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''Oz'' was an independently published,
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...
/
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magazine associated with the international
counterculture of the 1960s The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is ofte ...
. Editor Richard Neville first published the magazine in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
in 1963, launching a parallel version of ''Oz'' in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
from 1967. In both Australia and the UK, the creators of ''Oz'' were prosecuted on charges of
obscenity An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...
. A 1963 charge was dealt with expeditiously when, upon the advice of a solicitor, Neville and Sydney co-editors Richard Walsh and
Martin Sharp Martin Ritchie Sharp (21 January 1942 – 1 December 2013) was an Australian artist, cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker. Career Sharp was born in Bellevue Hill, New South Wales in 1942, and educated at Cranbrook private school, where one ...
pleaded guilty. In two later trials, 1964 Australia and 1971 UK, the magazine's editors were acquitted on
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
, after initially being found guilty and sentenced to harsh jail terms. The Australian publication folded in 1969, while Neville's London co-editors Jim Anderson and, later,
Felix Dennis Felix Dennis (27 May 194722 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer, and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times, t ...
, then Roger Hutchinson published the British ''Oz'' until 1973.


''Oz'' in Australia


Launch

The original Australian editorial team included university students Neville, Walsh and Sharp, and Peter Grose, a cadet journalist from Sydney's ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
''. Other early contributors included art critic Robert Hughes and future author
Bob Ellis Robert James Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016) was an Australian journalist, screenwriter, playwright, filmmaker, and political commentator. He lived in Sydney with author and screenwriter Anne Brooksbank; they had three children. Early ye ...
. Neville, Walsh and Sharp had each been involved in student magazines at their respective Sydney tertiary campuses: Neville had edited the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
student magazine ''
Tharunka ''Gamamari'' is a student magazine published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 as ''Tharunka'' at the then New South Wales University of Technology, the publication has been published in a variety of ...
'', Walsh edited its
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
counterpart ''
Honi Soit ''Honi Soit'' is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney. First published in 1929, the newspaper is produced by an elected editorial team and a select group of reporters sourced from the university's populace. Its name is an abbrev ...
'' and Sharp had contributed to the short-lived student magazine ''The Arty Wild Oat'' while studying at the
National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...
in East Sydney. Influenced by the radical comedy of
Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of come ...
, Neville and friends decided to found a "magazine of dissent". The 16-page first issue, published on
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1963, caused a sensation, selling 6,000 copies by lunchtime of publication day. It parodied the ''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'' (and was even printed on ''The Herald'''s own presses, adding to its credibility) and led with a front-page hoax about the collapse of the
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
. It also featured a centre spread on the history of the
chastity belt A chastity belt is a locking item of clothing designed to prevent sexual intercourse or masturbation. Such belts were historically designed for women, ostensibly for the purpose of chastity, as an anti-rape device, or to dissuade women and thei ...
and a story on
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
– based on Neville's own experience of arranging a termination of pregnancy for a girlfriend; abortion was then still illegal in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
. These stories though, would soon lead to the magazine's first round of obscenity charges, but there were also more immediate consequences. As a result of the controversy generated by the abortion story, the Sydney ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' cancelled its advertising contract, it also threatened to sack Peter Grose from his cadetship unless he resigned from ''Oz'' and the
Maritime Services Board The Maritime Services Board was a statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales responsible for marine safety, regulation of commercial and recreational boating, and oversight of port operations. History The Maritime Services Board (M ...
evicted ''Oz'' from its office in The Rocks.


