Australia celebrated the end of World War II with an enthusiastic urge to procreate! This was the era of the “baby boomers’, a generation of children whose rock n’ roll rebellion would change things forever. Back then it was also a much simpler time when kids roamed free in the great outdoors but along with those freedoms there was also the cruelties of the stolen generation, orphans neglected, harsh discipline and antiquated gender roles. Today the childhoods of 1940’s and 50’s are fading memories and today’s kids are ‘plugged’ into a world awash with instant information and entertainment. Amongst this rapid change and a more sophisticated urban lifestyle, has something been lost?
The Australian obsession to own your own home is so entrenched in our culture, there’s even a phrase for it … The Great Australian Dream. It began immediately after the Second World War and continues to this day. But where once “home” was about shelter and security, now it’s also a means of accumulating wealth and status for which many are finding it impossible to pay. Remarkably, no matter how high the prices go, the Great Australian Dream endures. But there are 22 million people in Australian today and we’re struggling to accommodate them. Predictions are that in 2050 there will be close to 40 million, and no doubt most of those people will have ambitions to own their own home. Or is that just a dream?
Have we lost the mystery and allure of romance in our pre-packaged world? Falling in love is a dance we all know the steps to. But what happens when the first flush of romance is over? In the 1940s and 50s, the rules of the game were strict, but clear to everyone… you got married and stayed married. Then came the swinging sixties and the sexual revolution. Today, you can live with who you want, when you want and how you want. But is finding love any easier? Australians today are marrying less and marrying later. And it’s easier than ever to jump ship - 43% of all marriages end in divorce. Humorous, revealing and romantic, this is the amazing history of the Australian heart since World War Two
The Church once dominated the Australian landscape and, of all the great shifts in Australian life since World War II, perhaps religion has travelled farthest. Back in the 1940s and 50s, many Australians dutifully attended church and Sunday school. Christianity had a firm grip on the Australian soul. But from the late sixties, bad boys and girls were finding spiritual fulfilment elsewhere and the Churches struggled to keep up. Nowadays only about 8% of Australians go to church every Sunday and over 18% say they have no religion. So are we a nation of lost souls?