INTO EACH LIFE SOME RAIN MUST FALL

But does it have to happen, literally and metaphorically, on an anniversary holiday?

Megan and I do not make a point of travelling for our anniversaries, but we enjoy doing so when we can manage it. This year our work schedules did not allow anything ambitious on the actual date, but did provide an opportunity a little earlier. Having lived in Samoa and Fiji and visited family in New Zealand several times, we pine for the Pacific on a regular basis, so when the idea of visiting Norfolk Island came up, it resonated. We made a booking within a week.

Norfolk Island is a tiny (35 km2) volcanic outcrop on the largely sunken continent of Zealandia, an enormous mass of continental crust which broke away from Australia in the Cretaceous period, headed for South America and was promptly swallowed up by the Pacific Ocean for its audacity. Other less- watery bits of Zealandia include New Caledonia and New Zealand. Given their collective geological repudiation of the Australian continent and Norfolk Island’s closer present-day proximity to these other two other jurisdictions, you may wonder why it is today a territory of the Commonwealth of Oz. The answer is “historical ties”.

The first inhabitants of Norfolk Island were Polynesian, but they had departed long before the early European explorers arrived in the Pacific. None other than James Cook ‘discovered’ and named it in 1774, during the second of his four-year missions to explore strange new worlds, seek out new civilisations, and boldly go where no man had gone before. He landed a boat at the base of a cliff to get a closer look at the abundant tall, straight pine trees native to the island and flax plants identical to those he’d already seen in Nieuw Zeeland. Noting their potential for making ship’s masts and sail-cloth, respectively, he then sailed away.

Cook did not claim Norfolk Island for the British Crown, following a pattern of behavior that Margaret Cameron-Ash identifies in her book Lying for the Admiralty (2018). As well as being the greatest navigator of his day, Cook was astute in subterfuge. He often downplayed, ignored, or altered his journal or maps to omit, discoveries that could give the British strategic advantages. It was a time of intense competition between the superpowers of the day and, for King and Country, he hid his expedition’s discovery of Bass Strait and (probably) walked from Botany Bay to hills above Port Jackson to see how magnificent a site it would make for a new colony (and naval base) – and kept this knowledge from almost all of his crew.

Sadly, by 1786 Captain Cook was dead, killed by Hawaiians angry at his attempt to have them all known as ‘Sandwich Islanders’. Britain had been trumped by its New England colonists, who now denied its main supply of ship timber, and a ruthless Russian ruler, Catherine II, had cut off vital supplies of flax and hemp as well. Cook’s advice regarding the natural resources of Norfolk was recalled at the Admiralty and a small settlement there was quietly added to plans for a new colony on the east coast of New Holland.

When the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788, Captain Phillip knew to explore Port Jackson for a better site for the settlers. Gobsmacked when two French ships sailed into Botany Bay soon after, he did not invite Laperouse to the ceremony at Sydney Cove on the 26th that marked the founding of the Colony. Just six weeks later, a small party of First Fleet convicts and free men landed on Norfolk Island. They named their settlement Sydney, too.

- 2 - As first Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, Phillip administered far more territory than the present-day state. Before the First Fleet had set sail, the colony had been defined by British bureaucrats in April 1787 as extending from longitude 135º E in the west, from Cape York in the north to South Cape in the south (i.e. almost half of the Australian continent) as well as: “all the Islands adjacent in the Pacific Ocean within the Latitudes aforesaid of 10º 37' South, and 43º 39' South”. The Admiralty was very generous in its interpretation of “adjacent”, claiming not just all of the islands visible from the coast, but also Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, as well as New Zealand (until July 1841).

Both Sydneys struggled at first. Phillip’s desire to include experienced farmers, builders and craftsmen in the First Fleet had been ignored, and soils around Port Jackson were poor. The settlers on Norfolk Island found rich soil and initially supplied vegetables and grains to their namesake colony. But this led to more transportees being transferred to Norfolk and then shortages of food occurred on the island, too, especially after HMS Sirius grounded and broke up on the southern reef in 1790. An entire population of petrels was hunted and eaten to extinction by settlers in order to survive early famines. The native pines were found to be too fragile for ship’s masts, and attempts to process the local flax also failed. The colony never attained self-sufficiency and Norfolk Island was abandoned in 1814.

A decade later, the future of the Sydney Cove settlement was assured and it ceased to be a penal colony. Norfolk Island was again given this role, for the “worst felons” transported from mainland N.S.W. and the newly-separated Van Diemen’s Land. They were matched by a series of brutal commandants, giving the island a reputation as the “Hell of the Pacific”. A new approach was taken for five years from 1840, under Alexander Maconochie. As a Royal Navy officer he had been imprisoned himself (by the French) and he implemented a system of reforms rather than punishments. The reoffending rate fell to 2% under his tenure, but he was still replaced by another brute. A violent uprising resulted in 1846; this and growing awareness of the conditions in Norfolk’s prisons led to their closure in 1855.

Meanwhile, far to the east, the inhabitants of another small island were petitioning Queen Victoria for assistance. The Pitcairn Islanders, mostly descendants of HMS Bounty mutineers and Tahitians who had (involuntarily) accompanied them there in 1790, now totaled almost 200 and were exhausting their island’s resources. Her Majesty responded with a majestic gesture: she offered them Norfolk Island. They readily accepted, and endured five weeks at sea before disembarking at Kingston in June 1856, to learn that the offer had been revised and they would have to share the island with others. Some families returned to Pitcairn instead, but the population on Norfolk has maintained a strong culture and language (Norf’k) to this day. The island became a Territory of Australia in 1914, and gained its own Legis- lative Assembly in 1979. More recent decisions by the Australian government have again been unpopular, such as ending the island’s tax free status in 2010 and making the island part of New South Wales again by abolishing self-government in 2016.

Given this vivid history, it will come as no surprise that tourism has been the most significant source of income on the island ever since WW2. An airstrip built for reconnaissance flights by the Royal New Zealand Air Force was lengthened to service commercial aircraft. Today, a prominent sign Welkam tu Norf’k Ailen greets all arrivals at the airport and there are plenty of tour operators happy to help visitors see and do everything the island has to offer. They also meet flights and drop visitors at their accommodation, which was great, as our plane had been delayed for hours and we were hungry. Our hosts, Steve and Kerri-Ann, recommended a dinner place a short walk away and we were not disappointed. The Hilli Restaurant served the best meal we would have on the island and we slept well on it that night.

- 3 -

In the morning, Kerri-Ann gave us a mobile and car keys, but we decided to stroll into town instead. Burnt Pine is an odd name; it was apparently derived from an old stand of pines burned down to make way for the original airstrip. The town has since expanded to the west. At first glance, it looked much like any small country town in Australia, apart from the pines scattered either side of the road. Once past the Chinese restaurant, a petrol station, and RSL Club, however, we began to notice more up-market shops, many of jewellery and clothing. Most of these were established during the island’s tax free era.

Further along, we found the tourist bureau, chose some brochures and then braved the narrow path lined with great masses of spider web to have tea at the aptly named Golden Orb Book- shop and Café. It was a nice secluded spot, with many books on local history. Right next door was Duncans Jewellers, specializing in pearls and estate antiques. We browsed a while but Megan couldn’t decide whether she wanted the diamond necklace previously owned by Elizabeth Taylor or the Cartier art deco diamond and emerald ring. So we decided to drown our sorrows at our penury in a bottle of Bloody Bridge Gin instead. The bridge is real; the convict-era story goes that the guard of a work gang building it was killed and sealed into the brick structure. The deed was discovered when blood was seen seeping from the wet mortar. (In case you are wondering: Yes, Edgar Allan Poe was writing by this time.)

After lunch, we drove to the west side of the island to see St. Barnabas Chapel. The Anglican Church’s Melanesian Mission was based on Norfolk from 1866 to 1920, and the chapel was built as a memorial to the first Bishop of Melanesia, John Patteson, after he was killed in the Solomon Islands in 1871. It features stained glass windows designed by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, as well as a carved wooden altar and pews with inlaid mother-of-pearl designs. Megan is a big fan of Morris and I was taken by the nacre in-lays, especially the one of a pterodactyl (see middle panel on back cover).