Early issues and first obscenity charge

In succeeding issues (and in its later London version) ''Oz'' gave pioneering coverage to contentious issues such as
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
,
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
,
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
, the Australian government's White Australia policy and Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, as well as regularly satirising public figures, up to and including Australian Prime Minister
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
. In mid-1963, shortly after the publication of issue No.3, Neville, Walsh and Grose were summoned on charges of distributing an obscene publication; the shock of the charges caused Walsh's deeply religious father to suffer a serious heart attack, so their family solicitor arranged for the case to be adjourned until September 1963 but he advised the trio that, as first offenders, they could avoid having their conviction recorded if they pleaded guilty. Word soon went around the publishing trade; after their current printers pulled Issue 4 from the presses Neville shopped around for a new printer but he was turned down by a dozen other companies until, on Sharp's advice, he approached maverick writer-publisher
Francis James Alfred Francis James (21 April 191824 August 1992) was an Australian publisher known for being imprisoned in China as a spy. Early life James was born in Queenstown, Tasmania, Queenstown, Tasmania, the son of an Anglican priest. His early life ...
, editor of the ''Anglican Press'', who agreed to take it on. When Neville, Walsh and Grose appeared in court on 3 September 1963 the Walshes' solicitor pleaded guilty on their behalf; each was fined £20 and their convictions were recorded, an outcome that was to have serious repercussions in their second trial. With end-of-year exams looming, ''Oz'' issue No.5 was postponed until the Christmas break. When eventually issued, it included a scathing satire on the ongoing police harassment of gay people. "The Stiff Arm of the Law" (which became a regular feature on police misconduct) featured a parody of a police report in which incriminating sections of a supposed account of an officer's real actions in a
gay-bashing Gay bashing is an attack, abuse, or assault committed against a person who is perceived by the aggressor to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+). It includes both violence against LGBTQ people and LGBTQ bullying. The term ...
incident were crossed out and replaced with far more anodyne language, e.g. in the line "I was at
Phillip Street Phillip Street is a street in the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. While the street runs from King Street in the south to Circular Quay in the north, the present street is effectively in two sections, separat ...
Station in my homo hunting togs", the words "homo hunting togs" were crossed out and replaced with the handwritten words "plain clothes", "this little bastard" with "a youth", and "I myself punched him several times" was amended to read "I was punched several times", and so on. As a result of this perceived slight to their integrity, police seized 140 copies of ''Oz'' from a Kings Cross, NSW newsagent and took them to a
magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...
, who ordered them to be burned. Two other items in these early issues incurred the wrath of the
NSW police The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...
. One was Martin Sharp's ribald satirical poem about youths
gatecrashing Gate crashing, gatecrashing, or party crashing is the act of entering, attending, or participating in an event without an invitation or ticket. The term has also come to be used to refer to intrusions on videographed sessions, such as intervi ...
a party, entitled "The Word Flashed Around The Arms"; the other was the ''Oz'' No.6 cover photograph (pictured at right), which depicted Neville and others pretending to urinate into a wall fountain created by sculptor Tom Bass, which was mounted in the street facade of the Sydney offices of the P&O shipping line and which had recently been unveiled by Prime Minister Menzies.


Second obscenity charge

In April 1964 Neville, Walsh and Sharp were again charged with obscenity, but the situation was greatly complicated by the fact that they had already pleaded guilty in their first trial, and this previous conviction would count heavily against them in sentencing if they were found guilty on the new charges. As soon as the case began they were confronted by the blatant bias and hostility of the magistrate hearing the case, Mr Gerald Locke, SM. To the dismay of the ''Oz'' team and their friends and family, Locke decided to make an example of them, sentencing them to three to six months in prison with hard labour, but they were released on bail pending an appeal. Their supporters decided to raise money for the defence fund with a benefit concert, which was held at the Sydney University Theatre on 15 November 1964, featuring Sydney garage-punk band
The Missing Links Missing link may refer to: Biology * Missing link (human evolution), a non-scientific term typically referring to transitional fossils * Piltdown Man, a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the "missing link" between ape and man Geog ...
, members of the popular satirical TV sketch series ''
The Mavis Bramston Show ''The Mavis Bramston Show'' is an Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series that aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Mavis was created, written, and co-produced by Carol Raye, who also starred in it and was inspired by ...
'' and actor
Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was an Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant ...
(then starring in the popular TV police drama ''
Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
''), who recited a "surfie" parody of ''
Clancy of the Overflow "Clancy of the Overflow" is a famous Australian poem written by Banjo Paterson and first published in '' The Bulletin'', an Australian news magazine, on 21 December 1889. The poem is typical of Paterson, offering a romantic view of rural life, ...
''. The case created a storm of controversy, but the convictions were overturned on appeal mainly because – as in their subsequent British trial – the appeal judge found that Locke had misdirected the jury and made remarks that were found to have been prejudicial to the defence's case.


