The Cane Toad Times
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''The Cane Toad Times'' was a satirical humour magazine based in
Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Australia. It was first published in the late 1970s, then revived under the same name by a new team from 1983 to 1990. It was relaunched in October 2024 as paper publication, sold online and in some Brisbane stores. The two versions shared personnel and featured roughly the same counter-cultural philosophy, irreverent journalism, strident opinion and fondness for satire, cartoons and popular culture. The editors and contributors of ''The Cane Toad Times'' were motivated by opposition to political events and attitudes in Queensland under the Bjelke-Petersen Government (1968–1987). The first issue of ''The Cane Toad Times'' was published in May 1977 and thereafter more or less quarterly, with 22 issues divided between two collectives. The first collective (1977–1979) produced 7 issues, while the second collective (1983–1990) produced a total of 15 issues.


First collective (1977–1979)

The first edition appeared in May 1977 — the year of the
Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...
,
punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
and the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...
’ " God Save The Queen’". The first cover featured a
cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...
wearing the British royal crown. Originally a stapled quarterfold, the magazine assumed its eventual tabloid size by the fourth issue. "Cane Toad Times" was chosen as the name of the magazine because the founders wanted a mascot that represented Queensland ... part of the appeal of the toad was the element of repulsion it evoked, the feeling of fear and loathing that typified being young in the Bjelke-Petersen era.Jiggens, John "Personal Stories: Media Activism, The Cane Toad Times." Media Information Australia 55 (1990): 65–74. Key writers in the original collective included John Jiggens, David Richards,
Gerard Lee Gerard Lee is an Australian novelist, screenwriter, and director. Early life Gerard Lee was born in Melbourne and brought up in Brisbane in the 1960s in the inner southern suburb of Dutton Park. Lee began writing for ''The Telegraph'' newspa ...
, Mirtek Pasciezny, Bing Di Mucci, Craig Munro, Bill Thorpe, Sue McLeod, Janice Knopke and Landon Watts. They teamed up with a group of cartoonists who produced
4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...
-FM's "Radio Times": Matt Mawson, Terry Murphy, Damien Ledwich and Ross Hinckley. Later additions to the collective included Flark March,
Tim Low Tim Low (born 1956), is an Australian biologist and author of books and articles on nature and conservation. Early life Low became interested in reptiles as a teenager, regularly visiting the Queensland Museum after school to study the lizar ...
, Robbie Wyatt and Lillian Rosser. Funds were raised by selling advertisements to local businesses in the counter-cultural scene and benefits featuring Brisbane bands including Razar,
The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster (musician), Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only co ...
and
The Riptides The Riptides were an Australian power pop group which was formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977 as The Grudge. Their founding mainstay was Mark Callaghan on lead vocals, bass guitar, rhythm guitar and as principal songwriter. Former member M ...
. The editions of the first collective, not numbered at the time, were: # The Royal Cane Toad (May 1977) # The Cane Toad goes to Mullumbimby (July 1977) # Giant Mutant Cane Toad (Sept/Oct 1977) # The Incredible Peanut (December 1977) # The Phantoad cover (April 1978) # From Behind the Peanut Curtain: Joh, Howard the Duck and Cane Toad (June 1978) # Juvenile Delinquency (June 1979) The first collective folded after a look-alike news magazine, ''
Time Off ''Time Off'' was a free weekly Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid-sized music magazine (Music Street Press of Australia, street press) that was originally distributed in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The magazine began on campus in 1976 at ...
'', with Matt Mawson doing layout, appeared in 1978. While the core work of the magazine was a sustained satirical attack on Bjelke-Petersen and his police enforcers, it also celebrated seemingly mundane but often surprisingly exotic aspects of Queensland popular culture: giant roadside attractions, local speedway heroes, banana worship.Stockwell, Stephen. Alternative Media in Brisbane: 1965–1985. Queensland Review, Vol. 14, No. 1, 2007: 75–87


Second collective (1983–1990)