From the chapel we thought we’d zip up the road to Mt. Pitt, only 1m shorter than the highest point of the island (nearby Mt. Bates) to take in the view. This would have been a great idea on a nice day, but the sky was now completely overcast and the wind was gusting so strongly on the mountain top that it was hard just to stand. We retreated down the hill and called it a day, deciding that the Botanic Gardens would require better weather to visit. Back at Burnt Pine, Megan took shelter in a shoe shop and managed to find a pair to buy. Later we bought dinner at the Fish & Chook Shop and enjoyed a Bette Davis movie, courtesy of a DVD set left in our unit. The wind was joined by rain overnight.

The next morning we were booked on a half day tour of the island. It had a few of the usual well-rehearsed anecdotes and jokes, but gave us a good overview of the island’s geography, helped us plan our week and kept us out of a few scattered showers. And at a bakery to get lunch after the tour, Megan and I had a close encounter with an authentic Pitcairner…

She must have spotted us as tourists (not too tricky, that) and decided that we needed a warm Norf’k greeting. We had no idea what she was saying, weren’t entirely sure she was even talking to us at all, until she stopped and gave us a broad grin. We smiled back, but it seems that wasn’t the reaction she was looking for. “What’re yer names?” she asked in English.

Megan and I introduced ourselves.

She grinned again. “D’ya want to know my name?”

“Sure,” I said. - 4 - She told us. It was a common, rude name for a twit. The intention seemed to be to shock.

“Is it really?” I asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said.

“Is that what your mother called you?” I ventured.

She looked at us, saw we weren’t going to bite, and said, “Oh, no.” Then she explained that most Pitcairners have a nickname used within the community, and we had a short chat about their history and culture. Irreverence for authority was a recurrent theme. In the end she was very amiable and even invited us to her home. It turns out that the local telephone book has a special page of entries listed by locals’ nicknames.

After lunch we explored in a few directions the tour hadn’t taken us and, entirely by chance, you understand, wound up at Norfolk Island Liquors. It would have been churlish of us not to sample a few of their products, wouldn’t it? Where else we went that afternoon we can’t quite recall, until we made our way to the Ferny Lane Theatre to see a performance of Trial of the Fifteen. This is an historical play in which various characters from Norfolk’s past are judged for their actions. It had a small cast taking multiple roles and was very well done, especially as the characters include a Polynesian rat and Satan.

The next day we spent entirely at Kingston on the south coast, where the early settlements had been. This includes a Polynesian site, which was only discovered in 1995. Previous finds (rock adzes, wooden artefacts, banana trees and rats) had all indicated a landing, at least, but an ANU archaeological team uncovered the remains of a small house facing the sea, a well-used oven, a ceremonial structure, and abundant stone flakes and bones of fish, birds and rats. They surmised that a group of up to 50 people from the Kermadecs, over 1200 km to the east, had arrived in the 13th century and the site had been occupied (or periodically visited) into the 15th century. Excavations were later covered over, so none of this can be seen today, but it was not hard to imagine how alluring the site would have been, overlooking the lagoon at Emily Bay, Nepean and Phillip Islands offshore, and the open ocean beyond.

The sky was again overcast and blustery, so we moved on to the numerous museums along the foreshore. We lingered in the galleries of the former Pier Store (covering the Bounty mutiny, life on Pitcairn Island and resettlement on Norfolk) and Commissariat Store (archaeological finds and convict artefacts) so long that we had to go for a late lunch at the Golf Club (originally home of the Stipendiary Magistrate). Afterwards, we explored the rooms and gardens of No. 10 Quality Row. In 1844 it was home to the Foreman of Works and his servant, and has been furnished as it would have been in their day. Some signs of later residents have also been retained, such as an evocative pencil drawing of a sailing ship on a patch of wall in one of the former bedrooms, apparently the work of a young boy.

All of the museums close at 3:00 pm, so after this time we wandered around the ruins of the old Prisoners Barracks and New Gaol. As both were later demolished to provide stone blocks for new buildings (including St. Barnabas Chapel) there isn’t much left to see apart from the perimeter walls and arches and the foundations of the distinctive spokes of New Gaol, which was a novel design in its day. In much better shape were the seawall and pier, still in use 170 years after they were constructed. We climbed the hill to the west to see the scene from a higher perspective, and found the view inland, of Arthur’s Vale (the first area cultivated by Europeans on the island) lovely as well (see bottom two panels on the back cover).

- 5 - On Friday, the weather worsened, with heavy rain falling intermittently. We slept in and then decided to look for a few Christmas presents, finding locally designed clothing, jewellery, and woodcraft, as well as another pair of shoes for Megan. More by accident than design, we also discovered a beautifully executed cyclorama of the Bounty’s journey, from England to Pitcairn Island. Dinner that evening was at Poppies Diner in the local RSL Club.

Much to our surprise, Saturday was sunny with only a light breeze. Perfect conditions for a walk in a national park. Norfolk Island’s is one of only six managed by the Commonwealth agency, Parks Australia. The island being so isolated, the park is home to a number of unique plant and animal species, including the emblematic Norfolk Pine and Green Parrot. The latter, technically, is a parakeet, but as it is endangered due to habitat loss and predation by introduced species (rats and cats) the distinction may not matter much longer. Efforts have been made to improve its chances of survival by raising a population on nearby Phillip Island. Of course, Megan and I hoped to catch a glimpse of one on our walk.

The tracks are well marked and maintained, and the change in the weather had brought other walkers out as well. “Seen any Green Parrots?” was a common question between us, and our hopes were raised when one chap answered that he’d just seen one a little further up the path we were on. Eyes and ears alert, we walked slowly forward…but never saw any parrot, nor parakeet, all day.

We did, however, enjoy hiking past the towering pines and, when the track led north to the coast, seeing stunning scenery. With the sun out, the mix of colours and textures in the sky, forest, cliffs and ocean was absolutely gorgeous. Eventually we stopped for lunch above an island known as Elephant Rock (you can probably spot this on the back cover). We realized later that we were probably only a kilometre or so from the Captain Cook Monument when we decided to return to the car and drive around to it. Either way, we missed the light to get a photo of the rocky bay below where Cook is believed to have stepped ashore in 1774.

It rained again overnight but this did not deter us from heading to Hundred Acres Reserve the next day for another forest walk. Our goal was to find Pooh-Bear and friends. The massive fig trees just inside the gate were impressive, but our wonder was short-lived when, walking down a gentle but muddy incline, Megan suddenly cried out. I turned, but couldn’t see her straight away, until she groaned and I looked down. She’d slid on the mud and was now in considerable pain. We backtracked as far as she could manage and called for an ambulance, which arrived soon (to me) but only after an eternity, according to her.

At the hospital, Megan was given pain relief, a dose of x-rays and cheerful advice from the doctor (on secondment from Canberra, would you believe): her leg had twisted as she fell, so she now had a rare spiral fracture of her left fibula. He asked how soon we were flying back. “Well we’re booked to go on the flight tomorrow, but is that still going to be possible?” I replied. “It’ll be best if you do,” he said, “because it’s likely she’ll need surgery.” He filled out a form for the airline, faxed it off and discharged Megan. She had an uncomfortable last night and I had a busy morning the next day, trying to find a pair of pants that she could fit over the cast on her leg.

Our last hurdle was just that for Megan: Lifted to the top of the boarding stairs next to our plane, she was told by cabin crew to hop over the raised lip of fuselage around the door. This concerned her, but they assured her this would be best. Thus, our short anniversary stay on Norfolk Island had a very memorable ending: she came down on her injured leg, and the cabin crew learned a few new words. They all sounded a lot like Norf’k to me.

- 6 - L. FRANK BAUM, HIS LAND OF OZ, AND AN ARDENT FAN

New worlds can be discovered in many ways, including books…and movies.

This year was the 100th anniversary of the death of L. Frank Baum, and the 120th anniversary of the completion of his most famous book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It’s a little late to mourn his passing, but certainly not to dip our lids to the man and the wonderful world he created, and returned to in another thirteen novels. I am not an expert on this topic, but have been close to one my entire life, and have him to thank for sharing his love for the land of Oz with all of his children and grand- children, too – mainly through Baum’s books and the famous 1939 MGM movie (which adds another anniversary to our list!) What follows is a modest commemoration of Baum and his legacy, including the 1939 film, illustrated by experiences and acts of a very devoted fan of Oz, my father.