Sydney's underworld

In subsequent issues ''Oz'' made several investigations into the murky realms of Sydney's underworld. One celebrated feature delved into the illegal abortion rackets which were then flourishing in Sydney (and around Australia), because at that time abortion was still illegal for all but the most exceptional cases, and corrupt police were widely believed to be running lucrative protection rackets that netted them substantial sums. In 1965 ''Oz'' editor Richard Neville had a close encounter with Sydney's alleged "Mr Big" of organised crime,
Lenny McPherson Leonard Arthur McPherson (born Balmain, New South Wales 19 May 1921; died Cessnock, New South Wales, 28 August 1996) was one of the most notorious and powerful Australian career criminals of the late 20th century. McPherson is believed to have c ...
, a notorious criminal who was at that time well on his way to becoming Sydney's most powerful underworld figure, thanks in part to a systematic program of public assassinations of his rivals. Late in the year, ''Oz'' published a feature called "The Oz Guide to Sydney's Underworld", which was based on information from two local journalists, and which included a "top 20" list of Sydney major criminals. The list deliberately left the number 1 spot blank, but at number 2 was the name "Len" (i.e. McPherson) who was described as a "fence" and a "fizz-gig" (police informant). Soon after the list was published, McPherson made a visit to Neville's house in
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, NSW; ostensibly he wanted to find out whether the ''Oz'' editors were part of a rival gang, but he also made it clear to Neville that he objected to being described as a "fizz". The Top 20 list also reportedly played a part in the death of Sydney criminal Jacky Steele, who was shot in
Woollahra Woollahra ( ) is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local go ...
in November 1965. Steele – who had been trying to take over protection rackets controlled by McPherson – survived for almost a month before dying from his wounds, but before he died he told police that McPherson had ordered his execution because Steele had bought multiple copies of ''Oz'' and had made great play of the fact that McPherson was not number 1. ''Oz'' revealed this in a subsequent issue, which contained extracts from the minutes of a confidential meeting of Sydney detectives, held on 1 December 1965, which had been leaked to the magazine by an underworld source.


''Oz'' in Australia ends

Sharp and Neville left for London in February 1966, while Walsh returned to his studies. He continued to publish a reduced edition of Sydney ''Oz'', which ran until 1969 and included material submitted by Neville and Sharp from London. In the 1970s he edited ''POL'' magazine and ''
Nation Review ''Nation Review'' was an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1972 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald (economist), Tom Fitzgerald's ''Nation (Australia), Nation'' publ ...
'', and later became managing director of leading Australian media company
Australian Consolidated Press Are Media is an Australian media company. It was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) during th ...
, owned by
Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
.