In 1983, while working at the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
student newspaper ''
Semper Floreat ''Semper Floreat'' (Latin: "May it always flourish") is the student newspaper of the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union (UQ Union) since 1932, when it bega ...
'', Matt Mawson and Damien Ledwich teamed with Anne Jones to resurrect ''The Cane Toad Times''. After getting the blessing of the few remaining members of the previous collective, the trio started to build a new group of contributors, many of whom were also involved in radio
4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...
and student politics, notably, Stephen Stockwell, Mark Bracken, Andrew Fraser, Ian Cook and David Pyle. A number of top-class illustrators also joined including Michael Barnett, Debbi Brown, Judy Dunn, Lisa Smith and Sasha Middleton. At this time ''The Cane Toad Times'' adopted the subtitle: "The Eccentric Voice". The fifteen issues of the second incarnation of ''The Cane Toad Times'' were: # Queensland, September 1983 # Religious Mysteries, Winter 1984 # Sex Leisure and Technology, Spring 1985 # Food and Corruption, Summer 1985 # Death and Style, Winter 1986 # Science Fiction and the Family, Spring 1986 # Hot Summer, January 1987 # Cars and Romance, Winter 1987 # Fear and Clothing, Summer 1988 # Birthday, Autumn 1988 # Music and Money, Spring 1988 # Art and Perversion, Summer 1988–1989 # Superstition, Autumn 1989 # Sydney Exposure, Summer 1989–1990 # Green and Bear it, Winter 1990 The return of editor Robert Whyte to Brisbane in 1985 sometime between issues 5 and 6 brought a much-needed injection of enthusiasm and professionalism. By issue 9, the subtitle had changed to "Australia’s Humour Magazine" and distribution went Australia-wide. Continuing themes included the corruption of Queensland politics,
Big Things ''Big Things'' was a large-scale steel sculpture exhibition series organized by the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop for the Royal Alberta Museum's outdoor South Terrace.Gilbert Bouchard, "Come to Expect 'Big Things'", Edmonton Journal, July ...
, hat-wearing drivers and the other absurdities of life in 'The Sunshine State'. Simon Stocks argued in
Queensland Review The ''Queensland Review'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of Queensland studies published by Equinox Publishing, having been formerly published by Cambridge University Press. Established in 1994, it publishes articles, interviews and comme ...
that in addition to exposing and criticising official corruption in Queensland, ''The Cane Toad Times'' had a softer side, representing "the affable Queensland" in short stories such as "Bobby Skurm" by Denis Peel set in the late 1950s about the first kid to skateboard down Camp Hill, and "Denying the faith" by Errol O'Neill about an exchange between a State School kid and two Catholic boys, and Sean Mee's "Des ne refuse rien" about going to the dump. Stocks suggested these stories were indicative of a sort of "ghettoisation" of the counter-culture who developed their own cultural views about what was valuable in the Queensland experience. In 1987 ''The Cane Toad Times'' found a hero in
Tony Fitzgerald Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald (born 26 November 1941) is an Australian former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a ...
QC, who led the
Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...
.


Background of The Fitzgerald Inquiry

The
Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...
, led by
Tony Fitzgerald Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald (born 26 November 1941) is an Australian former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a ...
QC, commenced in May 1987 and ended in July 1989. The Inquiry examined the "Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct" in which Queensland police, including the Police Commissioner, were engaged in illegal gambling and receiving sexual services from brothels in the
Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...
in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
."The Fitzgerald Inquiry (1987–1989)". http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/asp/index.asp?


The Fitzgerald Collection – An Exhibition of artwork and memorabilia

From 29 July 2009 – 9 August 2009 as part of the
Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...
– Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program, "The Fitzgerald Collection" was exhibited at the
Queensland College of Art The Queensland College of Art and Design (QCAD), established as Brisbane School of Arts and formerly known as Queensland College of Art or (QCA) after other name changes, is a specialist visual arts and design college located in South Bank, Br ...
(QCA) College Gallery, Tribune Street, South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland. The exhibition focussed on Mr Fitzgerald's personal collection of memorabilia and the influence that the Inquiry had upon Griffith University's staff and alumni. Exhibits relating to ''The Cane Toad Times'' included: * Issues of ''The Cane Toad Times'' (collection of and comments by Professor Steve Stockwel

