The land before the avocado – ABC listen

There is a lot of nostalgia these days for the Australia of the past, but what was it really like?

In The Land Before Avocado, Richard Glover embarks on a journey to an almost unrecognizable Australia. It is a vivid portrait of a rather peculiar land: a place that is frightening and strange, dangerous and incomprehensible, and surprisingly attractive from time to time.

This is the Australia of his childhood.

Australia in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Let’s start right away: they didn’t have any avocados.

It was a place of funny clothes and food that was scary but fun. It was also a land of stunningly awful attitudes – often written into law – towards anyone who didn’t fit in.

The Land Before Avocado will make you laugh and cry, feel angry and inspired. And make you wonder how strange things were not so long ago.

Above all, it will make you realize how far we have come – and how much further we can achieve.

Author: Richard Glover

Read by: Richard Glover