Born in 1976

If you were born in 1976, Malcolm Fraser was the Prime Minister and the country was in a conservative, slightly dour mood after the excitement and chaos of the Whitlam years. Fraser was not a man given to warmth or spontaneity, but there was a certain exhausted relief in some quarters at having someone apparently steady in charge. *Countdown* was the cultural centrepiece — Molly Meldrum's enthusiastic chaos every Sunday, the Australian Top 40 presented with evangelical fervour, ABBA still enormous, Skyhooks, John Paul Young, Sherbet.

The Whitlam era had invested heavily in Australian arts and culture and the fruit of that investment was appearing: Australian films were in cinemas — *Picnic at Hanging Rock* had arrived in 1975, *Don's Party* in 1976 — and Australians were going to see them in numbers that would have seemed unthinkable five years earlier. The pub rock scene was electric: Cold Chisel were forming, AC/DC were recording *Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap*. A lamb chop was still cheap.

The Hills Hoist was still turning. The corner milk bar was still there, though the convenience stores were beginning to press. The MCG Grand Final was the sporting year's peak.

You could drive to the beach on a summer morning and find a car park. Life was ordinary and specifically Australian and not bad at all.