* "Corruption" the Game (collection of ToadShow Pty Ltd, comments by Ms Anne Jones) * Tony Fitzgerald Fan Club T-shirts (collection of ToadShow Pty Ltd, comments by Ms Anne Jones) For the exhibition a giant working version of "Corruption" was displayed on the floor of the gallery. The display and pieces were designed by Professor Paul Cleveland, Director Queensland College of Art, and staff and students of QCA Liveworm studio. The Corruption Board Game, ‘the game that gets you rotten’, appeared in ''The Cane Toad Times'', Spring 1988, issue 11. In an interview with Zenovia Pappas conducted for "The Fitzgerald Collection" Anne Jones outlined the thinking behind the original design for The Corruption Board Game: "The idea came from one of the ane Toad Timeseditors, Mark Bracken, who wanted to develop a board game that brought in all of the elements that were being investigated by the Fitzgerald Inquiry. so there was Vice, Crime, Gambling ... and Drugs. Although the Fitzgerald Inquiry really didn’t get into the whole drugs aspect of crime and corruption, which was a bit of a criticism at the time, the nature of the game had to have 4 main areas. So we brought drugs into ours. It brought in all the elements that were being talked about in the Fitzgerald Inquiry." In the same interview ''The Cane Toad Times'' editor Anne Jones explained the history and impact of the Tony Fitzgerald Fan Club T-shirt: "It became obvious very quickly when the Fitzgerald Inquiry started that it was all gathering momentum, it was like a dam stemmed and Tony Fitzgerald obviously had a mind to get it all out in the open. And of course at ''The Cane Toad Times'' we immediately saw a marketing opportunity and we set up the Tony Fitzgerald Fan Club. And it wasn’t really a fan club, I have to say, it was just a t-shirt. The t-shirt had a drawing by one of The Courier Mail cartoonists Ricardo, that we got him to do. So we basically did up an artwork with Tony Fitzgerald holding a magnifying glass and the words, “Official Member Tony Fitzgerald Fan Club.” ..
Quentin Dempster Quentin Dempster AM, is an Australian journalist and author. Career Dempster began his career as a cadet on the Maryborough Chronicle in Queensland, and moved to Brisbane's ''Telegraph'', where he became the paper's chief political reporter ...
who was the compere of the local 7:30 Report ..was photographed in the newspaper wearing one.
Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, an ...
, who would have been the
leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
at the time, was photographed running, because he was a keen runner, wearing a Tony Fitzgerald Fan Club T-shirt."


