Neighbourhood children played lots of games together … no expensive material required … As there was no Presbyterian Church I went to the Methodist Sunday School. This church had a social evening of games every Friday night. Nobody worried about what religion we were, and we would all come home singing along the road.—Les B and Jean H, children of the DepressionOver the last 30 years, many books have appeared on different aspects of childhood in Australia. There has not, however, been an authoritative published history of childhood that is specific to the Depression years. Sue Fabian and Morag Loh'sChildren in Australia: An Outline Historyand Jan Kociumbas'sAustralian Childhood: A Historyinclude chapters that offer overviews of Australian childhood during the Depression, and Lynette Finch's special issue ofQueensland Review, Young in a Warm Climate, is the only major study specific to children in Queensland. This paper makes a contribution to Queensland Depression historiography and the history of Queensland children by exploring how the children of Brisbane's working-class unemployed spent their leisure hours, and what effect — if any — the Depression exerted over the choices that were made. It will show mat there was neither uniformity of experience nor a sharp discontinuity between the Depression years and those that preceded and followed this decade.
The road to a first-class research institute: creating an exceptional environment, recruiting outstanding scientists, producing high-impact work, and nurturing a culture of innovation—Preface to the 60th anniversary special issue