''Oz'' in the UK

In early 1966 Neville and Sharp travelled to the UK and in early 1967, with fellow Australian Jim Anderson, they founded the London ''Oz''. Contributors included
Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and feminist, regarded as one of the major voices of the second-wave feminism movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literature, she ...
, artist and filmmaker
Philippe Mora Philippe Mora (born 1949) is a French-born Australian artist and film director. Origin Mora was born in Paris, France in 1949 to a Lithuanian-Jewish mother and a German-Jewish father. He is the eldest son of artist Mirka Mora and her husban ...
, illustrator Stewart Mackinnon, photographer Robert Whitaker, journalist
Lillian Roxon Lillian Roxon (8 February 1932 – 10 August 1973) was an Australian music journalist and author, best known for ''Lillian Roxon's Rock Encyclopedia'' (1969). Early life Roxon was born Lillian Ropschitz in Alassio, Province of Savona, Italy. ...
, cartoonist Michael Leunig, Angelo Quattrocchi,
Barney Bubbles Barney Bubbles (born Colin Fulcher; 30 July 1942 – 14 November 1983) was an English graphic artist whose work encompassed graphic design and music video direction. Bubbles, who also sketched and painted privately, is best known for his distin ...
and
David Widgery David Widgery (27 April 1947 – 26 October 1992) was a British Marxist writer, journalist, polemicist, physician, and activist. Biography Widgery was born in Barnet and grew up in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He contracted polio as a child and ...
. With access to new print stocks, including metallic foils, new fluorescent inks and the freedom of layout offered by the
offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...
system, Sharp's artistic skills came to the fore and ''Oz'' quickly won renown as one of the most visually exciting publications of its day. Several editions of ''Oz'' included dazzling psychedelic wrap-around or pull-out posters by Sharp, London design duo
Hapshash and the Coloured Coat Hapshash and the Coloured Coat was an influential British graphic design and avant-garde musical partnership in the late 1960s, consisting of Michael English and Nigel Waymouth. It produced popular psychedelic posters, and two albums of under ...
and others; these instantly became sought-after collectors' items and now command high prices. Another innovation was the cover of ''Oz'' No.11, which included a collection of detachable adhesive labels, printed in either red, yellow or green. The all-graphic "Magic Theatre" edition (''Oz'' No.16, November 1968), overseen by Sharp and Mora, has been described by British author
Jonathon Green Jonathon Green (born 1948) is an English lexicographer of slang and writer on the history of alternative cultures. Early life and education Jonathon Green was born in 1948. Of Jewish origin, he was educated at Bedford School (1961–1965) and ...
as "arguably the greatest achievement of the entire British underground press." During this period Sharp also created the two famous psychedelic album covers for the group
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...
, ''
Disraeli Gears ''Disraeli Gears'' is the second studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was produced by Felix Pappalardi and released on Reaction Records. The album features the singles " Strange Brew" and "Sunshine of Your Love". The original 11-tr ...
'' and ''
Wheels of Fire ''Wheels of Fire'' is the third studio album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in the US on 14 June 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It was released in the UK in the s ...
''. Sharp's involvement gradually decreased during 1968-69 and the "Magic Theatre" edition was one of his last major contributions to the magazine. In his place, young Londoner
Felix Dennis Felix Dennis (27 May 194722 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer, and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times, t ...
, who had been selling issues on the street, was eventually brought in as Neville and Anderson's new partner. The magazine regularly enraged the British establishment with a range of left-field stories including heavy critical coverage of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
and the
anti-war movement An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during con ...
, discussions of drugs, sex and
alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle or unconventional lifestyle is a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle perceived to be outside the social norm, norm for a given culture. The term ''alternative lifestyle'' is often used pejoratively. Description of a related ...
s, and contentious political stories, such as the magazine's revelations about the torture of citizens under the rule of the military junta in
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
.