Dad is not alone. Oz has captured the imagination of young and old many times over in the past 120 years. After Baum’s death other authors added to the Oz series, most notably (in volume) Ruth Plumly Thompson (19 books, 1921-1939), and (in eccentricity), John R. Neill, who illustrated all of the early Oz books except the first and tried his hand at writing three as well (1940-1942), illustrating these, too. Many others have followed. Once copyright expired on Baum’s books, new editions flourished and then, perhaps inevitably, other writers began to reimagine Oz in new ways. Best-known of these at present would have to be Gregory Maguire’s Wicked and its sequels, as well as its successful stage adaptation.

Stage and film adaptations are nothing new to Oz fans. Baum himself had worked in the theatre early in his life and with the success of his first Oz book, he collaborated with others on a stage musical version, The Wizard of Oz, which toured the US for around a decade. Several of his later Oz books were initially written as works for the stage. Later, he founded a production company to make silent movie versions of his works and even made plans for an Oz theme park to be built on an island off California. However, all of these early efforts were eclipsed by the innovative musical released in 1939. It was the most expensive movie MGM had made to that date and was well received by critics. Yet it did not make a profit until its re- release a decade later and its popularity only snowballed after tv broadcasts of it began in 1956. It is said that more people have discovered Oz via the MGM movie than Baum’s books. Until recently I did not realise that they included my father.

The cover photo of Mumblings 11 was of his mother’s one-room school in Minnesota, and I joked then that a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz might have been among the books on a table in the foreground. I had always imagined that Baum’s books might have been part of our family history since that time. Until I asked, and heard some surprising revelations.

- 7 - To the best of his memory, neither Dad nor his parents were aware of Oz prior to 1939. His first contact with the Wizard of Oz was the MGM movie in 1939. He can’t recall exactly when, but might have been taken to see it on his 8th birthday. (We’ll come back to that.)

The same year, he acquired his first Oz book as a Christmas gift. It was a movie tie-in edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, strangely enough called The New Wizard of Oz. This was an oversized copy of the original book with only black and white illustrations except for a few in rather limited colour on glossy pages. It was published by Bobbs-Merrill to coincide with the movie’s release and the ‘new’ part was primarily just the photographs on the book’s end-papers (the same front and back), which were all characters and scenes from the film.

Hooked by the movie and book, he would no doubt have learned soon after that many more Oz books existed, and begun to look for them. He may have received a few more as birthday or Christmas presents, but with income from a paper route, he would have been able to buy them for himself before long. (Perhaps facing the agonizing dilemma occasionally of whether to purchase another Oz book or more Whiz Comics – the true, original Captain Marvel being another of his interests.)

Dad liked some of the Oz books more than others, but his definite favourite has always been Tik-tok of Oz (1914). Tik-tok is a clock-work mechanical man (he is generally seen as being among the first robots in literature). He was introduced in Ozma of Oz (1907) and shortly thereafter has a great line regarding The Giant with the Hammer, another mech-man built by the same factory as himself, but with lesser abilities. The Giant uses his hammer to guard the Nome King’s palace: "Can he think, and speak, as you do?" asked Ozma, regarding the giant with wondering eyes. "No," replied the machine; "he is on-ly made to pound the road, and has no think-ing or speak- ing at-tach-ment. But he pounds ve-ry well, I think." Thompson’s efforts slowly deteriorated, Dad felt. The last book of hers that he bought he later got rid of. And he never had much interest in the later books written by others after that.

Around 1945, he acquired a first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in a second floor book- shop just inside the South edge of The Loop in Chicago. It cost him $10, but Dad was delighted with his find for another reason.

The first Oz book is the only one illustrated by W.W. Denslow, whose style he has always preferred to that of Neill, as it matched Baum’s fairy tale perfectly. Their collaboration was a great gamble (they had to pay for the book’s colour plates themselves) and a great success, as was the stage adaptation that followed in 1902. This was a collaboration of the two with the x - 8 - composer Paul Tietjens, whom Baum had already worked with on several unsuccessful stage shows. A theatrical version of their Oz book was proposed by Denslow; Baum was dubious but agreed and the show became enormously popular. Sadly, a dispute over royalties from the production led to Baum deciding never to work with Denslow again.

A decade later, in 1914, Baum and others established the Oz Film Manufacturing Company to make silent movie versions of his works. Contrary to their advertising, the demand for their films was low and the company folded the following year. It was bought up by Metro Pictures, which would itself become part of MGM. Any of its surviving founders might have found some gratification at this in 1939.

Dad had assembled a collection of over 30 Oz books long before we migrated to Australia in mid-1972. They arrived safely with all of our other belongings shipped by sea to Sydney, but in 1974 one tea chest of our goods disappeared when we moved to Koondrook on the Murray River. It was never recovered, so eleven of his Oz books were lost, along with whatever else was in that chest.

He has never lost his dedication to things Oz, however. When he had to travel to the States in the early 1980s, he made a point of taking a book published a few years earlier with him, so he could get it signed by its author, Aljean Harmetz. It was The Making of the Wizard of Oz and she had spent two years researching her topic and interviewing seemingly as many of the surviving cast and crew members as she could find. She became quite close friends with The Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton, during this time, but notes in her preface that key people (including Judy Garland, Bert Lahr and director Victor Fleming) were already gone “and most of the written records had been burned or casually thrown away. I came eventually to see my task as archaeology.” But she was “digging, also, into my own past. I had grown up just outside of the walls of MGM…And my mother worked in the studio’s wardrobe department for twenty years.”

I can’t recall much of my Dad’s account of meeting Harmetz at her home in Los Angeles. I doubt he was the first person to ask this of her (though he may have been the first to have travelled all the way from Australia). And I suspect she knew a fellow Oz tragic when she saw one. I believe she left him alone to watch a short documentary, then came back to have a chat, and finally signed his copy of her book before wishing him well. She updated her book for the 50th anniversary of the film. (Yes, he has this one, too.)

In 2008, Dad provided each of his grandchildren with sets of all of Baum’s Oz books. Time will tell if the next generation retains the family’s enthusiasm for Oz.

The general release date of the 1939 movie in the US, by the way, was the same as my father’s 8th birthday. Coincidence? I think not.

- 9 - SOUTHERN NOVAE AND OTHER ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA: An annotated index to Australian and New Zealand fan content in Tales of Wonder, New Worlds and related fan and professional magazines (1936-1971)

Thirty years ago, the very first Mumblings included a very basic listing of fan letters in two of the postwar UK sf magazines. One is pleased to finally return to those shores now, as it was always clear that the bonds of Empire would be expressed in fandom. The British magazines, of course, were late to appear, and began with a false start in Scoops, a story paper for boys that came and went in 1934 – a swift but dim meteor in the sf firmament.

By this stage, sf clubs and fanzines had coalesced out of the primal energy of fanac to the extent that Charles Hornig could evolve from faned to pro by being appointed editor of Wonder Stories. His path was not lost on other fans, and in England the fan activities of Walter Gillings and Edward John Carnell helped them to make this transition, too. Gernsback & Hornig’s creation of the unifying force of the early sf cosmos, the Science Fiction League (SFL), also helped (or didn’t, in some cases…).

This index focuses on the early fan and pro publications that Gillings and Carnell were involved with. Their stories have been well told by Rob Hansen in his epic UK fanhistory Then, so we just have to note the titles examined to compile this list. For Carnell: Novae Terrae (NT), New Worlds (NW)(fan and prozine), Science Fantasy (ScFty, edited by both men) and Science Fiction Adventures (SFAB). For Gillings: Scientifiction (Stf), Tales of Wonder (ToW), Fantasy (Fty, 1946-7), and Fantasy Review /Science Fantasy Review (FR/SFR). The earlier Newnes Fantasy (Fty, 1938-9), though unrelated, is also included. Stellar publications, one and all, with New Worlds the brightest and longest-lived.

