Typewriters Return to The Canberra Times!

Great piece by our Typospherian and journalist friend Jasper Lindell in this morning's Canberra Sunday Times. This was on page 2 and Jasper's stories led pages 1, 2, 3 and 4 - must be some kind of a record (for a typewriting reporter).

Portable Typewriters Popular at Christmas 1919-1989

1919 - 100 Years Ago

1929 - 90 Years Ago

1939 - 80 Years Ago

1949 - 70 Years Ago

1959 - 60 Years Ago

1969 - 50 Years Ago

1979 - 40 Years Ago

1989 - 30 Years Ago

Not So Many Happy Returns: The Future Prime Minister's Typewritten Letter to a 'Noble' Son

On Boxing Day 1931, future Australian Prime Minister and knight Earle Christmas Grafton Page (1880-1961) sat at his typewriter in the Federal parliamentarians’ room of the GPO in Brisbane and typed his eldest son, Earle Charles Page, a letter. The senior Page wished the young man “many happy returns” on his 21st birthday, and congratulated Earle Jr “on attaining your majority”.

Sadly, Earle Jr was not to enjoy “many happy returns”, but just the one.

A year and three weeks after Page had typed his Boxing Day letter, Earle Jr, still aged just 22, was dead. On January 14, 1933, he was killed by a lighting bolt while on horseback, driving 112 head of cattle with his younger brother Iven (correct spelling) from Nettle Creek on the Baryulgil Road, 11 miles outside Copmanhurst in the Clarence Valley of the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, between Grafton and the Page property Heifer Station (now a vineyard).

Still, young Earle had packed a lot into his short life. He had graduated from Sydney University as a Bachelor in Veterinary Science in 1932, and that same year, as a lightweight wing forward, had won his rugby Blue and played in two “Test” matches against New Zealand Universities, as well as being a reserve for the NSW State team.

Page senior's Boxing Day letter was full of moralistic fatherly advice – “Avoid fast women” was one recurring theme. “Fast women,” warned the politician, “are the hounds of disease & death”. “Live as far as far as possible with noble thoughts … Live clean, think straight, act honestly, despise dirt & hate it whether physical, sexual, literary or spoken. Remember that you bear an honoured name …” “Do not drink till you are 45 & then you will not want to. Avoid every form of gambling, even the simplest, like the plague.”

Earle Page Snr at his desk in Canberra.

The senior Earle Page and his wife were so traumatised by their son's death that Page immediately retired from politics. However, he later returned to Canberra and as Sir Earle Page became this nation’s caretaker Prime Minister upon the death of Joe Lyons in 1939. He held the office for three weeks until Bob Menzies began his first term as PM. In the House, Page was to accuse Menzies of ministerial incompetence and cowardice for failing to enlist during World War I. Whatever one may think of his overly righteous instructions to his son, in this case Page was obviously a very good judge of character.

Page’s letter to Earle Jr is on display in the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) in Canberra, beside the “Yours Faithfully” exhibition.

 Page Snr was the grandfather of noted Australian poet Geoff Page (below).

'Yours Faithfully' - Letter Writing With Typewriters

Last week we were invited to have a look at the way the "Yours Faithfully" exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Parliament House) had been set up. The exhibition, which had opened the day before (December 17th), is expected to continue until at least the middle of 2021. The curators have "held back" four of the 10 manual portable typewriters I either supplied or serviced, thinking it a good idea to have "fresh" interchange reserves for what they expect will be a steady fray of typing letters. Waiting in the wings for their turn to go into action are a Facit TP1, an Olympia Traveller, a Remington Envoy III and a Silver-Reed 100.

The six typewriters already out for use are evenly spread around the large room. I very much like the arrangement and the various posters on display. It's good that the curators (one of whom, by the way, comes from Richard Polt's home city of Cincinnati) have asked visitors to treat the typewriters with respect and kindness, and to take good care of them. That's not always going to be the case, we know that full well. But I'm on stand-by to make any running repairs that may be necessary.  The first thing I noticed on entering the room was that little fingers can't resist playing with well inked ribbon - there were already black smudges over most of the typewriters. Sydney typewriter collector Richard Amery is also on stand-by, to supply new ribbons, as the stock at my local supplier has been exhausted (until March!).

The curators have a good collection of typewriter- and letter writing-related books to peruse, and they'll soon be adding Richard Polt's still highly-relevant "The Typewriter Revolution" to these shelves.