UK obscenity trial and appeal

In 1970, reacting to criticism that ''Oz'' had lost touch with youth, the editors put a notice in the magazine inviting "school kids" to edit an issue. The opportunity was taken up by around 20 secondary school students (including
Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
and
Deyan Sudjic Deyan Sudjic (born 6 September 1952) is a British writer and broadcaster, specialising in the fields of design and architecture. He was formerly the director of the Design Museum, London.LSE"Advisory board" retrieved 17 May 2013 Life and caree ...
), who were responsible for ''Oz'' No.28 (May 1970), generally known as " Schoolkids Oz". This term was widely misunderstood to mean that it was intended for schoolchildren, whereas it was an issue that had been created by them. As Richard Neville said in his opening statement, other issues had been assembled by gay people and members of the Female Liberation Movement. One of the resulting articles was a highly sexualised
Rupert Bear Rupert Bear is an English children's comic strip character and franchise created by Herbert Tourtel and illustrated by his wife, the artist Mary Tourtel, first appearing in the ''Daily Express'' newspaper on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initi ...
parody. It was created by 15-year-old schoolboy Vivian Berger"Sex-crazed Rupert the Bear and other stories... The obscenity trial that brought down ''Oz'' magazine"
by Mick Brown, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', London, 28 July 2017
by pasting the head of Rupert onto the lead character of an X-rated satirical cartoon by
Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...
. ''Oz'' was one of several 'underground' publications targeted by the
Obscene Publications Squad The Paedophile Unit is a branch of the Metropolitan Police Service's Child Abuse Investigation Team, Child Abuse Investigation Command, based at Scotland Yard in London, England. It operates against the manufacture and distribution of child pornog ...
, and their offices had already been raided on several occasions, but the conjunction of schoolchildren and what some viewed as obscene material set the scene for the ''Oz'' obscenity trial of 1971. In one key respect it was a virtual re-run of the second Australian trial – the judicial instruction was clearly aimed at securing a conviction, and like Gerald Locke in Sydney, the judge hearing the London case, Judge Michael Argyle, exhibited signs of bias against the defendants. However the British trial was given a far more dangerous edge because the prosecution employed an archaic charge against Neville, Dennis and Anderson—"conspiracy to corrupt public morals"—which, in theory, carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. After being turned down by several leading lawyers, Dennis and Anderson secured the services of barrister and writer
John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, adapted from episodes of the TV series '' R ...
, QC (creator of the ''
Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...
'' series) who was assisted by his Australian-born junior counsel
Geoffrey Robertson Geoffrey Ronald Robertson (born 30 September 1946) is an Australian-British barrister, academic, author and broadcaster. Robertson is a founder and joint head of Doughty Street Chambers. He serves as a Master of the Bench at the Middle T ...
; Neville chose to represent himself. At the opening of the trial in June 1971 Mortimer stated that "... hecase stands at the crossroads of our liberty, at the boundaries of our freedom to think and draw and write what we please". To enable them to focus on their defence, they engaged the Australian journalist (and future Labor politician)
Peter Steedman Alan Peter Steedman (7 December 1943 – 10 July 2024) was an Australian journalist and politician. He represented the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 1984, holding the Victorian seat of Casey. Early ...
as managing editor. For the defence, this specifically concerned the treatment of dissent and dissenters, about the control of ideas and suppressing the messages of social resistance communicated by ''Oz'' in issue No.28. The charges read out in the central criminal court stated " hat the defendantsconspiring with certain other young persons to produce a magazine containing obscene, lewd, indecent and sexually perverted articles, cartoons and drawings with intent to debauch and corrupt the morals of children and other young persons and to arouse and implant in their minds lustful and perverted ideas".''The Times'', 23 June 1971. According to Mr Brian Leary, prosecuting, "It dealt with homosexuality, lesbianism, sadism, perverted sexual practices and drug taking".
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
and
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...
joined the protest march against the prosecution and organised the recording of "God Save Us" by the ad hoc group Elastic Oz Band to raise funds and gain publicity. Lennon explained how the song title changed from "God Save Oz" to "God Save Us". The trial was, at the time, the longest obscenity trial in British legal history, and it was the first time that an obscenity charge was combined with the charge of conspiring to corrupt public morals. Defence witnesses included clinical psychologist
Lionel Haward Lionel Richard Charles Haward, (1920–1998) was a British clinical psychologist and academic, who has been described as the "father of British forensic psychology". Following service with the Royal Air Force Police during the Second World War, ...
, artist
Feliks Topolski Feliks Topolski Royal Academician, RA (14 August 1907 – 24 August 1989) was a Polish expressionist painter and draughtsman working primarily in the United Kingdom. Biography Feliks Topolski was born on 14 August 1907 in Warsaw, Poland. He st ...
, comedian
Marty Feldman Martin Alan Feldman (8 July 1934 – 2 December 1982) was a British actor, comedian and writer. He was known for his exophthalmos, prominent, strabismus, misaligned eyes. He initially gained prominence as a writer with Barry Took on th ...
, artist and drugs activist
Caroline Coon Caroline Mary Thompson Coon (born 23 March, 1945) is an English artist known for her paintings, her feminist political activism, her writing and photography. After coming to prominence first as a leader of the UK underground, British Undergroun ...
, DJ
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
, musician and writer
George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973, he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...
, legal philosopher
Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American legal philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at ...
and academic
Edward de Bono Edward Charles Francis Publius de Bono (19 May 1933 – 9 June 2021) was a Maltese physician and commentator. He originated the term lateral thinking, and wrote many books on thinking, including ''Six Thinking Hats''. Life and career Edward ...
. At the conclusion of the trial the "Oz Three" were found not guilty on the conspiracy charge, but they were convicted of two lesser offences and sentenced to imprisonment; although Dennis was given a lesser sentence because the judge, Michael Argyle, considered that Dennis was "very much less intelligent" than the others. Shortly after the verdicts were handed down, they were taken to prison and their long hair forcibly cut, an act which caused an even greater stir on top of the already considerable outcry surrounding the trial and verdict. The best known images of the trial come from the committal hearing, at which Neville, Dennis and Anderson all appeared, wearing rented schoolgirl costumes. At the appeal trial (where the defendants appeared wearing long wigs) it was found that Judge Argyle had grossly misdirected the jury on numerous occasions and the defence also alleged that Berger, who was called as a prosecution witness, had been harassed and assaulted by police. The convictions were overturned. Years later, Felix Dennis told author Jonathon Green that on the night before the appeal was heard, the ''Oz'' editors were taken to a secret meeting with the Chief Justice,
Lord Widgery John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery, (24 July 1911 – 26 July 1981) was an English judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1971 to 1980. He is principally noted for presiding over the Widgery Tribunal on the events of Bloody S ...
, who reportedly said that Argyle had made a "fat mess" of the trial, and informed them that they would be acquitted, but insisted that they had to agree to give up work on ''Oz''. Dennis also stated that, in his opinion, MPs
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...
and
Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...
had interceded with Widgery on their behalf. Green, Jonathon, (1999). ''All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counterculture''. London: Pimlico. Despite their supposed undertaking to Lord Widgery, ''Oz'' continued after the trial, and thanks to the intense public interest the trial generated, its circulation briefly rose to 80,000. However its popularity faded over the next two years and by the time the last issue (''Oz'' No.48) was published in November 1973 ''Oz'' Publications was £20,000 in debt and the magazine had "no readership worth the name".