Contributors

Geoffrey Adams, Bev Aisbett, Steve Aiken, Claire Allen, David Anthony, Peter Applegarth, Willy Bach, Sunil Badami, Max Bannah, David Barbagallo, Michael Barnett, Harry Brazier, Deb Beattie, Julia Bell, Winifred Belmont, James Bennett, Julie Bennett, Phil Berry, Tony Biggs, Jenni Bird, Peter Bisson, Roberta Blake, Danielle Bond, Mark Bracken, Harry Brazier, Brisbane Devotee, Barbara Brooks, Debbi Brown, Alan Burke, Rowan Callick, Gaynor Cardew, John Carey, Brian Cavanagh, Richard Chantrill, Gail Chillman, Clifford Clawback, Maria Cleary, Phillipa Cleary, Dale Cleashaw, Paul Cliff, Blair Coffey, Tony Collins, J Conlan,
Gerry Connolly Gerald Edward Connolly (March 30, 1950 – May 21, 2025) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 11th congressional district from 2009 until his death in 2025. A Democrat, he was first elected in 2008 ...
, Ian Cook,
Kaz Cooke Kaz Cooke (born Karen Cooke; 17 December 1962) is an Australian author, cartoonist and broadcaster. She has written several bestselling advice books for girls and women, including ''Real Gorgeous'', ''Up the Duff'' (also published under different ...
, Mark Cornwall, Bradley Cox, John Craig, Mark Creyton, Jayne Crook, Phil Cullen, Ian Cunningham, Alison Davis, Anna Maria Dell'Otto, Bing De Mucci, Rhana Devenport, Kath Duncan, Judy Dunn, Russell Edwards, Arnum Endean, Malcolm Enright, Ray Evans, Peter Fischmann, Donal Fitzpatrick, Valerie Foley, Jo Forsyth, Andrew Fraser, Martin Fripp, Michael Golledge, Sandra Golledge, Julie Goodall, Arthur Gorrie, Lance Grahame, Ian Gray, Peter Greenwood, Jo Greenwood, Nell Griffith, Andrew Griffith, Tim Gruchy, Nick Gruen, Richard Hagan, John Haigh, Philippa Hall, Helen Hambling, Steven Hamilton, Rell Hannah, Warren Hardy, Sally Hart, Jane Harty, Ronnie Hay, Neil Hayden, Connie Healy, Noela Hills, Ross Hinckley, Donald Holt,
Judy Horacek Judy Horacek (born 12 November 1961) is an Australian cartoonist, artist, writer and children's book creator. She is best known for her award winning children's picture book '' Where is the Green Sheep?'' with Mem Fox, and her cartoons all over ...
, Nick Hughes, Louise Inglis, Glen Ingram, Lisa Jack, John Jiggens, Patrick Jewel, Anne Jones, Barbara Jones, Bill Jones, Randall Kamp, Chris Kelly, Fleur Kingham, Bill Kingswell, Anthony Kitchener, Shane Kneipp, Janice Knopke, Basil Krivoroutchko, Kus, Johnny La Rue, Russell Laedwig, Russell Lake, Lou Larder, John Lavery, Buffy Lavery, Nerissa Lea, Sean Leahy, Damien Ledwich,
Gerard Lee Gerard Lee is an Australian novelist, screenwriter, and director. Early life Gerard Lee was born in Melbourne and brought up in Brisbane in the 1960s in the inner southern suburb of Dutton Park. Lee began writing for ''The Telegraph'' newspa ...
, Jane Leonard, Glen Lewis, Naomi Lewis, Mark Lewis, Michael Long, Kandy-Mae Loughton, Ralf Loveday,
Tim Low Tim Low (born 1956), is an Australian biologist and author of books and articles on nature and conservation. Early life Low became interested in reptiles as a teenager, regularly visiting the Queensland Museum after school to study the lizar ...
, Spina Macris, Anna Macrossin, Diedre Mahoney, Alex Manfrin, Flark March, Matthew Martin, Bill Mawson, Matt Mawson, Peter Mcallister, Jan McCallum, Gary McFeat,
Sally McKenzie Sally McKenzie (born 8 February 1955) also credited as Sally MacKenzie, is an Australian actress, director, playwright and screenwriter. She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1977. She was awarded a Master of Fin ...
, Neil McKinnon, Ross McLeod, Sue McLeod, Andrew McMillan, Ian Mactinosh, Kevin Meade, Sean Mee, Seamus Mee, Lisa Meldrum, Peter Merrill, Ashleigh Merrit, Sasha Middleton, Angus Miller, John Mitchell, Beth Mohle, Jill Mohle, David Monaghan, Alison Muir, Craig Munro, Terry Murphy, Kevin Nemeth, Andy Nehl, Royce Nicholas, David Nichols, Sandra Nolan, Liam O'Dayell, Errol O'Neil, Beverley Parrish, Mirtek Pasciezny, Phyllis Patterson, Dan Pearce, Denis Peel, Sally Perfect, Gwyn Perkins, Brian Peterson, Kathleen Philips, Gary Phillips, Rose Pilbeam, Bob Piddington, Hans Post, Chris Prentice, Alex Prior, Rowan Pryor, David Pyle, Ken Queasey, Jean-Michel Raynaud, Milton Reach, Anthony Reilly, Albert Ricardo, Dave Richards, Caroline Risdale, Ian Roberts, Luke Roberts, David Robertson, Darryl Robson, Mark Ross, Lillian Rosser, Gabrielle Ryan, Leonard Ryzman, Peter Schofield, Paul Scott, Nik Scott, Jeremy Scriven,
Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English writer, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Se ...
, John Shakespeare, Michael Sharkey, Steve Sharp, Justin Shaw, Shane Simpson, Damien Simpson, Anne Sinclair, Peter Skinner, Damien Smith, Lisa Smith, Greg Snook, John Stanwell, Herling Stayden, Ian Stevenson, Kate Stewart, Simon Stocks, Stephen Stockwell, Michael Southwell, Dr Strabismus, Howard Stringer, Will Stubbs, Harley Stumm, Rick Tanaka, Lenore Taylor, Stephen Taylor, Max Term, Robert Thompson, Bill Thorpe, Ted Trumpet, David Tyrer, Cecelia Van Heumen, Kevin Vellnagel, Warwick Vere, Cornelius Vleeskens, Natalia Von Helm, Alan Ward, Landon Watts, Michael Whelan, Robert Whyte, Liz Willis, Fiona Winning, Geoff Wood, Lindy Woodward, Julie Woodward, Robbie Wyatt, Chuck Zampieri