Double Joy! 4 Million Page Views AND a Grandson!

ozTypewriter reached four million page views at 11.56 this morning, December 20th, 2019. It’s been a long, slow crawl from the three million mark, reached on a freezing morning on July 3, 2017. From one of the coldest days on record in Canberra to one of the hottest – it’s 41 degrees as I write (106 Fahrenheit). But watching the count warm back up and consistently climb at a rate above 1000 page views a day during the past few months has been quite thrilling. Now I’m encouraged to say I’ll definitely press on for five million (and maybe then retire!). The blog hit two million page views on November 4, 2015, and one million on March 20, 2014. There have been 2459 posts, of which one - about reattaching a drawband - has attracted almost 14,000 page views alone!

AND I had a new grandson born this week. Best Christmas gift ever. A gorgeous wee fellow was born in Canberra on Wednesday afternoon (December 18th) to my son Danny and his wife Emily. Magnus Leif Robert Messenger is the first Messenger born on December 18 in 152 years. The last was my great-uncle Walter James Messenger, the younger brother of my grandfather Robert Messenger. Walter was born in Wonersh, near Guildford in Surrey, in 1867, and lived to the age of 88. In naming his own Greymouth, New Zealand-born children, Robert used the names of his male siblings amd called his eldest son Walter (1896-1917). This Walter, my uncle, was posthumously awarded the Military Medal in World War I.

Another December 18 birth on our extensive family tree, which dates back to at least 1571 and was put painstakingly together by our family genealogist Noeleen Mullholland, was that of Eustace Holland, born in Crookham, Hampshire, in 1899 – and he lived to the age of 84. Eustace was a member of the Windiate side of the family, descendants of Mary Messenger (1750-1807), the daughter of my great-great-great-great grandfather Thomas Messenger (1706-1775).

A Happy Christmas and Joyous New Year to all Typewriter Lovers Out There

May you find your true and beautiful Valentine in 2020.

Typewriter-Related Exhibition Opens

The "Yours Faithfully" exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy (Old Federal Parliament House) in Canberra is now open (daily, 9am–5pm) and has no fewer than 10 typewriters for use. Eight of them were once mine and the other two I restored to full health for MoAD. We have been invited to have a look at the set-up tomorrow morning. Images here are from the early stages of preparation.

The exhibition is expected to last at least 18 months.

MoAD's online blurb says, "In an age of pithy one-liners, text messages and FaceTime, letter writing might seem redundant. Yet rediscovering this lost art reminds us to slow down and express our inner thoughts with others. A handwritten letter can become a keepsake of cherished memories, opinions and ideas, or expressed love. Over the years, everyday people have used the modest pen and paper to communicate, persuade, and initiate change.

"We invite you to come in and rediscover letter writing; whatever the subject and whomever the recipient. Use our range of tools and supplies including beautifully restored typewriters, and pop your piece of mail in our post box – postage is on us."

As someone who hand wrote or typed 127 letters and sent them to my now wife when she was in England in 2017 and again earlier this year, I feel fully qualified to be involved.

An image MoAD used with its blurb shows one of the museum's typewriters that I worked on. Frankly, it was without doubt the worst paint job I've ever seen on a typewriter (pink, with no primer and no masking tape used). So applying parts from another Olivetti Studio 45, I turned it back into a fully functioning - and gorgeous looking - machine.

The Passing of a Hero

Peter Snell, far left, was a columnist for the Auckland Star during the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. At the Olympia SG typewriter is his ghostwriter, Phil Gifford, a former colleague of mine at the New Zealand Herald in Auckland. Third from the left is Auckland Star journalist Roy Williams, the decathlon gold medallist at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica, and brother of 1952 Olympic Games long jump winner Yvette Williams.

One of the two greatest heroes of my childhood died of heart failure in Dallas, Texas, last Thursday, five days short of his 81st birthday. New Zealand runner Sir Peter Snell was a three-times Olympic Games gold medallist, including the 800-1500 metres double in Tokyo in 1964, and twice broke the world record for the one mile. Snell moved to the United States in 1971 and became a bachelor of science in human performance at the University of California, Davis.  He then gained a doctorate in exercise physiology from Washington State University and joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre in Dallas as a research fellow in 1981. He was associate professor of the Department of Internal Medicine and also director of the Human Performance Centre.

Peter Snell powers to victory in the 800 metres at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, becoming only the third man (and one of four ever) to retain the title.

       Peter George Snell was born in Opunake in the Taranaki district of New Zealand, on December 17, 1938. He attended boarding school in Auckland, where he proved to be a far better all-round sportsman than a scholar. He excelled in rugby, cricket, tennis and especially track.  Snell won national junior and senior titles over 880 yards and the mile and, although aged just 21 and ranked 17th equal in the world over 800 metres, he was selected to go to the 1960 Rome Olympic Games as an “investment in the future” – that is, mainly to gain international experience. In Rome, however, he stunned everyone, including fellow Kiwis, by setting Games records and easily qualifying for the final. And in that memorial final, Snell burst from the pack on the last bend to beat world record holder Roger Moens of Belgium and joint favourite George Kerr of Jamaica in Olympic record time (1min 46.3sec).

