Born in 1965? What else happened? 2025 Edition

This is the fifth of the 1960s and the 27th book overall to be released in a series of 32 about life in Australia – one for each year from 1939 to 1970. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. The whole series, to coin a modern phrase, is designed to push your buttons, to make you remember and wonder at things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between generations, and foster the asking and answering of questions that should not remain unanswered.

In 1965 is the woman’s place in the home? Winston Churchill died; relatives from Gallipoli and Greece and Crete did not all mourn. Maybe we should cancel Anzac Day marches because of heavy drinking. Freedom Rides were exposing the treatment of Aborigines. Hemlines are going up, exposing “spiritual knees and legs”. The Mavis Bramston Show was staged, and ball-point pens were not coming to a school near you. Alphabet soup was filling bowls, and school projects were irritating corporations.

About the Author

Ron Williams is a retired teacher, mathematician, computer-man, political scientist, farmer and writer. He has a BA from the University of Sydney, and a Masters in Social Work and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hawaii. He writes: “I was born in 1934, so that I can remember well a great deal of what went on around me from 1939 onwards. But of course, the bulk of this book’s material came from research. That meant that I spent many hours in front of a computer reading electronic versions of newspapers, magazines, Hansard, Ministers’ Press releases and the like. My task was to sift out, day-by-day, those stories and events that would be of interest to the most readers.