Role in the history of Queensland

Raymond Evans in ''A History of Queensland'' places ''The Cane Toad Times'' in the broad context of Queensland radicalism, flying the 'freak flag' with radio station
4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...
and the
Popular Theatre Troupe The Popular Theatre Troupe was an agitprop ensemble"The Popular Theatre Troupe's output was forged in the great traditions of leftist agitational performance: popular, didactic, aggressive." Makeham, Paul B. (1997) eview ofCapelin, S. (ed). Chall ...
at a time when Brisbane boasted radical incidents of international significance, such as the first stirrings of second-wave feminist activism as early as 1965 and the first global punk anthem, I'm Stranded by The Saints in 1976.A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans, Cambridge University Press, 2007 As part of ''Politics & persuasion at slq'' a major historical exhibition running from November 2011 to March 2012 at the
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
, the history of ''The Cane Toad Times'' and its role in the history of Queensland, ''Cane Toad Times: Poking fun in a police state'', was mounted to showcase original issues of ''The Cane Toad Times'' publications as the centrepiece of an unfolding cultural history created by a collective of individuals who sought to expose a hidden Brisbane. The exhibition focussed on the writers, cartoonists and political activists who came together to produce ''The Cane Toad Times''. The magazine, distributed nationally, dealt with popular culture issues including
cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...
s,
Big Things ''Big Things'' was a large-scale steel sculpture exhibition series organized by the North Edmonton Sculpture Workshop for the Royal Alberta Museum's outdoor South Terrace.Gilbert Bouchard, "Come to Expect 'Big Things'", Edmonton Journal, July ...
, Bubbles Bathhouse and Queensland corruption. The exhibition drew on the collection of the State Library of Queensland and University of Queensland's Fryer Library's protest march posters, original copies of ''The Cane Toad Times'', photographs, T-shirts and artwork by cartoonists including John Shakespeare, Matt Mawson, and Judy Dunn, in the Philip Bacon Gallery, level 4, State Library, Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane.
cane Toad Times poking fun in a police state
The exhibition documents the birth of ''The Cane Toad Times'' in 1977 when
Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...
,
Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...
was a decade into his reign. During this period Joh Bjelke-Petersen's government had banned the soundtrack of the musical ''
Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...
'', declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
during the
1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia The 1971 South Africa rugby union tour of Australia was a controversial six-week rugby union tour by the Springboks to Australia. Anti-apartheid protests were held all around the country. The tour is perhaps most infamous for a state of emergency ...
, banned other political demonstrations and arrested of hundreds of street-marching protestors. Joh Bjelke-Petersen believed he was chosen by God to lead Queensland, claiming his 15 years living alone in a converted cow-bail, clearing 40 hectares of brigalow a day, gave him a better education than an Oxford degree. His conservative approach found favour with the prejudice and backwoods suspicion of many Queenslanders, especially outside the towns, where a country vote could be worth up to five times as much as a vote in the city in an electoral mal-apportionment known in Queensland as the
gerrymander Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...
. Political protests were crushed, cultural and music venues shut down, and young people, considered to be troublemakers, were harassed. Protesters were considered misfits and malcontents, typified by Joh as ‘friends of the dirt’, the ‘anti-nuclear lot’ and the ‘everything for the aborigines crowd’. By 1983, Joh's Nationals were ruling in their own right with the simple slogan "Joh. Queensland.".
Full catalogue of the exhibition
The year of 1977 coincided with the onset of two crucial years of pitched battle on the campuses and streets of Brisbane. The battle was between Joh and his cohorts on one side — and on the other a rag-tag alliance of civil liberties lawyers, marxists, students, academics, unionists, musicians, actors and women. Joh presided over an apparently conservative establishment yet below the surface was a deeply corrupt police force in bed with politicians, prostitution racketeers, SP bookmaking, SP betting, drug laundering, illegal casinos and payoffs.
Chris Masters Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently wrestling under the ring name Chris Adonis. He is a former two-time National Champion in NWA. He is best known for his time in WWE, under the ri ...
, whose
Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
exposé The Moonlight State would help bring down the corrupt regime, explained: " Hector Hapeta’s main brothel Top of the Valley commanded a useful corner position at a major
Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...
junction. It seemed to me that in the tradition of giant pineapples and giant prawns you see at coastal tourist towns, a giant penis would have not been out of place. It would have been no less blatant." In 1983, Anne Jones and Damien Ledwich took the long view with ''The Cane Toad Times'' — Joh Bjelke-Petersen couldn't last forever. Labor was back in power nationally and was supporting the Queensland political and cultural left with arts funding, notably funding the
Popular Theatre Troupe The Popular Theatre Troupe was an agitprop ensemble"The Popular Theatre Troupe's output was forged in the great traditions of leftist agitational performance: popular, didactic, aggressive." Makeham, Paul B. (1997) eview ofCapelin, S. (ed). Chall ...
, an agit-prop ensemble satirising Joh's banana republic in factories and shopping centres. Anne Jones and Damien Ledwich were both
4ZZZ 4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associa ...
and ''
Semper Floreat ''Semper Floreat'' (Latin: "May it always flourish") is the student newspaper of the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, Australia. It has been published continuously by the University of Queensland Union (UQ Union) since 1932, when it bega ...
'' alumni, equipped with radio and newspaper communication skills. ''The Cane Toad Times'' 1983–1990 was a mixture of hard-hitting journalism, rants, cartoon strips, parodies, lists, short stories, quizzes and bold graphic design. Among ''The Cane Toad Times'' editors, it was Damien Ledwich who was most insistent on the need to seize the mainstream publishing tools of mass production and wide circulation. He was not interested in one-off performance, or appealing to the arts ghetto. ''The Cane Toad Times'' V.2's finest moment was probably Issue 4's detailed list of everything rotten in the state of Queensland. Compiled by Stephen Stockwell, this built on Kev Hooper's landmark revelations under
parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties ...
. Phil Dickie’s subsequent newspaper reports in ''
The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'' led to the broadcast on
Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...
of The Moonlight State. Having watched the Four Corners expose, acting Premier Bill Gunn ordered an inquiry the following day, 11 May 1987. The
Fitzgerald Inquiry The Commission of Inquiry into Possible Illegal Activities and Associated Police Misconduct (the Fitzgerald Inquiry; 1987–1989) into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry resulted ...
, led by
Tony Fitzgerald Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald (born 26 November 1941) is an Australian former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, a ...
QC, ran from May 1987 and ended in July 1989. These were the halcyon days of ''The Cane Toad Times''. On TV, there were nightly re-enactments of Fitzgerald Inquiry hearings. Still in government, but reeling in the polls, the Nationals in parliament rebelled and deposed Joh, choosing Mike Ahern instead. Joh asked the
Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...
to sack all his ministers so he could continue to rule. The Governor declined. By 2 December 1989, it was all over –
Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, an ...
and
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
swept to power. Former civil liberties lawyer and Labor Party State Secretary
Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Syd ...
was given the job of chairman of the parliamentary committee overseeing the Criminal Justice Commission, now the
Crime and Misconduct Commission The Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) is an independent Queensland Government integrity agency created to combat and reduce the incidence of major crime and to continuously improve the integrity of, and to reduce the incidence of misconduc ...
. Beattie went on to be Queensland Premier.