Coverage is complete for all titles bar New Worlds, which ends at issue 201 (long after its fan content had faded away). To start with, however, some context is needed for the first few entries of this list:

These two items both appeared in January 1935, one in the letters column of Amazing Stories; the other (with garbled details) in the SFL news section of Wonder Stories. Nothing more was heard of the Association or its monthly bulletin in either magazine. A year and a half later, however…

- 10 - Year Issue Mag No. Pages Type: Author Notes on content with quotes of interest Location

1936 Jun NT 4 8-9 Fanzine review: Carnell, Ted. "An interesting fan mag has just reached me [NZ] from New Zealand entitled "Science Fiction Bulletin", first issue February 16 [1935]. In it are laid out ideas for forming the N.Z. Science Fiction Association, the aims and hopes of making a first class Colonial League and above all, a totally unique treatise upon "Science Fiction, What it is", which sums up briefly for non s-f readers the whole ideas of both the fiction and scientific sides of Science Fiction. The mag throughout strikes a genuinely serious note, and it is gratifying to know that science fiction is being considered so thoroughly in New Zealand…" (A glowing review; a pity about the qualifier “Colonial”.) Aug NT 6 15 News: Carnell, Ted. Regrets to advise that the New Zealand Science Fiction [NZ] Association promoted by the NZ Science Fiction Bulletin "was practically strangled at birth. It never grew into an Association of any remarkable size. Repeated enquiries…failed to elicit any further details."

1937 Jun NT 13 11 Mention: Carnell, Ted, in "Back Chat…of this and that": (See also p.14) [NZ] “NEW ZEALAND SF BULLETIN—Item in latest “14 Leaflet” mentions certain fan mags heard about but never seen, amongst which is New Zealand “Bulletin”. Publicity for latter originated from this column (June 1936 issue). NZ SFA was formed by two fans, Noel S. Jenkin and Norman S. Patten of New Plymouth in January 1935. They launched a mimeographed “Bulletin” explaining aims and ideals (two issues, February and March 1935) but project failed through lack of enthusiasm. Only copy of “Bulletin” to leave NZ is in my collection.” (The 14 Leaflet was a Chicago club fanzine. Carnell provides first names for both fans, but misspells Patton’s surname (an error reiterated in later fanzine listings/indexes). Jenkin & Patton had the enthusiasm to advertise their NZ SFA in two newspapers and write to several leading sf magazines; Hornig’s chaotic, bombastic reply, omitting Patton’s address, was no help. Ironically, Jenkin had provided sufficient details for fans to contact both of them. Letters to Patton c/- Pokeno P.O. might well have reached him, as his father was the postmaster there and elsewhere in the region for many years. Vale, Norman Souter Patton (1912-1977) and Dr. Noel Stanley Jenkin (1918-1972). Carnell also died in 1972; the fate of his personal sf collection is unknown.)

1938 Aug NT 25 3 Mention: Hanson, Maurice K. [on publishing Novae Terrae] "So we went to an [Aust] attic. There our stencils did not melt in summer, nor were our fingers frozen in winter, and we went on publishing our magazine. Still some were not pleased though our magazine went out to Australia, out to Rhodesia, out to..."

Sep NT 26 22 List: New SFA Members begins: "We are delighted to welcome: Mrs. L. [NSW] Grieve (Sydney, N.S.W.)..." (SFA = the first (British) Science Fiction Association. And they had a female member in Australia! A few contenders existed; I like to think this may have been the Louisa Grieve who lived on Orwell Street in Potts Point.)

Nov NT 27 10 Mention: "A Few Topical Items About H.G.Wells" one being that "He is [Aust] planning a long holiday in Australia very soon."

Dec NT 28 13 Mention: Arnold, Frank Edward. "Time was when fans from England, [Aust Australia, New Zealand, etc., used to complain that it was always the U.S. NZ] marines who came to save the world..."

ToW 5 122- Loc: Pollard, Howard F. 'Prefers British Menu'. "Although living on the other [WA] 123 side of the globe, I feel compelled to write and congratulate you on your enterprise in bringing to the British people a science fiction magazine of their own. Too long have we readers been fed on the super-super science of the American menus..."

125 Bio: Walsh, J.M. In "Authors' Corner", Walsh reminisces about reading works [Vic] by George Griffith and H.G. Wells in a public library "rather more than twelve thousand miles away from London".

- 11 -

1939 Jun Fty 3 74 Bio: Walsh, J. M. "Born in Australia 24 years ago and has lived in England [Vic] since 1924. As a youngster, James Morgan lapped up Jules Verne, George Griffith, the early scientific romances of H.G. Wells, and any other yarns of kindred nature he could lay hands on... Has written nearly a hundred novels and round about four hundred short stories, and is famous on both sides of the Atlantic as a master of the science-fiction art." (Walsh had a story in this issue and another was scheduled for the next, but the start of WW2 saw Fantasy cancelled before the latter was published.)

Sum ToW 7 122 Loc: Veney, William D. ''You are doing a fine job with Tales of Wonder and [NSW] we "down under" wish you every success... At present, you are rather too conservative; but as time goes on, I've little doubt that more American-like stories will appear in your pages. By this I mean the stories of years ago, not the trash that is mostly printed nowadays...". Announces the revival of the Australian Science Fiction Correspondence Club, of which he is the General Secretary, and welcomes enquiries.

Win ToW 9 88 Loc: Gunman, Jack K. 'A Sceptic Converted'. Is thrilled with Tales of Wonder, [NZ] "the first of its kind I have ever had". Enjoyed "The Mad Planet" (Leinster) and suggests publishing 6-weekly, with larger illustrations.

93 Bio: Brisbane, Coutts. Largely on "the queer fauna of my native Australia" [Aust] as part inspiration for some of his stories. (“Robert Coutts Armour, born 1874 in Brisbane, published many sf stories in England up to 1953; four stories were reprinted in ToW” – Graham Stone.)

1948 Oct- FR 11 7 Mention: Gillings, Walter. "Australian and Canadian fans planning World [Aust Nov Science Fiction League" Can]

19 Ad: Dard, Roger N. Wants copies of FFM; will pay cash or swap for US crime [WA] or western magazines.

1949 Feb- FR 13 7 Mention: Gillings, Walter. "Futurian Society of Sydney celebrated ninth [NSW] Mar birthday."

32 Ad: Dard, Roger N. Wants copies of WT; will pay cash or swap for Erle Cox [WA] books or issues of ASF.

Apr- FR 14 5 Mention: Gillings, Walter. "Master Mariner A. Bertram Chandler, in dock in [NSW] May Sydney, called on members of local Futurian Society."

32 Ad: Dard, Roger N. Wants copies of FFM; will pay cash or swap for US crime [WA] or western magazines.

Aut SFR 16 31 Loc: Coulter, F.A. Seeks publication details of various sf pulp magazines. [NZ]

31 Loc: Dard, Roger N. Asks when ASF went to digest size and when WT [WA] stopped running reprints.

1949/ Win SFR 17 9 Mention: Gillings, Walter. "7th World S-F Convention...Finance Committee, [UK] 50 with total income of $1,300, voted $300 for books and mags to go to English and Australian fan clubs" 35 Loc: Dard, Roger N. Queries whether author Nat Schachner is still alive and if [WA] he used any aliases.

1950 Spr SFR 18 39 Loc: Harding, Ralph H. "Your publication...is absolutely invaluable to us fans [WA] in Australia. As you are probably aware, we "down under" feel isolated and far away from the centres of fandom in England and U.S.; and S-FR breaks down this isolation..."

39 Loc: Cockcroft, Thomas G.L. Requests a list of all Conan stories "in their [NZ] actual sequence as distinct from their order of publication".

1951 Sum NW 10 96 Loc: Burke, P.E. "Good though the stories in New Worlds have been, I think [NSW] they still have a fair way to go before reaching the standard of the best stories printed in your rival magazine, Astounding Science Fiction." Suggests Carnell obtain stories by American writers. (Pat Burke, a member of several Sydney groups. Carnell responded with the obvious obstacles: the bigger US market; higher rates; and that this "would partially defeat our intention of an Anglicised magazine".)

- 12 - 1952 May NW 15 95 Loc: Burke, P.E. Congratulates Carnell on excellence of NW and compliments [NSW] artwork: "As for your cover illustrations, I do not think they could be bettered anywhere". He adds: "I note with great approval a developing 'British' atmosphere in your stories". (Name given as P.C. Burke.)