Legacy

Partly because of its suppression by both Australian and British authorities (many editions of London ''Oz'' were banned in Australia), copies of both incarnations of the magazine are now rare and the British issues command high prices among collectors – individual copies of the most sought-after editions are now worth several hundred pounds each. Dennis was stung by personal comments made by the trial judge that he was of limited ability and a dupe of the other defendants; he later became one of Britain's wealthiest and most prominent independent publishers as owner of
Dennis Publishing Dennis Publishing Ltd. was a British publisher. It was founded in 1973 by Felix Dennis. Its first publication was a kung-fu magazine. Most of its titles now belong to Future plc. In the 1980s, it became a leading publisher of computer enthusi ...
(publisher of ''
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...
'' and other magazines), and in 2004 released a book of original poetry. In 1995, Justice Argyle reiterated allegations about Dennis in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' magazine. As this was outside court privilege, Dennis was able to successfully sue the magazine, which agreed to pay £10,000 to charity. Dennis refrained from suing Argyle personally: "Oh, I don't want to make him a martyr of the Right: there's no glory to be had in suing an 80-year-old man and taking his house away from him. It was just a totally obvious
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
." Neville eventually returned to Australia, where he has become a successful author, commentator and public speaker, later styling himself as a "
futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
". His books include ''The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobraj'' (1979), a critically praised account of the life of French/Vietnamese
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
Charles Sobhraj Charles Sobhraj (born Hotchand Bhawnani Gurmukh Sobhraj; 6 April 1944) is a French serial killer, fraudster, and thief whose victims were mainly Western tourists travelling on the hippie trail of South Asia during the 1970s. He was known as the ...
, who preyed on Western tourists travelling on Asia's so-called "
hippie trail The hippie trail (also the overland) was an overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s travelling from Europe and Western Asia, West Asia through South Asia via countries such a ...
" in the 1970s; the book was later adapted for a successful TV mini-series starring
Art Malik Athar ul-Haque Malik (; born 13 November 1952), known as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-British actor. He achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and supporting roles in assorted British television serials and films. His break ...
. In the 1990s, '' Hippie Hippie Shake'', a memoir of his years with ''Oz'', was published. In 2007,
Beeban Kidron Beeban Tania Kidron, Baroness Kidron, (born 2 May 1961), is a British politician and a filmmaker. She is an advocate for children's rights in the digital world and has played a role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across ...
directed a film adaptation which was to have been released in 2010. The film starred
Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...
as Neville,
Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy ''The IT Crowd'', which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010. He has star ...
as Dennis,
Max Minghella Max Giorgio Choa Minghella (born 16 September 1985) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Syriana'' (2005), ''Art School Confidential'' (2006), '' Elvis and Anabelle'' (2007), ''The Social Network'' (2010), '' The Darkest ...
as Martin Sharp,
Sienna Miller Sienna Rose Diana Miller (born 28 December 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian '' Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli Cale ...
as Neville's girlfriend Louise Ferrier and Emma Booth as Germaine Greer (who vehemently repudiated the movie in her ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' column). , the movie was noted in the
Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
as having been "abandoned". Richard Walsh became the founding editor of Gareth Powell's ''POL'' magazine, editor of the weekly newspaper ''
Nation Review ''Nation Review'' was an Australian Sunday newspaper, which ceased publication in 1981. It was launched in 1972 after independent publisher Gordon Barton bought out Tom Fitzgerald (economist), Tom Fitzgerald's ''Nation (Australia), Nation'' publ ...
'', and chief executive of the major Australian publishing and bookselling firm
Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...
. In 1986, he was appointed as director and publisher of
Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
's
Australian Consolidated Press Are Media is an Australian media company. It was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in turn acquired the assets of Pacific Magazines, AP Magazines and Australian Consolidated Press (ACP) during th ...
organisation, eventually managing a stable of over 70 magazines. Martin Sharp has long been regarded as Australia's leading pop artist and is well known in Australia for his passionate interest in Sydney's
Luna Park Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park (Coney Island, 1903), Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Islan ...
and in the life and music of Tiny Tim. ''Oz'' was parodied in the short-lived 1999 UK television series ''
Hippies A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
''.


