writers of middlebrow fiction were crucial educators and cultural interpreters' (Johnston 2). For Mitchell Rolls, Walkabout 'was one of the cultural industries engaged in nation building' during a period of transition in Australia's history (Rolls, 'Finding Fault' 181). If, as Roslynn Haynes writes, 'we are continually creating the landscape that we \"see\"' (3), then 'Walkabout' magazine contributed to the infinite rehearsal of national identity and what it means to be at 'home' in Australia.

• Publisher: Association for the Study of Australian Literature,Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL)
• Subject: Australian literature / Culture / Durack, Mary / Literary studies / Mysteries / Periodicals / Publishing / Reading / Social conditions / Societies, etc / Statistical services / Travel literature / Vocational guidance / Women / Writing