Aut ScFty 5 2-3 Guest editorial: Walsh, J.M. The Geelong-born "well-known science-fiction [Vic] and mystery writer” began reading "when Jules Verne was on the wane, and H.G. Wells was writing those marvelous yarns which in many respects have never been bettered. We didn't call them science-fiction then...they were classed as 'romances'. Yet they were great days." (Timely reminiscences. Walsh died not long after writing these words.) 1956 May NW 47 3 Editorial: Carnell, John. Notes that "in Melbourne, Australians are preparing [Vic] for their biggest national Convention to date, which will be held in December in conjunction with the Olympic Games. Full details concerning this major Australian project will be given in a forthcoming issue of New Worlds."

Sep NW 51 2-3 Editorial: Carnell, John. Quotes from Ackerman's sour review of 'Forbidden [Vic] Planet' in Etherline, surprised he did not like it.

1957 Feb NW 56 ifc Bio: Bryning, Frank. Notes his interest in sf since reading "Skylark of Space" [Qld] in Amazing Stories in 1928, his professional writing, how he was GoH at the Olympicon, and his being a founding member of the Brisbane SF Group.

Mar NW 57 2-3 Editorial: Carnell, John. A 2-page account of the 5th Australian SF Convention [Vic] (held the same year as the Melbourne Olympic Games, 1956), from details provided by GoH Frank Bryning. Names other authors who attended; a “very fine exhibition" of sf works prepared by Mervyn Binns; the performance of Hemming's play 'Balance of Power' ("the most outstanding item of the entire Convention"); an authors’ panel; films shown; and the post-con party. (Major egoboo for an Australian convention! See the full article on p.14.)

1958 Mar NW 69 126- Loc: Jefferson, Peter. States recent issues of both NW and Science Fantasy [NSW] 127 "have been really excellent...the strength of a magazine rests on its presenta- tion of novel length fiction--you only have to look back at Astounding [of the 1940s]... most of your authors, with the notable exception of John Brunner, are a bit too confined within a single frame...there is far more room for more imaginative concepts...there ain't no sense of wonder"...Time for a change!" (Jefferson & Roger Sebel published a fanzine, MC2, 1956-1959.)

127- Loc: McCubbin, Bob. A reader and collector of NW since no.4, seeks first [Vic] 128 three issues. "I know that they are damnably hard to come by, I have been trying for years." Mentions that NW is "reviewed regularly in our [i.e. Melbourne SF Club's] fan magazine Etherline."

May NW 71 ifc Bio: Chandler, A. Bertram. Profile from his birth in 1912, through early sf [NSW] reading, life at sea from the age of 16, visiting John W. Campbell after Pearl Harbour, beginning to write shortly afterwards, and emigration to Australia in 1955. "At present the main snag is shortage of ideas... I may have to make an honest living writing crime or sea stories (I know that I have been accused of doing the latter for years!)" 125 Loc: Weaver, A.H. Applauds White's 'Sector General': "the idea seems to me [Qld] to be a completely new one… I was surprised that there was no opening left for continuation into a series." Also comments on stories by Heinlein ("something of a scoop, wasn't it?") and others in recent issues. "On the whole I think your magazine rates with the US Astounding these days..." (Carnell's preface to White's story, actually stated that it "could well form the basis of further plots built round an intergalactic hospital ship".)

Jun NW 72 ifc Ad: "Australasian Readers / A science fiction service on your own continent / [NSW] We carry: New Worlds, Science Fantasy, Science Fiction Adventures, Nova Novels and other current British s-f magazines. The largest range of back issues in Australia. Send your Want List to: Blue Centaur Book Company…" (Dave Cohen's expansion of his Sydney business to cover all of Australasia.)

ScFty 29 ibc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

- 13 -

Above: Strange bedfellows: Ads for sharp Above: A fantastic blunder, tools, eczema, and the New Zealand SF as Don Tuck is credited with Association’s free Bulletin. compiling a checklist which (New Zealand Herald, 23 Feb. 1935, p.2) was actually the work of Perth fan and collector Roger Dard. Below: Carnell reveals the fans behind the (New Worlds 75 (Sep. 1958) NZSFA, its Bulletin and, sadly, its short life. (Novae Terrae 13, June 1937, p.11)

Carnell champions Melbourne’s Olympicon, (New Worlds, Mar. 1957)

- 14 -

1958 Jul NW 73 ifc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW] SFAB 3 42 Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

Aug NW 74 2-3 Editorial: Carnell, John. "Two Australian writers have arrived in London… [Aust] [one being] Wynne Whiteford, who has already made a name for himself in Australia and [sold stories] to several American magazines, is now taking up residence in London, and we may expect to see stories by him fairly soon." "Meanwhile...the 16th World Science Fiction Convention nears…and will probably have two Australian delegates attending."

ibc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

ScFty 30 67 Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

Sep NW 75 124 Loc: George, R. Leslie. "The new series of symbolic covers on Science [NZ] Fantasy and New Worlds are first class. Brian Lewis makes a good job of them...there is a similarity to Richard Powers..., but with Lewis' own individual stamp." Compares Lewis' "style of spaceship" to those by Kirby and Adash in Authentic SF.

127- Loc: Maxwell, Colin. Congratulates Carnell on New Worlds and Science [Vic] 128 Fantasy, "the best two magazines available". Suggests that larger reproduce- tions of the covers be offered for sale. Re: Weaver's letter in no. 71, argues that NW is better than ASF on the basis of its editorials. Prefers less non- fiction and more humorous and "wild talents" stories, naming the black magic stories in Science Fantasy as especially good when they are not macabre. "Keep it gay," he advises.

128 Ad: "Fantastic Novels: a Checklist. Compiled by Australian Don Tuck; [WA] foreward by August Derleth. Lists all the famous fantasy stories published in Fantastic Novels from 1940 to 1951. Printed. Invaluable to collectors. Price 2/2d. post free from Nova Publications Ltd." (This one is odd, because the compiler of this 12 page checklist was not Don Tuck in Tassie, but Roger Dard in Perth.)

ibc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

SFAB 4 114 Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

Oct NW 76 2-3, 5 Editorial mention: Bennett, Ron. A guest editorial by TAFF delegate Bennett [NZ] reports on the 16th Worldcon in Los Angeles. This includes two mentions of NZ fans (or, likely, two references to the same fan): 1. "Most attendees are from the United States…England, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada have also been represented..." and 2. "Mike Hinge, a young New Zealand fan who has come to California to study, and myself made short speeches." (Hinge later contributed cover and interior artwork to other sf magazines.)

127- Loc: Cook, Roger S. Challenges facts in a non-fiction article: "Surely Mr [NSW] 128 Francis is mistaken in his article 'Low Gravity' (New Worlds 70) when he finds the mass lifted by his lunar weight lifter will rise slowly, yet attain enough velocity to lift him off the ground." He presents his calculations. (The author argues his case in reply.)

128 Ad: Repeat of ad for Fantastic Novels: a Checklist. [WA]

ibc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

ScFty 31 ifc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

Nov NW 77 62 Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

SFAB 5 ifc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

Dec NW 78 125- Loc: Burgess, Roy J. Believes the standard of sf in NW has fallen over the past [Qld] 126 year, his favourite authors appearing less frequently; the best story was probably 'Segregation' by Aldiss, but "he has never impressed me with his style". Asks what happened to the defunct Authentic's line-up of authors. Would like to see one interior illustration per issue and covers that tie in with stories. "I seem to have practically torn the magazine asunder in the foregoing -- but you will notice that I have renewed my subscription."

127 Ad: Repeat of ad for Fantastic Novels: a Checklist. [WA]

- 15 -

1958 Dec NW 78 bc Ad: For Science Fiction Adventures 6: "3 Complete Novels by leading British writers", the first of which is 'Shadow of the Sword' by Wynne Whiteford. (It was not uncommon for Australians to be identified as British at this time, but ads for his later stories usually named him as among NW's "outstanding writers" or "leading authors".)

ScFty 32 ifc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [NSW]

1959 Jan NW 79 2 Editorial: Carnell, John. Carnell attempts a review of the science fiction [Aust] market in the US, UK...and Australia: "Meanwhile, in Australia the trend has been for a long and steady climb upward and the indications are that the peak period is not yet in sight. Internal publishing in that area has not been of a high standard and this may have had some bearing on the slowness of development there to date although, already, the proportion of readers per capita is far higher than the equivalent in the British Isles."