Digital collections

In 2014 the
University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...
Library, in collaboration with Richard Neville, made available on open access a complete set of digital copies of ''Oz Sydney'' magazine and ''Oz London'' magazine.


See also

*
Artistic freedom Artistic freedom (or freedom of artistic expression) can be defined as "the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors." Gener ...
*
Censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
*
Counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
* Freedom of information *
Freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
*
Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
*
List of underground newspapers of the 1960s counterculture This is a partial list of the local underground newspapers launched during the Sixties era of the hippie/psychedelic/youth/counterculture/New Left/antiwar movements, approximately 1965–1973. This list includes periodically appearing papers of g ...
* Nonconformity *
Political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...
*
Subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...
*
UK underground The British counter-culture or underground scene developed during the mid-1960s, and was linked to the hippie subculture of the United States. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London. It generated its own magazin ...


Notes


References

* ''The Times'' Digital Archive 1785–1985 (access supplied by
JISC Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as the public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with ...
, UK)


Further reading

* Anderson, Jim (2011). ''Lampoon: An Historical Art Trajectory 1970/2010''. Dennis Publishing. . * Fountain, Nigel (1988). ''Underground: The London Alternative Press 1966-74'', London: Commedia/
Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...
/ (pb) * Irving, Terry and
Rowan Cahill Rowan Cahill is an Australian historian and journalist, with a background as a teacher and farmhand, who variously worked for the trade union movement as a rank and file activist, delegate and publicist. Early life and education Rowan Cahill ...
, ''Radical Sydney: Places, Portraits and Unruly Episodes'', Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2010. * Palmer, Tony (1971). ''The Trials of Oz'', Blond & Briggs. *


External links


ro.uow.edu.au/ozsydney Digitised copies of ''OZ'' magazine
Sydney, 1963–1969. University of Wollongong Library
www.ozit.co.uk Full scans of most ''Oz'' London magazines










benefit single for ''Oz'' at the time of its UK obscenity trial;
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
and
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...
credited as songwriters and producers
Dennis sues ''The Spectator'' over Argyle allegations

Felix Dennis website

Robert Whitaker website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Oz (Magazine) 1963 establishments in Australia 1969 disestablishments in Australia 1967 establishments in the United Kingdom 1973 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1963 controversies Monthly magazines published in Australia Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Satirical magazines published in the United Kingdom Counterculture of the 1960s Defunct political magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in Australia Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1963 Magazines established in 1967 Magazines disestablished in 1969 Magazines disestablished in 1973 Magazines published in Sydney Underground press Obscenity controversies