PRIME MINISTER
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
TIME AUSTRALIA SPECIAL BICENTENARY ISSUE
MELBOURNE 11 NOVEMBER, 1987
This special issue of Time is among the first of the vast
number of publications associated with Australia's
Bicentenary. So once again Time has scooped its competitors.
But it is a very important, and very appropriate, initiative
by Time Australia.
Important, because it brings the approach of the Bicentenary
into sharp focus, before an international readership.
And appropriate, because of what Time Australia itself
represents. In Time Australia, we have an example of an outstandingly
successful news venture, based on the world's greatest
magazine, but already becoming identifiably Australian in
character. This is already Time with an Australian accent.
But, of course, the American connection remains strong.
And in this as on the wider level of our relations long
may it continue to be so.
Indeed, we may see in this connection something symbolic of
one of the central facts about the Bicentenary itself.
We all know the direct link of history between the American
War of Independence and the foundation of Australia the
loss of the American colonies as a receptacle for
transportation. But there is an even more fundamental connection between the
America of 1788 and the Australia of 1988.
The theme of this Bicentenary issue of Time is " The World of
1788" d" 4 3 c~ y~
2.
And in that world of 1788, two events of immense importance
were about to take place the two events which have most
shaped the modern Western world.
In the United States, the Founding Fathers had completed the
Constitution, and George Washington was about to become the
first President of the world's first modern democracy.
And within a year, the watershed event of modern Europe
would occur the French Revolution.
This is the constellation under which this colony here was
born. It's true that no nation could have had more unpromising
beginnings. But our beginning was also a time of a new beginning for the.
Western world the inauguration of the great experiment in
democracy. And this, of course, shaped the next two hundred years,
decisively for Australia, and for the Western world.
It is the democratic experience, which began in the United
States in 1788, which links us directly, in 1988, with the
world of 1788, described in this special issue of Time.
The approaching Bicentenary is, among other things, a time
for reflection.
In particular, it is an occasion to reflect on the impact of
the last 200 years on the original inhabitants of the land.
This special issue contains a great deal of material to
prompt serious thought about both our past and even more
important, our future.
Just a word about the cover painting. Brett Whiteley has
already made a considerable contribution to artistic
endeavour in Australia.
The winner of three of Australia's most prestigious
prizes for art: the Archibald Prize and the Sulman
Prize in 1976 and 1978 and the Wynne Prize in 1977 and
1978; His work is highly visible in the Australian community
and is especially noted for its critical examination of
Australia's place in the modern wortd.
It strikes me as a very appropriate honour that Time
Australia has accorded Brett in commissioning him to
undertake this work for this special issue.
Congratulations Brett.
3.
I'm still trying to find the time to read the whole of this
issue of Time but, and some of you will not be surprised, I
have read with some amusement the article about a cricket
match which might have taken place in 1787.
The article says:
" The rules committee, including the Earl of Tankerville and
the Duke of Dorset, is expected to confirm the
leg-before-wicket rule and the use of three stumps a
sensible measure adopted after Lumpy Stevens, England's
greatest bowler, failed to dislodge a stubborn tail-ender,
despite three deliveries that passed between the wickets.
There will also be a fixed limit on the size of bats, to
counter such imaginative tactics as those used by the
Ryegate player White, who attempted to use a willow as wide
as the stumps."
Jeff Penberthy, I congratulate you and the management of
Time Australia for this excellent production, and thank you
for the creativity and foresight in making it such a fitting
curtain-raiser for the Bicentennial celebrations.