‘I am sir [sure] you will act as human bean’, wrote one distressed pensioner to Prime Minister Robert Menzies in 1953, pleading for assistance.
'Robert Menzies received 22,000 letters during his record-breaking 1949-1966 second term as Australian Prime Minister. From war veterans, widows and political leaders to school students and homespun philosophers. Ordinary citizens sent their congratulations and grievances and commented on speeches they had heard on radio. They lectured him, quoted Shakespeare and the Bible at him and sent advice on how to eliminate the rabbit problem. In Dear Prime Minister, Menzies’ fabled ‘Forgotten People’ write back.
'Revealed here for the first time, the letters respond to the royal visit of 1954, Communism, Australia’s British connection and the dire poverty of aged pensioners. For many writers, these were not post-war boom years, but a time of anxiety and conflict, punctuated by fears of war, another Great Depression, or a nuclear Armageddon. Dear Prime Minister is a fascinating insight into the concerns, assumptions and political beliefs of 1950s and 1960s Australians.'
Source : publisher's blurb
'In Dear Prime Minister: Letters to Robert Menzies 1949–1966, Martyn Lyons brings his considerable expertise on the history of writing, print and publishing to bear on an expansive body of letters written to Prime Minister Robert Menzies in the 1950s and 1960s. These letters, penned chiefly by older white men located in eastern Australia or in London, offer a powerful window into the “heart of Australia’s Liberal-voting middle-class”, replete with its imperial loyalties, racial anxieties, and anti-Communist fervour (223).' (Introduction)
'Letter writing thrives on distance. Out of necessity, in the early years of European settlement, Australia became a nation of letter writers. The remoteness of the island continent gave the letter a special importance. Even those unused to writing had so much to say, and such a strong need to hear from home, that the laborious business of pen and ink and the struggles with spelling were overcome. Early letters reflected the homesickness of settlers as well as their sense of achievement and their need to hold on to a former life. It’s possible to see the emergence of a democratic tradition of letter writing in those needful times. Rich or poor, well educated or semi-literate, they all felt the urge to connect.' (Introduction)
'Martyn Lyons presents an insightful contribution to the social history of Menzies’ era, and the motivations and language of people “writing up” to their prime minister. It is beautifully written, transporting you back to the desk of Prime Minister Menzies, through his letters from ordinary Australians.' (Introduction)
'Letter writing thrives on distance. Out of necessity, in the early years of European settlement, Australia became a nation of letter writers. The remoteness of the island continent gave the letter a special importance. Even those unused to writing had so much to say, and such a strong need to hear from home, that the laborious business of pen and ink and the struggles with spelling were overcome. Early letters reflected the homesickness of settlers as well as their sense of achievement and their need to hold on to a former life. It’s possible to see the emergence of a democratic tradition of letter writing in those needful times. Rich or poor, well educated or semi-literate, they all felt the urge to connect.' (Introduction)
'Martyn Lyons presents an insightful contribution to the social history of Menzies’ era, and the motivations and language of people “writing up” to their prime minister. It is beautifully written, transporting you back to the desk of Prime Minister Menzies, through his letters from ordinary Australians.' (Introduction)
'In Dear Prime Minister: Letters to Robert Menzies 1949–1966, Martyn Lyons brings his considerable expertise on the history of writing, print and publishing to bear on an expansive body of letters written to Prime Minister Robert Menzies in the 1950s and 1960s. These letters, penned chiefly by older white men located in eastern Australia or in London, offer a powerful window into the “heart of Australia’s Liberal-voting middle-class”, replete with its imperial loyalties, racial anxieties, and anti-Communist fervour (223).' (Introduction)
