In 1996, I took part in and completed a defensive driving coursde for 4WD.
The course was arranged after several accidents involving ABC staff unused to the power of the 4WD, nor used to driving on roads that leave a bit to be desired.
Minutiae
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Robert Jordan, author
In 1993 I interviewed, Robert Jordan, a fantasy author from the United states.
Probably best known for his mammoth series “The Wheel of Time“, he also wrote a number of the “Conan the Barbarian” books, and is less well know for a period romance trilogy “Fallon”
[audio:https://www.raeallen.net/audio/robert-jordan.mp3 | titles=His background and his books | artists=Robert Jordan] -
Charles Perkins, activist
It would be difficult to work in the Northern Territory in the last half of the 20th century, and not have come across Charles Perkins.
Born in Alice Springs in the late 1930s, Charles Perkins career reads like a template for indigenous activism, from the Freedom Rides of the 1960s to his work with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in the 1970s and his role as Commissioner and Deputy Chair, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Commission in the 1990s.
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Molly Ferguson, teacher, School of the Air
I’ve always enjoyed it when I get the chance to happen upon a bit of living history.
In 1991 the Alice Springs School of the Air celebrated its 40th anniversary, and one of the people who turned up to share her story was one of the original teachers, Molly Ferguson.
Her story however was as much a picture of our society in the 1950s as it was about her work at the School of the Air. Molly spoke of her stint as acting Principal, and that being a woman she could only be an acting Principal as at the time only men could get the job full time.
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Winston Peters, MP
I met Winston Peters in 1990 while he was traveling through the Northern Territory.
At the time he was a Maori member of the NZ National Party, and his star was such he was tipped to become New Zealand’s first Maori Prime Minister.
Unfortunately the highest he flew was Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer, when his New Zealand First party held the balance of power following the 1996 election.
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Larapinta trail
Taking a break on the Larapinta trail While many think of Central Australia as a desert, there is real beauty in this arid environment.
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AIM manager of the year
In 1990 while working as Manager Regional Stations for the Northern Territory, the Central Australian branch of the Australian institute of Management presented me with their inaugural “Manager of the Year” award.
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First cell phones arrive in Darwin
Sometimes it appears that mobile phones have been with us always, yet in 1988 the arrival of a cellular phone network in Darwin was big news.
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Journalist of the year 1987
Receiving the award from the Administrator Commodore Eric Johnstone, and President of the NT Branch of the Australian Journalists Association, Richard Creswick. In 1987, primarily through a body of work surrounding the world heritage listing of Kakadu National Park, I was the joint winner of the Electronic Journalist of the Year award for the Northern Territory.
I shared “The Eric” with my colleague Phil Smith, who had a reputation for the quirky stand-up.
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Pine Gap protests
Covering Pine Gap demonstration In 1987, the lease on the satellite monitoring base, Pine Gap, near Alice Springs was up for re-signing by the Federal Government.
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