127 Ad: Repeat of ad for Fantastic Novels: a Checklist. [WA]

SFAB 6 ifc Ad: (Same as in NW 72, for Blue Centaur Books.) [Aust] 6 Story introduction: Carnell, Ted. For lead story "Shadow of the Sword": [NSW] "Australian writer Wynne Whiteford is a newcomer to science fiction although he has had many stories published in his own country. Now living in London he has quickly shown that he can produce all the ingredients of action and suspense necessary for a fast moving story." (In fact, Whiteford had published sf stories in both Australia and the USA before he appeared in this magazine.)

Jul SFAB 9 113 Loc: Walmsley, R.S. Congratulates Carnell on "another top line magazine" that [NZ] "fills a big gap admirably". Considers "Wasp" (Eric Frank Russell) "one of the best stories published anywhere in recent years”, and names a few other favourites.

Sep SFAB 10 91 Story introduction: Carnell, Ted. For Norma Hemming's "Call Them [NSW] Earthmen", Carnell wrote: "Australian writer N. K. Hemming makes a welcome contribution to this issue of Science Fiction Adventures–and is, to let a secret out of the bag, our first woman contributor (although she has had stories in New Worlds some years ago). However, Miss Hemming is extremely well-known in Australian science fiction circles and wrote a special play for the 1958 Melbourne Convention." (This was Hemming's last published story. She died in 1960 of cancer.)

Oct NW 87 2-3 Editorial comment: Carnell, John. "I have long been an admirer of Australian [NSW] amateur science fiction circles, primarily because of the tenacity they have always shown in keeping the s-f flag flying "down under" in times of adversity, stress and general public apathy." Notes that "fan enthusiasm" has waned as sf has become more popular, but "there is always someone ready and willing to tilt at windmills to good effect". Discusses article by Doug Nicholson in an issue of Scansion which castigated American sf magazines and concluded "only New Worlds holds any promise…[its] solidity...would seem to be entirely due to the vigour and taste of John Carnell." (Another two page editorial based upon an Australian's writings.)

Nov NW 88 96 Review/Ad: "One of the most outstanding reference works for collectors of the [Tas] genre has just been completed by Australian Donald H. Tuck of Tasmania." Details of Tuck's Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy are given. "The Handbook is one of the most monumental contributions to s-f and fantasy collecting yet compiled and contains answers to almost every query you are ever likely to have." Addresses to order copies from in the UK, US and Australia are listed with local prices. "If you collect books, pocketbooks or magazines this magnificent index is a must. The price is well worth the knowledge it contains."

128 Ad: "The Melbourne SF Club invites all local and visiting fans to attend their [Vic] meetings. Write to the secretary, Mervyn Binns..."

1960 Feb NW 91 74 Ad: Gurney, J. Wants several issues of the British Astounding to complete a [Qld] set for binding. (John Gurney, another member of the Brisbane SF Group.)

- 16 -

1960 Mar NW 92 2-3 Editorial: Carnell, John. On having received a questionnaire from Earl Kemp [NSW] on "Who Killed Science Fiction?" and, coincidentally, the first issues of John Baxter's fanzine Quantum. From one of the latter he quotes four paragraphs that answer some of Kemp's questions: Baxter argues that the audience for sf has grown large and sophisticated enough to demand more science in their sf. Carnell ends with: "Well, there you have one man's reasoning… Is he right? Or does he only speak for a small section of the large readership?"

May NW 94 ifc Bio: Chandler, A. Bertram. Second profile, two years after the first. Has [NSW] overcome his shortage of story ideas, and moved from passenger liners to coastal freighters.

Jul NW 96 124- Loc: Savage, E.C. A long letter contributing to the discussion on the [NSW] 126 "definition, purpose and...future" of sf, by "a devotee of this genre since I read Merritt's Metal Emperor way back in the mid-twenties when I was a youth." Bought sf "at the pavement stall in Little James Street" and is now "a teacher and student of English literature." Compares the development of sf to "the advent...of the novel" – both allowed innovations in literature. But "over-ripe imaginations...[writing] escape literature" with stereotypical plots, and juvenile fans, have brought a critical attitude to the genre. Argues that sf is "more important than ever…[and] has two tasks: educating the 'average man' [about science and] tomorrow's probable reality" and "to prepare readers for the inevitable shock of realization that Man is not alone in space." And "finally… stop calling it Science Fiction...call it Speculative Fiction."

ifc Bio: Whiteford, Wynne. Profile includes his early writing, education, interests, [Vic] marriage, study and career in Melbourne, Washington, New York, London, and his return to Australia in 1960.

Sep NW 98 126 Ad: Smith, L.F. "U.S.A. Science Fiction Sold. Send for Lists" [NSW]

Oct NW 99 123 Ad: Repeat of Smith’s ad above. [NSW]

Nov NW 100 128 Ad: Repeat of Smith’s ad above. [NSW]

Dec NW 101 128 Ad: Repeat of Smith’s ad above. [NSW]

1961 Jan NW 102 123 Ad: Repeat of Smith’s ad above. [NSW]

Feb NW 103 128 Ad: "Australian readers interested in our postal science fiction library for [NSW] Australia, write to: Futurian Society..."

128 Ad: Repeat of Smith’s ad above. [NSW]

Mar NW 104 59 Story introduction: Carnell, Ted. For "Five" by D. S. Stewart: "This first story [Aust] by a new Australian writer produces an interesting ecological problem on an alien planet where the main reproductive principle for the inhabitants is a plant-like symbiosis." (Also named as D. D. Stewart when a second story was published in July.)

128 Ad: "Australian readers interested in our postal science fiction library for [NSW] Australia, write to: Futurian Society..."

Apr NW 105 83 Ad: Repeat of the Futurian Society’s postal sf library ad. [NSW]

ScFty 46 79-99 Story blurb: Carnell, Ted. Introduces "Displaced Person": "New Australian [Vic] writer Lee Harding makes his debut to authorship with this intriguing story of a man who became lost to the everyday world. Was the world a figment of his imagination–a dream–or was he but part of another's thoughts?" (A noted fan begins his transition to filthy pro. He would expand this story into his novel of the same title, published in 1979.)

May NW 106 123- Loc: Smith, Kevin. On Sturgeon's 'Venus Plus X': "I think I really would have [UK] 124 flipped if I'd had to read this as a serial...to be able to to get the paperback on the same day as Part One (that will not happen again--Ed.) worked out fine. Sturgeon is a remarkable, disquieting writer, and I would like to go into a corner and talk things over with him for a couple of months. He's seen so much that others have missed--but, oh, the vast uncharted areas he has ignored!" (Possibly Sydney's Kevin Smith, who lived in England for a while at this time.)

- 17 -

John Baxter (Sep. 1962) Doug Nicholson (Oct. 1959)

Four New Worlds editorials by Australians

David Rome (Jan. 1963) Lee Harding (May 1963)

- 18 -

1961 Jan NW 102 124 Loc: Harding, Lee. Compliments NW and Science Fantasy. Both "are [Vic] continually exploiting science fiction as a medium... In a world of s-f magazines constantly shrugging away from the term, you still treat it as a genre without dragging in science for science's sake." Applauds Carnell for the number of new writers being introduced.

125- Loc: Brown, Howard. An avid reader of the Nova magazines for two years, [Qld] 126 rates them higher than US magazines, but notes that some stories are "flaming awful. I refer to the 'moderan' series which strikes me as having been written by a patient in an insane asylum." As "one of the younger members of your Australian fans", he notes the lack of letters from others like himself.

128 Ad: Repeat of the Futurian Society’s postal sf library ad. [NSW]

Jun NW 107 98 Preview: "New author David Rome, who first appeared in No. 5 [i.e. NW 105] [Aust, with a brisk little short entitled 'Time of Arrival' has the lead novelette next xNZ] month entitled 'Trinity'...[and] another story by New Zealand writer D.D. Stewart entitled 'Junior Partner'... (? Previous mention of Stewart indicated he was Australian.)

Jul NW 108 ifc Bio: Rome, David. "Born 22 years ago,.. parents terrestrial. Managed to visit [UK] inner-planets and most of the galaxy at an early age, via Bradbury, Bloch and Brown. First began writing at school after family emigrated to Australia, circulating a handwritten magazine... Joined a Sydney newspaper in 1954... [and] was finally offered a printing-trade apprenticeship." Three years later, he tried writing again. "Was rejected by almost every Australian publisher until 1958, when first fiction was accepted... Wrote articles and stories under different names through '59 and early '60 [then] took the plunge into full-time free-lancing. Wrote some s-f during this period...but didn't specialise until early this year, after returning to England... Now married to small Australian wife and living in the Pennine foothills...". (The cover story for this issue was his novelette, 'Trinity'.)

