PSR 1: Primary Source Report on Walkabout: Australia’s Geographical Magazine, December, 1934, Issue Vo. 1 No. 2

 

PSR 1: Primary Source Report on Walkabout: Australia’s Geographical Magazine, December, 1934, Issue Vo. 1 No. 2

By Alana Jordan

Fig 1. Front cover of “Walkabout”, December 1934. Trove. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-714041173/view?sectionId=nla.obj-753374337&partId=nla.obj-714048365#page/n0/mode/1up 

Circulation

If you were anywhere in Australia during 1935, you may have come across Walkabout: Australia’s Geographical Magazine. Every magazine in this collection was trimmed with a distinctive red boarder. Walkabout was the first Australian national travel promotion, which provided no competition for it to become the favourite. The magazine was primarily a travel, natural history and geographic magazine, with a focus on Australia and the Pacific (Johnston, 2019). High quality images captured by leading photographers adorned the pages of Walkabout, and the surrounding articles were produced by highly influential journalists and commentators (Johnston, 2019). Walkabout was published in 1934, with each copy being worth 1 shilling. Publication ended in 1974, where the number of copies published were more than double and were sold for 50 cents each.

Editor

Charles Holmes was Walkabout’s founding managing editor, retiring 1957. C. S. Weetman was appointed associate editor in 1936. Basil Atkinson was editor until 1960, where Graham Tucker and later Brian McArdle followed. Along with this, there is an exhaustive list of contributors and photojournalists including Australia’s most significant authors, novelists, journalists and commentators.

Implied Reader 

The December 1934 Vo.1 No.2 issue of Walkabout contains various ads, articles and stories about different places to travel within Australia and internationally. The typical population of people interested in travel during the 1930’s, were those of a higher class. It is implied that the target reader must have an interest in travel and therefore, have a higher-class status and be of the right age to travel. The title ‘Walkabout’ signifies the racial characteristic of an Aboriginal who is always on the move. This magazine is intended to take its audience on a ‘walkabout’ through the destinations both nationally and internationally. 

Contents 

The pages throughout the magazine are generally filled with informative text on travel and supporting images. Some images are cultural and reflect the heritage from which the word ‘walkabout’ originates. 

Advertising and stories fill majority of the space within this issue of Walkabout. Advertising that promotes travel around Australia and internationally, is typically spread over two pages and contains large images that represent the places being advertised. The advertisements in this issue are accompanied by stories of people who live in the rural areas of Australia or the animals that live in Taronga Zoo. 

Although Walkabout contains derogatory, stereotypical and dated representations of the First Nations culture and people, it also contains invaluable photographic resources during a time of silence about Aboriginal issues (Johnston, 2019).  It provides readers with the opportunity to learn about traditional society, Indigenous labour and Indigenous art practices (Johnston, 2019). 

Format

This issue and many others contain 65 pages, inked with black and white photos, illustrations and text. This issue uses only black ink throughout all its content and cover photo. The only colour that can be seen is the red boarder around the front cover of the magazine. The use of black and white photos and text may be in recognition of the Indigenous culture that Walkabout tries to embed within the stories, images and advertisements of its pages. The contributors and editors illustrate stories of the places that they promote and use photographs of the people and places as evidence that these stories are real. The formal structure of the magazine creates a high-quality atmosphere around it, allowing the stories and advertisements to reach their target audience and persuade the rich upper class to travel to the rural areas of Australia and experience this new world for themselves. 

References 

Johnston, A. (2019). “Walkabout: Travelling Anywhere in Australia, You Might Have Picked up a        Copy”. National Library of Australia.                            https://www.nla.gov.au/stories/blog/trove/2019/03/18/walkabout . Accessed 1 October 2020

“Walkabout: Australia’s Geographical Magazine”. (December 1934). Trove. https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-714041173/view?sectionId=nla.obj-753374337&partId=nla.obj-714048365#page/n0/mode/1up  . Accessed 1 October 2020