Born in 1973

If you were born in 1973, Australia was in the middle of the most energetic, experimental, and controversial period of government in its history. Whitlam was doing things at a pace that delighted his supporters and appalled his opponents — Medibank, the withdrawal from Vietnam, the beginnings of land rights, no-fault divorce, the Australia Council for the Arts, the national anthem changed to *Advance Australia Fair* — the changes were coming fast and thick. The Sydney Opera House opened in October, Queen Elizabeth performing the ceremony, Whitlam by her side.

It had been fourteen years in construction and over budget by a factor of fifteen, but when you saw it sitting there in the harbour it was obviously worth every penny and every controversy. Australians were genuinely proud of it in a way that was new — proud of something Australian, not British, not American, specifically Australian. The oil crisis was hitting — the price of petrol jumped and the Sunday drive became slightly more considered.

Rock was everywhere: *Countdown* was coming the following year, but the live pub scene was already the richest it had ever been. Renée Geyer, Lobby Lloyd, Ayers Rock — Australian musicians finding their sound. The surf was up, the barbie was smoking, and for one year at least, the country felt like it was exactly where it wanted to be.