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Nick Richardson, ‘Look out with a bit more confidence’ 1956 as a watershed moment in Australia

The 1950s are often seen as a dull and stultified period in Australian history, epitomised by the growth of suburbia, the white picket fence and indeed the fact that we had the same prime minister for the entire decade. However, when you scratch the surface there were significant cultural changes happening, as well as a growing, though still somewhat tentative self-confidence in ourselves as a nation. This came to a head at the 1956 Olympics, the first ever to be held in the southern hemisphere, when all eyes were fixed on Australia for the first time.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Nick Richardson, author of 1956: The Year Australia Welcomed the World.

Dr Nick Richardson is a Melbourne based author, journalist and academic, who penned the book 1956: The Year Australia Welcomed the World. He started his journalism at The Examiner in Launceston, worked on newspapers in England and had a range of reporting roles at The (Melbourne) Herald, The Australian and The Bulletin. He later became an associate editor of The Herald Sun, then Group News Editor of Leader Community Newspapers and later News Corps’ national editorial training manager. He has taught journalism at RMIT University, Monash University and LaTrobe University, where he is adjunct professor of journalism. Nick has a PhD in history from the University of Melbourne. He has been a Margaret George Fellow at the National Archives of Australia and a Fellow at Australian Prime Ministers’ Centre at the Museum of Australian Democracy.