41- 58 Story introduction: Carnell, Ted. For "Junior Partner" by D. D. Stewart: "Mr. [Aust] Stewart is a 'down under' writer and joins the select but growing band of Australians who are bringing a freshness of approach to science fiction, at least as we see it through western eyes. His latest story has some devious twists in the plot." (So, was he a Kiwi or an Aussie? Graham Stone claimed the latter.)

126- Loc: Smith, Kevin. Is convinced that cover artists deserve "a full cover and [UK] 127 should not have to share it with a contents listing" and that mixed cover artists "will pick up different types of reader". Enjoyed the lead novelette in NW 105 but not the "obvious and conventional" short stories. Articles in NW are "impeccably worthy and–let's face it–dull" compared to Campbell's Astounding editorials, which always "stimulate my mind". Argues Carnell's criticism of New Maps of Hell for its focus on the American scene (providing no publicity to the British magazines) was unwarranted. Oct NW 111 127- Loc: Harding, Lee. Suggests letter-hacking as a means of encouraging greater [Vic] 128 reader participation, citing previous loccers now pro writers. "Of course there's Silverberg, but unfortunately he entered the pro field just about that time during the Boom when it was possible to earn a living writing s-f so I'm afraid that ruined any chance he ever had of becoming a writer of quality. The potential is still there." Also comments on recent stories; "Aldiss strikes me as a sort of Peter Sellars of the s-f world."

Dec NW 113 79- Loc: Harding, Lee. Comments on lack of sense of wonder in modern sf, [Vic] 81 arguing that new "amateur dreamers" will reinvigorate the field. "I can't see any of the U.S. editors accepting this changing status as you yourself already have. And what dreamers you have! Ballard... Ashcroft... Aldiss... Malcolm... Bulmer...". [By contrast] "the houses of Gold and Campbell seem to be immune to change, and it is in those two magazines that the signs of decay are most pronounced."

- 19 -

1962 Jan NW 114 122- Loc: Baxter, John. On art: "Gerald Quinn does not seem to have improved [NSW] 124 very much during his long absence...[but]...his art is much more attractive than that of Jordan and 'Jarr'...the best solution [is] that tried by Brian Lewis in his abstract illustrations". On sf in non-sf magazines: "The general quality of s-f found in the SEP [Saturday Evening Post] and other luxury magazines has been at all times extremely low... Heinlein's good novels...are excellent s-f yet manifestly unsuited for serialization in a 'family magazine'. On NW 110: "this is one of your poorest issues to date. White has exhausted the possibil- ities of his 'Sector General' idea... 'Storm-Wind'...was the most startling disappointment of the year...Ballard can write better stuff."

127 Ad: Smith, L.F. "Scoops 1934 complete set in new condition. Highest offer [NSW] over reserve value. Also have many mags published in the 40's."

Mar NW 116 ifc Bio: Harding, Lee. Profile includes his discovery of sf via Buck Rogers and [Vic] other comics "(a most unusual introduction)", then the UK reprint editions in Australia and his involvement with fandom and fanzines; his career in photography; marriage; plans to write or work in film; and favourite sf authors and major interests.

122- Loc: Baxter, John. Comments on Sellings' guest editorial in NW 111 about sf's [NSW] 124 image and recent awards. Disagrees on "the desirability of changing [sf's] bad public image", since the "quality of s-f won't rise because of an increase in popularity...hack writers will scent easy money" and the result "will be pretty damn awful". And he names three works which have won popular votes to gain sf awards, all very different from Stewart's Earth Abides [the 1951 International Fantasy Award winner]. He agrees with Harding that letter columns encourage readers to join fandom.

May NW 118 119- Loc: Baxter, John. Respects Carnell for publishing Aldiss' "Basis for [NSW] 120 Negotiation" for its controversial theme and realistic characters, but also names flaws in the story, including its "pure fantasy" ending and portraying one character as a homosexual.

120 Loc: Harding, Lee. "Basis for Negotiation" Aldiss. Superb! But s-f?" [Vic] Applauds Aldiss' "sheer brilliance" and "superlative" writing, but adds "for a really science fictional treatment of the extrapolation of current world politics", read "I.C. a BeM" by Jack Vance.

123- Loc: Harding, Lee. Responds to comments on his previous letters to NW, and [Vic] 124 Brunner's guest editorial regarding the state of sf. "No, success didn't kill s-f, only stunted its growth. It's high time some people got around to cutting away the dead wood and beginning fresh growth."

Aug NW 121 127 Ad: Repeat of the Futurian Society’s postal sf library ad. [NSW]

Sep NW 122 ifc Bio: Baxter, John. "This month we take the unprecedented step of offering the [NSW] Guest Editorial chair to a reader...John Baxter of Sydney, Australia, was invited to air his views on the strength of the many forthright and constructive letters he has sent us during the past year or so... [demonstrating] that much of his background has been devoted to the science fiction field… Aged 22 and due to be married shortly, he found 'First Contact' in a flying book ten years ago and became attracted to science fiction, eventually joining the Sydney S-F Group and editing several of its journals. From there he began to correspond with other s-f readers and groups abroad, contributing articles to various amateur magazines... It is safe to predict that John Baxter will soon be making a name for himself as a science fiction writer. He has already served his apprenticeship."

2-3, Guest editorial: Baxter, John. Finds "the recent series of Guest Editorials... [NSW] 115- have been uniformly well-written; erudite, entertaining, often humourous, 120 always professional. Unfortunately all of them have been, in my opinion, short-sighted, illogical and inconclusive... To my mind, every one of [them] has been based on a false premise: that...[s.f. has] the 'function' of...a social critic. [Yet] as a part of all literature, [s.f. is] a miniscule fraction [and can’t] be said to have any measureable effect on the society we live in…What else do we have to give to the intelligent reader? Science? I doubt our scientific extrapolations are any better than our social ones"...[and] "our trouble goes

- 20 - even deeper than this! Science fiction is completely out of phase with contemporary literature [where writers] are continually experimenting with approaches, rhythms, contrasts, new techniques... I will admit that some young writers, most of them English, are trying to break away from the old conventions [but] in general science fiction produces the most old-fashioned writing in the world today… Do we have anything worthwhile to offer? I feel we most definitely do: We can give imagination... We can see in science a new kind of beauty... We readers and writers are the people who sat up most of the night (well at least most of Australian fandom did) to listen to the reports of John Glenn's orbital flight...because it was a magnificent epic of human endurance... This particular way of looking at science has produced the greatest writing in science fiction". He concludes with advice for s.f. writers: "Try creating stories which can stand up under critical examination from mainstream critics. This way, science fiction has a chance to rejoin the body of literature and attract discerning readers from outside of the field. Then maybe we will be able to get rid of the stigma that has attached to s-f for so long." He adds: "I feel fandom can be a great help to science fiction, both as a breeding ground for future writers and in the capacity of a constructive critic...as I have tried to do in this editorial." (This was one of the longest guest editorials Carnell ever ran.)

105 Ad: Repeat of the Futurian Society’s postal sf library ad. [NSW]

Oct NW 123 69 Ad: Repeat of the Futurian Society’s postal sf library ad. [NSW]

Nov NW 124 116 Ad: McWilliams, M. "WANTED URGENT--'Famous Fantastic Mysteries' for [NZ] December 1943, December 1944 and June 1945... Write stating prices to: ..."

119- Loc: Sellings, Arthur. "Are guest editorial writers permitted to answer back?" [UK] 121 Yes. He does, to Baxter's loc in NW 116: "1940 and 1950... [saw] two modern s-f revolutions...The first produced some really garish things–there was even a magazine called Spicy Science Fiction. But it also produced Heinlein, Van Vogt, Bradbury, Asimov and scores more... " (Spicy Science Fiction? More triffid curry, anyone?)

