• Barry Humphries (and Australian culture):

  • On Australian art:

    Question: You wake up and look around.
              You see an early Pro Hart and a late Renoir.
              Where are you ???
    Answer:   Perth, around 1988.
                           -- Barry Humphries [24/10/1996]
    

  • Some people believe that Mr Humphries grew up in Moonee Ponds in Melbourne before turning his attention to life in London. He is still interested in good taste and has a wicked sense of humour --- at the final performance of his show in 1999's Melbourne Comedy Festival, he explained the meaning of Moomba (to have a good time) and lamented how Aboriginal Australians had given the word to the English speaking peoples ... since they had no further use for it in Southern Australia.

  • Canberra hint: if visiting the Australian National Gallery, see if you can view his most important early work Puke in Boots. Sadly, this work seem highly under-appreciated.

• Links to other stuff:

  • See Official Australian Government web site for lists of all manner of activities.

  • See wikipedia for a miscellany of facts.

Mar 17 2008