Cirrus@Austlit

A day in the life of Aura Z. Jackson as a working woman and single mother of two boys.

'A young man is doing his final year in medicine, and unknown to him, his mother has been told she has only a year to live.'

Source: 'Women's Interests On The Air To-day', The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 Mar. 1953. p. 7.

A serial about Carolyn Gray, the owner of a beauty salon, who gives marriage advice to all of her clients.

'This day-time serial is the very human story of the love and sacrifice of a young mother, providing the answer to many of the real problems which crop up from time to time in the lives of all women.' 

Source: 'Advertising', The Mercury, 5 Apr. 1944, p. 15.

'The booklet deals with the experiences of ACW Madge Elliot (who, by the way, is a niece of Madge Elliot, the musical comedy star), from the time she scans a recruiting poster until she becomes a fully-fledged W.A.A.A.F. Girls from all occupations are found in the service, and how they are sorted out and placed in the jobs they most want to do, and for which they are best adapted, show the sympathetic guidance and help they are given by the officers.' 

Source: 'GIRLS IN THE AIR FORCE', Sunday Times, 16 Jul. 1944, p. 5.

'"We interrupt this programme to give you a police message. Would anybody knowing the whereabouts of Charles Eddington Warner, formerly of Tuscum-street, Roseville, kindly ask him to communicate with the Roseville police. His wife is critically ill."' [intro]

Source: 'Australian Short Story', The Sun, 19 May 1943, p. 5.

'When Peter and Paul were very young, little Barbara Hartford used to entertain them with an improvised version of the old nursery rhyme. Balancing two scraps of paper on the tips of her forefinger, she would like her voice and chant: "Two little dickie birds sitting on a wall / One named Peter, one named Paul, / Fly away Peter, fly away Paul, / Come back Peter, stay away Paul."' [intro]

Source: 'Fly away, Paul', The Daily Telegraph. 18 Apr. 1943, p. 21. 

'Digby had read all about Greece in his schoolbooks. But Professor Harvey had always lectured in hushed and reverent tones, as if all that ancient splendour and glory were dead.'

Source: 'Short Short by an Australian Author', Sunday Times. 5 Dec. 1943, p. 4.

When Pilot-Officer Wilson overhears two children arguing about the existence of fairies, he decides to help put a little magic into their lives. 

A man is asked to deliver a letter for another officer's wife, but is suspicious of his allegiance. 

Aunt Hannah always gives the most hideous gifts to Rosa and John. The last one was a orange, green, and pink lacquered jardiniere which was accidentally smashed by Mary the maid. With Aunt Hannah coming to visit soon, the pair venture in to town to try and find a replacement. 

Betsy and Freddie secretly meet twice a fortnight away from Betsy's mother's watchful eye. Freddie tries to convince Betsy that they should make their relationship public and get married. 

'He was sitting in the top deck of the bus when I climbed up the stairs. I could not help but notice him. Blond, close-cropped, bullet-shaped head, sharp blue eyes and a large body hunched into a thick overcoat.'

Source: 'Australian Short Story', The Sun, 31 Mar. 1943, p. 5.

Two little boys tell a German soldier a story about the lake in the village. Their story is set during the Turkish regime in Greece, and centres around the relationship of Tahir and Frossini, that ends in the death of Frossini and 18 other women in the lake. 

A young man pitches his romance novel, about mistaken identity, to Angus Arthur, the editor only to realise the man he has pitched to was not the editor. 

Jones, a cadet at Duntroon Smith, is eager to get fight for his country alongside the other men in the field, and looks to enlist. His commanding officer, at the plea of Jones' mother, pulls him aside to talk about the honour and tradition that comes with graduating from Duntroon Smith, in the hopes that he'll re-enroll. 

'Willie Smith worked in a munition factory, and he was not, as he would have been first to (modestly) admit, the type of chap to let the grass grow under his feet.' [intro]

Source: 'Hitler's no accident', The Daily Telegraph, 14 Mar. 1943, p. 29.