Mister Brisbane: Carnival's not over
Mind your manners | Wireless wonders | On song | Tab tanks | Pub performers
Big thanks to Natalie Bochenski, who posted images of World Expo 88 memorabilia on social media recently and sparked a flood of memories. Natalie took the photos (above) at the Queensland Maritime Museum during an exhibition relating to Expo, which closed almost exactly 32 years ago. The story is that, along with the 1982 Commonwealth Games, Expo put sleepy old Brisbane on the map. As I see it, that wasn’t exactly the case, it’s just that the rest of Australia, let alone the world, didn’t know what Brisbane had to offer until we found a way to show them.
Those of us who were around at the time have our own special memories of Expo, especially if we had six-month passes. For me it wasn’t just the Britannia Inn, the German beer hall (Festhaus) and drinking Mooseheads at the Canadian Pavilion, but that was certainly part of it. As was the entertainment program, the cultural attractions (a copy of the Magna Carta, no less), the monorail and boats, and the fabulous food from many nations. Apparently we also saw HD television and an early incarnation of the internet for the first time, although I don’t remember that.
Oh, and it was pretty good for the economy, too. According to a hopefully authoritative online source, 15,760,000 visitors bought tickets worth $175 million, which is a big sum now and was a huge amount back then. I’d love to know what your memories are — and to know whether you agree that Expo was the river city’s coming of age or it was just an unveiling of Australia’s hidden secret.
I’d also like to know if you still have any World Expo 88 photos or memorabilia. Do you still have your season ticket, or something you purchased? Have you bought or sold anything Expo-related online? Or do you know where bits and pieces of the Expo exhibitions ended up? To get you started, here’s a picture Spencer (yes, that Spencer) took in Longreach last week of sculptures that were moved out West as part of Expo’s 35th anniversary* celebrations.
Join Brett Debritz and Spencer Howson — and, this week, a special guest — for the Mister Brisbane show on Reading Radio at 1296AM or DAB+ in Brisbane on Tuesdays at 6.30pm, Wednesdays at 4am and 7am, Fridays at 4am, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm. It is also available as a podcast on popular platforms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts.
PILOTS OF THE AIRWAVES
The recent death of former Brisbane disc jockey Paul J Turner reminded me of an era before it was deemed compulsory to cram the radio studio full of people to produce a breakfast or drivetime show. I greatly admired those announcers who could command an audience all by themselves, or with the occasional input of a sidekick. As I was growing up those ranks included Wayne “Waynee Poo” Roberts (pictured below), Russ Walkington, Billy J Smith (the self-styled “teen idol” and, like Turner, one of 4IP’s celebrated “Good Guys”), Alan McGirvan, Russ Tyson, Garry Ord, Haydn Sargent and Ray McGregor. Another familiar voice, from the Gold Coast, was Bert “Birdbrain” Robertson. I also remember the competing racing and rugby league coverage, with personalities including Billy J Smith (again), Ross Lawson, George Lovejoy (who coined the phrase “the greatest game of all”), Alf (“That’s for sure”) Shaw, John McCoy, Keith Noud, Vince Curry, Rod Gallegos and Wayne Wilson. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of people from that era — late 1960s, early ’70s — and would love some feedback about the stars of the wireless back in the day.
PLAY IT AGAIN
I had cause last week to remember an occasion in the early 1990s when I accompanied Babette Stephens, the late, great grande dame of Brisbane theatre, to a function at the Coronation Hotel in Milton. When we entered the ballroom, the band immediately struck up a tune which I was told was “Babette’s song”. How wonderful to have your own song and a band to play it. That puts her in the same league as the President of the United States — and POTUS doesn’t even get a choice of song. Now I’m wondering what my song should be and where, and on which occasions, it could be played. Has anybody else thought about this?
ON THE TAB
I read recently that Coca-Cola is retiring the Tab brand. This surprised me, because I thought it was done and dusted decades ago. That was the case in Australia, but Tab was hanging on in the United States. According to CNN, the precursor to Diet Coke “acquired a huge fan base in the ’70s and ’80s and maintained a small but devoted following through the years”. CNN notes that other companies are culling brands due to the pandemic and other factors. Reading about Tab made me think of Leed lemonade which, I was surprised to discover, seems to have only been a thing in Australia and New Zealand. It was discontinued in 1984, to be replaced by Sprite. I still miss it.
ON THE MOVE
The Brisbane Broncos are never far from the headlines. At least this past weekend has seen some great news, with the women’s team’s victorious in the grand final for the third time. (In the men’s, Brisbane’s “other team”, the Storm, were successful.) Also, rugby league is still on many people’s minds with the State of Origin series just around the corner. Meanwhile, news comes my way that former Broncos boss Bruno Cullen has a new gig — as inaugural chair of insurance broker Austbrokers Comsure, which was formed through the merger of Comsure, Bestmark and Citycover.
GIVE AND TAKE
It didn’t take long after I wrote last week’s item about charity bins to find another example of a similar thing. Someone in my neighbourhood has put a couple of desks on the footpath with a sign on them saying they’re free to anybody who wants them. At the time of writing they’ve been there a few days and have already been through a few rain showers, which means the moisture will probably make the wood swell and ruin the desks. The bloke in question has a ute. He could’ve taken them to an op shop, or done as Spencer advised on last week’s radio show and podcast, and called up the Givit website to find a grateful new home for the furniture.
Meanwhile, Matthew noted on Twitter: “When we do a big clean out, we contact Lifeline and they actually drop off clean garbage bins that you can pack and then they come and pick them up.”
And Terry said: “Those who own the [charity] bins have a responsibility to empty them as frequently as needed.”
FEEDBACK
Bernie was quick to respond to the shout-out last week for Brisbane solo artists and bands of yesteryear. He wrote: “During the 1960s and 70s almost every pub had live music on weekends and the old Telegraph on Fridays carried four to six pages of adverts for pub gigs.” Bernie remembers Mick Hadley and the Coloured Balls playing at the Queen’s Arms Hotel, along with Glen Mooney and the Beaumen, which featured Channel 7 newsreader Frank Warrick on bass guitar, and a group called the Clefs. He also recalled a former public servant by the name of Kevin Johnson, “who gained fame with the iconic Rock ’n Roll I Gave You the Best Years of my Life.”
Sean said Tim Devereaux was a popular singer/guitarist who played the pubs and beer gardens. Susan noted: “Matt Finnish rings a bell from back then. I think Hemi was still playing until Covid hit.” She also remembered Tiffy** and Keith Urban (whatever happened to him?) playing on Friday nights at The Crest. Nick chipped in with Blind Lemon and His Chevrolet. And Tommy said: “Wylie (Reed) was a classic. I played music with him at the Gold Coast Jazz Festival many years back.”