ABOUT THESE SERIES ....But after that, I realised that I knew very little about these parents of mine. They had been born about the start of the Twentieth Century, and they died in 1970 and 1980. For their last 50 years, I was old enough to speak with a bit of sense.

I could have talked to them a lot about their lives. I could have found out about the times they lived in. But I did not. I know almost nothing about them really. Their courtship? Working in the pits? The Lock-out in the Depression? Losing their second child? Being dusted as a miner? The shootings at Rothbury? My uncles killed in the War? Love on the dole? There were hundreds, thousands of questions that I would now like to ask them. But, alas, I can't. It's too late.

Thus, prompted by my guilt, I resolved to write these books. They describe happenings that affected people, real people. The whole series is, to coin a modern phrase, designed to push your buttons, to make you remember and wonder at things forgotten. The books might just let nostalgia see the light of day, so that oldies and youngies will talk about the past and re-discover a heritage otherwise forgotten. Hopefully, they will spark discussions between generations, and foster the asking and answering of questions that should not remain unanswered.

In 1947, Labour was still in power but, for some silly reason, was not giving motorists the petrol that the rest of the world was getting. The Poms were firing rockets over our Aborigines, while Menzies was discovering Reds under our Beds. Our new Governor General was not a Pom, but a local lad, and Princess Elizabeth said yes to a Greek. Six boys, aged under 17, were gaoled for life for rape, and 10 o'clock closing might stop the six o'clock swill. Indonesia, India and Israel wanted colonial powers to go, and cricket was again thriving on hatred of the Poms. These were striking times.

Ron Williams is a retired teacher, mathematician, computer-man, political scientist, farmer and writer. He has a B.A. from Sydney, and a Masters in Social Work and a PhD in Political Science from Hawaii.