       That afternoon in sunny Rome was all the more joyous for New Zealanders, because an hour after Snell’s triumph his training partner and fellow Aucklander Murray Halberg won the 5000m gold medal. Both were coached by Arthur Lydiard. A third Lydiard protégée. Barry Magee, later won a bronze medal in the marathon.

       While Snell continued to dominate Moens and Kerr over the half-mile in meets around New Zealand in early 1961, Oregon’s Dyrol Burleson – sixth in the 1500m in Rome – proved to be a more savvy miler. But things were soon to change. Later that year Snell toured Europe with a four-man New Zealand team and with Halberg and Magee (and Gary Philpott) was part of a relay team which broke the world 4 x 1 mile record at Santry Stadium in Dublin.

Snell smashes two world records in Christchurch in early February 1962.

       Back in New Zealand, Snell opened the 1962 season in fine style by clipping a tenth of a second (3 minutes 54.4 seconds) off the world mile record set by Australian Herb Elliott at Santry Stadium in 1958. That happened on a Saturday night at the Cooks Gardens in Wanganui, and the following Saturday afternoon at Lancaster Park in Christchurch, Snell smashed both the world 800m and half-mile worlds records. He took 1.4 seconds off Moens' 800m time with 1min 44.3, and 1.7 seconds off Tom Courtney’s 880 yards time with 1min 45.1sec. Amazingly, these three world records were all set on grass tracks, and in the case of Cooks Gardens the track was only 385 yards long, meaning Snell had to negotiate an extra bend.

       At the end of 1962 Snell won the half mile-one mile gold medal double at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Perry Lakes Stadium in Perth, Western Australia, again beating Kerr in the 880. Snell raced many times in the US during this period, each time proving the superior of top US miles such as Jim Beatty and Jim Grelle, and consistently dipping under 3min 57sec in doing so. In all he ran 14 sub-four minute miles, second only to Elliott’s 17, but Snell's career cluster of sub 3:57 times was far better than Elliott's.

Snell went to the 1964 Olympic Games as favourite to win both the 800m and 1500m gold medals. He duly achieved the double, becoming the first man to do so in 44 years. It’s a feat not emulated since. Snell returned to New Zealand and in meets at the Western Springs Stadium in Auckland improved his world mile record to 3min 54.1 and set a new world record for 1000 metres, 2min 16.6sec. These performances ensured that Snell was voted New Zealand's "Sports Champion of the Century" and in 2012 was one of 24 inaugural inductees in the International Association of Athletics Federation’s Hall Of Fame.

Beyond the track, Snell in later life showed he was still a champion. He won the over-65s US orienteering title in 2003 and competed in table tennis in Texas state and US national championships and at the World Masters Games just two years ago.

       Peter Snell was both a huge hero and a massive inspiration to me, from the age of 12. He was comfortably the greatest athlete I have ever seen, and I’ve seen some greats - Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Michael Johnson, Sergei Bubka, Flo-Jo Griffith, Jackie Joyner Kersee and a host of others. But Snell is secure from my formative and most impressionable years. I held the tape when he crashed through it and broke the West Coast 880 yards record at the War Memorial Grounds in my home town of Greymouth in 1961, and I got his autograph afterwards. All I had to offer him was a pencil. For all that, by far my fondest memory is of seeing him burn off Oregon’s Keith Forman in the anchor leg of the 4 x 1 mile “Test” relay at Trafalgar Park in Nelson in 1963 (below).

        Snell's great win in Rome and his appearance in Greymouth soon afterwards motivated many of us of a tender young age to get out on to the roads and the tracks and start running. I myself was an inspiring half-miler. But two of my clubmates from that time had more lasting power than I did. Dave McKenzie (below right), a printer at the newspaper I started on, won the 1967 Boston marathon in record time, and Eddie Gray (below left) won international cross-country championships. My first track race was a twilight 660 yards handicap, and they both beat me, despite the big start I had.

Snell was a powerfully built, broad-shouldered athlete, so unlike the classic physique of a middle-distance runner. But then he was a specialist half-miler with real 440 yards speed, and his achievements over the mile came from the stamina Lydiard had instilled in him. The more slightly-built Elliott had much of that endurance, but not the basic speed that came with it with Snell. When Snell stretched his legs and turned on the gas, as he often did with about 200-300 yards to run, nobody could stay with him. That was what he did to Forman in Nelson. Video of his Tokyo triumphs show him suddenly splitting the fields apart with a devastating burst of power. He was awesome to watch.

       His overseas victories, and his races elsewhere in New Zealand, were occasions I was able to follow avidly on radio. They were times of sheer joy, moments I’ll cherish forever. A giant of a man has left us. I feel blessed to have met him, and to have seen him run.