See also

*
Pig City (song) Pig City is an independently released song recorded in late 1983 by the Brisbane band The Parameters. The song critiques the corrupt and authoritative aspects within Joh Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland State coalition government and Queensland police ...
* Brisbane punk rock * Pig City music festival and symposium * Street Arts Community Theatre Company * ''Behind the Banana Curtain'' – (compilation music album) *
Cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...


References


Further reading

*Jiggens, John ''Personal Stories: Media Activism, The Cane Toad Times.” Media Information Australia 55 '' (1990): 65–74. *Cane Toad Times Collection, UQFL403, Fryer Library, University of Queensland Library.

Griffith University, "Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program" Tony Fitzgerald Collection, an Exhibition of Artwork and Memorabilia


External links


The ABC, "Queensland: Ten Years after Fitzgerald" Griffith University, "Tony Fitzgerald Lecture and Scholarship Program" Tony Fitzgerald Collection, an Exhibition of Artwork and MemorabiliaCrime and Misconduct Commission Queensland."The Fitzgerald Inquiry (1987–1989)"ToadShow Pty Ltd, Anne JonesToadShow Pty Ltd, Damien LedwichToadShow Pty Ltd, Robert WhyteComplete digitised collection of ''The Cane Toad Times'' in UQ eSpace, The University of Queensland LibraryCane Toad Times Oral Histories and Digital Stories
State Library of Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:Cane Toad Times, The 1977 establishments in Australia 1990 disestablishments in Australia Defunct magazines published in Australia Satirical magazines Humor magazines Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 1990 Mass media in Brisbane Quarterly magazines published in Australia Australian satire