124- Loc: McLaughlin, Judith. An "ordinary housewife" challenges the consensus [NSW] 125 "that sf be credible...and form some sort of prediction concerning man...I want to know why pure flights of the imagination, unexplained scientifically... are not more published and appreciated than they appear to be. Being a woman (and it does make a tremendous difference), I thoroughly enjoy a well written fantasy yarn...[and] I am more concerned with the characters and their reactions than with the situation and its technicalities."

1963 Jan NW 126 2-3, Guest editorial: Rome, David. "I like to think of myself as a science-fiction [NSW] 127 writer. I mean, when people ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I write science-fiction... There's a trend–and a word–that's popular these days...just about everywhere you go in the s-f world. The word is Mainstream, meaning literature...[but] I spell it DISSOLUTION...what would happen if we ever did get on the Mainstream flow"? ... [They say] “the editors would pay their s-f writers more! Oh, no. They'd pay their writers more. But those slick penmen wouldn't have the names you know: like Ashcroft, High and Harding (with his 'sense-of-wonder' “Late”, and his brilliant “Echo”). And they wouldn't care the same; or have the same deep-rooted love of science-fiction, which is all that's going to stop the present atrophy. The tug of war inside our medium is pulling it apart. Mainstream advocates are killing it with DISSOLUTION. Take up a copy of [any old sf mag] and read it through. Ignore the seeming clumsy style. Styles change. This is imaginative fiction. Bold. And that's the road to rebirth."

Mar NW 128 125- Loc: Harding, Lee. Comments on use of author photographs instead of artwork [Vic] 126 on covers ("the mug-shots idea"), new logo and style of covers for NW and Science Fantasy ("respectable...whereas in the past...well, those crazy covers just looked cheap and crummy") and Harrison's "The Streets of Ashkalon" (I'll reserve any waves of praise for another letter, because I want to re-read that particular story, perhaps twice").

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1963 May NW 130 2-3, Guest editorial: Harding, Lee. "From the Edge of the Pond" "John Baxter's [Vic] 117- recent editorial was long overdue... there are a number of things that bother me 121 about...the current state of magazine s.f. [and] its general acceptance by that vociferous band of readers known as the fans." One is "a tendency...to grab hold of" mainstream works and label them as s.f. (eg. Butler's Erewhon, and works by Orwell, Huxley and Wylie). "Imaginative literature existed long before Gernsback ghettoised s.f. writing... [but] if s.f. is after a literary future it can never be found within the specialist magazines... it will have to turn to the novel length form". [In the genre today] even a giant such as Arthur Clarke has produced only a handful of novels... What about John Wyndham and John Christopher? ... Well, these men have done their job, [but] in outmoded styles...[and with] a penchant for world-disaster... But they were never really s.f. writers, anyway... For cerebral, literary s.f... published in hard cover... [look to] James Blish's novels... [Heinlein's] Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land hold a promise of powerful things to come." Aldiss is writing s.f. with "diligence and imagination", [but] there are very few [others]. "The magazines may be eclipsed by the mass market paperbacks...[but these] will automatically inherit the tricks of [magazine s.f.]... simply because they are aimed at the same market... The crucial point is...that the majority of s.f. writers are incapable of writing anything [more than] the standardised action-adventure plot...[while] the best of today's sf writers...have become successful mainstream novelists." Names works he feels will "stand the test of time" by Sturgeon, Bradbury and Miller; and others he deems "pretentious twaddle" or "impressive failures".

122, Loc: Baxter, John. Finds snags in Lan Wright's guest editorial (NW 125): "I [NSW] 124- should have thought it was obvious that literate and fresh new ideas in science 125 fiction will attract people to the magazines that print those ideas" (he uses the success of New Worlds to illustrate his point). "Regarding "readers 'wanting entertainment' [and] s-f's alleged competitors, 'westerns and romances'...I can find seven or eight sf magazines on sale at the local newsagents, [but no] regular western magazine, and [few] 'romances'… I was especially surprised to see the disparaging mention made of Robert Heinlein's recent novels, and especially Starship Troopers having no philosophic message... "Mr. Heinlein has commented on the criticisms and evaluations made of his last two novels... at [Worldcons] and spoke at both of them on the philosophy of his writing."

Dec ScFty 62 94 Ad: Fantast (Medway) Ltd. ad for Index to the Weird Fiction Magazines (Part [NZ] 1 -- Index by Title), compiled by New Zealander Thomas Cockcroft and published by the author the previous year. 110- Loc: Busby, David. Comments on the relative merits of New Worlds and [UK] 112 Science Fantasy and their writers, including: "Lee Harding's stories, a writer to watch very closely indeed, I think, with a future as great as Ballard and Aldiss and Brunner eventually."

1964 Jan NW 138 ibc Ad: "For information concerning the Melbourne SF Library & Film Group, [Vic] write to the Secretary..."

ibc Ad: Binns, M.R. "Science fiction for sale! Write for list..." [Vic]

ibc Ad: "Australian readers! Postal science fiction library service for all states. [NSW] Details form Futurian Society..."

ibc Ad: Smith, K. "S-F stock to clear", mostly old pulp magazines. [NSW] (Probably Kevin Smith, now returned from England.)

Mar NW 140 121- Loc: Michaels, Frank. An "s-f addict since 1930" comments on guest editorials: [NZ] 122 "Do they really believe the guff they write about s-f having a purpose, an art form? Let's be honest–the purpose of the s-f author is to earn money by writing...Too often, the s-f author with delusions of grandeur produces a story which is unintelligible..." (Hmmm...a Kiwi sf reader since 1930... I wonder if he knew "Mr Tokeno"?) 126 Ad: For Cockcroft's Index to the Weird Fiction Magazines repeated. [NZ]

ibc Ads: All ads from NW 138 above repeated except Futurian Society’s. [Aust]

1964 Apr ScFty 64 46 Ad: For Cockcroft's Index to the Weird Fiction Magazines repeated. [NZ]

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1965 Dec NW 157 126- Loc: Henry, J.E. Comments on reasons for success of sf magazines, differences [TPNG] 127 in interests between sf fans and other readers, and NW's "enlightened and well-balanced editorial policy", and wishes NW every success. (John Henry was an American active in the Brisbane SF Group in the 1950s who later moved to Tasmania and then Port Moresby.) 1966 Aug NW 165 155- Loc: Harding, Lee. Announces Australian Science Fiction Review, created [Vic] 156 "to ensure greater communication between writers and readers in Australia and encourage the development of Australian sf towards achieving a definite character of its own". Welcomes correspondence from anyone interested, in Australia and overseas. Dec NW 169 160 Ad: Short ad for Australian SF Review. Contact name and address is John [Vic] Bangsund's. 1967 Jan NW 170 160 Ad: Short ad for Australian SF Review. Contact name and address is Lee [Vic] Harding's. Feb NW 171 128 Ad: Same ad for Australian SF Review as in previous issue. [Vic] Mar NW 172 128 Ad: Ad for ASFR, with Harding's name and address for contact. [Vic] Aug NW 174 64 Ad: Ad for Australian SF Review, with UK and Australian subscription [Vic] addresses (latter now John Bangsund's address). 1969 Aug NW 193 1 Mention: Platt, Charles. Editorial on setbacks NW is facing: "Added to [Aust] troubles at home, we have been banned, on grounds of content, in South Africa and Australia."

Dear Readers, We couldn’t resist including this heading, even though it flags the morbid state of our letters column in recent issues of this esteemed periodical. We hasten to point out that kind souls have been sending LoCs on all issues, and this is greatly appreciated, even if we have lacked the space to demonstrate that appreciation by actually printing any of them. Unfortunately the economics of publishing a print fanzine, even one that already reduces its type size to a challenging degree for some readers, is not improving. Solutions to this devilish problem are currently under consideration. Please do feel free to send us a LoC with your suggestions. Best wishes for the festive season,

Mumbling Munchkins Management

The cover of this issue features the work of an uncredited artist for an ad in a 1960s Scientific American. (Remember when we all watched a man step onto the Moon? Who then would have believed that on the 50th anniversary of that event, it would be 47 years since the last person had stood on the lunar surface? Somebody stole our future!) All other images I took myself, or sourced from public domain sites or magazine pages scanned by heroic members of Pulpscans.groups.io. Oz artists were named in the text. Comments on this issue of Mumblings from Munchkinland can be sent to:

Chris Nelson 25 Fuhrman St., Evatt, ACT 2617 Australia or [email protected] - 23 -