''The Digger'' was an alternative

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

published in Australia between August 1972 and December 1975. It was established by

Phillip Frazer Phillip Frazer (born 1 May 1946, in Melbourne, Australia) is a writer, editor and publisher. He was a founder of the weekly teen pop newspaper ''Go-Set'' in 1966, NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. which was a popular Australian music paper from 1966 ...

, Bruce Hanford,

Ian McCausland Ian McCausland (31 March 1944 – 9 August 2022) was an Australian artist best known for his music posters. Career Ian McCausland began his visual arts career in 1968 after winning a competition in ''Go-Set'', an Australian music magazine. Af ...

, Jen Jewel Brown and Jon Hawkes. Notable contributors included Virginia Fraser,

Ron Cobb Ronald Ray Cobb (September 21, 1937 – September 21, 2020) was an American–Australian artist. In addition to his work as an editorial cartoonist, he contributed concept art to major films including '' Dark Star'' (1974), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ...

,, Bob Daly, Beatrice Faust, Ponch Hawkes,

Helen Garner Helen Garner (née Ford, born 7 November 1942) is an Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist. Garner's debut novel, first novel, ''Monkey Grip (novel), Monkey Grip'', published in 1977, immediately established her ...

, Michael Leunig, Hall Greenland, Anne Summers, Wendy Bacon, Neil McLean, Patrick Cook and Phil Pinder. The paper had headquarters in Carlton, Victoria, and in Glebe, NSW

Background

With Frazer as the common thread, ''The Digger'' was produced by a frequently changing collective—including Bruce Hanford,

, Ponch Hawkes, Jenny (Jewel) Brown, Colin Talbot, Garrie Hutchinson, Virginia Fraser, Hall Greenland, Grant Evans, Kate Jennings, Isabelle Rosenberg, Sandra Zurbo, and Michael Zerman — until December 1975, when it folded under the weight of too little money and too many lawsuits: a libel suit from Builders Labourers union boss

Norm Gallagher Norman Leslie Gallagher (20 September 1931 – 26 August 1999) was a controversial Australian trade unionist, and Maoist who led the militant Builders Labourers Federation as federal Secretary and as Victorian State Secretary. Early life and ...

, another filed by the head of the South Australian Police, and an obscenity case brought by the State of Victoria for Helen Garner's article describing a sex-education class. Frazer left Australia for the United States in July 1976, and has been a publisher, editor, and writer in both countries ever since. Frazer's blog ''coorabellridge.com'' includes posts of articles and graphics from ''The Digger'' archive, and 100 commentaries he wrote in the Byron Echo on his return after 40 years in the US. In October 1972 Helen Garner wrote (anonymously) an article for ''The Digger'' in which she chronicled a spontaneous sex education lesson she gave to her 13-year-old students while working as a teacher at

Fitzroy High School Fitzroy High School is a state school catering for Years 7 to 10, located in Falconer Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. The school was first opened in 1915, but closed in 1992. After a long community campaign, it re-opened in 2004. Histor ...

. In the article, Garner said that she had intended to give a lesson on Ancient Greek art but the textbooks given to her students had been defaced with sexually explicit imagery. As a result of those images, the class posed questions relating to sex to Garner, who decided to allow an uninhibited discussion based on their questions, which she vowed to answer accurately. When her identity was revealed, she was called into the Victorian Department of Education and fired on the spot. The case was widely publicised in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, bringing Garner a degree of notoriety. Her colleagues, along with members of the Victorian Secondary Teachers Association, went on

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

in protest at the deputy director of Secondary Education's decision to fire Garner. As a result of her dismissal as a teacher, she began writing, first in ''The Digger'' and then in her cult classic novel '' Monkey Grip'' which established her writing career.

References

External links

''The Digger''
on Milesago {{DEFAULTSORT:Digger 1972 establishments in Australia 1975 disestablishments in Australia Alternative magazines Defunct political magazines published in Australia English-language magazines Magazines established in 1972 Magazines disestablished in 1975 Magazines published in Melbourne