In 1963, a group of student editors from several Sydney universities founded a magazine that would test the moral tolerance of Australian society. Reacting to a social climate of regular censorship and an enduring White Australia policy, the editors aimed to challenge their readers with nudity, sexual frankness and strong opposition to mainstream ideas.
The first issue of Oz was published on April Fools' Day 1963. In a deliberate attempt to expand the audience for undergraduate ideas, the magazine was delivered to newsagents and energetically sold on the streets. So successful was this method that the magazine sold six thousand copies before lunchtime and a reprint was ordered. Circulation reached a peak of 40,000 issues several years later.
The first issue attracted immediate attention when the editors were charged with obscenity, due primarily to an article on an illegal abortionist, but also by a discussion on chastity belts. A later issue also attracted a charge of obscenity because of a cover picture of three men at a urinal and a satirical piece on the sexual exploits of 'gatecrashers'. Satire dominated the pages of Oz. While much of the magazine was written by Richard Walsh, Richard Neville and cartoonist Martin Sharp, writers such as Bob Ellis, Germaine Greer and Robert Hughes also contributed.
In 1966 Neville and Sharp left Australia for England where they established a London version of Oz magazine. Continuing the challenge to mainstream society begun in the Australian issues, the London publication also attracted charges of obscenity for a 1970 'Schoolkids' issue. This culminated in a celebrated court case that saw the editors first sentenced to gaol before being released on appeal after significant public protests and support from celebrities such as John Lennon.
The Australian version of Oz continued until 1970. Without Neville and Sharp, it took on a more serious tone and circulation dropped dramatically. The subsequent drop in advertising made it difficult to meet production costs, and so after the February issue of 1969, the magazine was replaced by a foolscap-sized newsletter which ran until November 1970.
Oz
Richard Neville
(editor),
James Anderson
(editor),
1967
London
:
Oz Publications Ink
,
1967-1973
Z821060
1967
periodical
Martin Sharp : His Life and Times
Crows Nest
:
Allen and Unwin
,
2017
10406794
2017
single work
biography
'Martin Sharp was not merely an artist of renown but a celebrity. His fame began in the early 60s with the launch of OZ magazine, followed by his time in the epicentre of Swinging London where he created internationally popular posters and record covers (mainly for Cream, for whom he also wrote a song). On his return to Sydney, he helped create the Yellow House, an artists' colony inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, and threw himself into renovating Luna Park. Based on extensive interviews with Martin and his peers during the last decade of his life, Martin Sharp captures Martin's charismatic character and unconventional lifestyle. It also celebrates some of his most striking images to provide a lively visual account of an unusual life.' (Publication summary)
'This expansive exhibition links the social and political climate of 'swinging' London, through the work of Australians living there in the 1960s, with today [2003]. It highlights the work of artists, activists and writers involved with Oz magazine (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year), as well as more broadly encompassing a great variety of talented, creative people who brought a larrikin influence to 1960s London, where the younger generations were in the ascendant, questioning authority, challenging convention and experimenting with drugs, sex and rock 'n' roll.' (Source: University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts website: http://www.cofa.unsw.edu.au/home sighted 04/01/2007)
Hippie Hippie Shake
( dir. Beeban Kidron
)
United Kingdom (UK)
:
Universal Pictures
,
2008
Z1445216
2008
single work
film/TV
A troubled film adaptation of Richard Neville's memoir.
