Page 22 - Demo

20The 1980s was the decade of hyper-patriotism.Think the America%u2019s Cup, with Bob Hawke in hisAustralia blazer, the Bicentennial, and Ken Donedoona covers on every child%u2019s bed. Hoges wasurging Americans to throw a shrimp onthe%u00a0 barbie, John Williamson was singing %u2018TrueBlue%u2019, and Olivia Newton-John was spruikingAustralian wares at her Koala Blue boutique inLA. Thanks to Men at Work and CrocodileDundee, we were flavour of the month aroundthe world.Add to this the jingles of patriotic advertisingcompany MOJO (which also did the Hoges ad)singing %u2018C%u2019mon Aussie, c%u2019mon%u2019 in a thick Aussieaccent and insisting that %u2018you oughta becongratulated%u2019 and, looking back, the 1980sseem like one long summer%u2019s day.The 1988 Bicentennial brought another surgein national pride. We were looking to define ournational identity, and books, TV programs andcolumn inches were given over to celebratinggood old Aussie ingenuity, with manyperpetuating the line about getting the job done.By the 1990s, however, koalas, maps ofAustralia and gumleaf motifs were suddenlyconsidered gauche, tacky. This was now a globalworld %u2013 we were wearing the same clothes aspeople in Ohio, Cape Town or Barcelona, andthey were all wearing what the supermodelswore. The end of isolation and tari%u00a0 s brought therealisation that design is tagged to the economy.Cheaper air travel also helped. When wetravelled, we%u2019d brag about bringing home designsfrom elsewhere. Real-estate ads boasted aboutkitchens with %u2018European appliances%u2019. And hey,why buy a more expensive Australian-designeditem when you can pop down to IKEA and get itfor half the price?Tari%u00a0 s had been high for a long time and, as aresult, we%u2019d been starved of options. When the2000s came along and globalisation truly kickedin, we were like kids at an international Sizzlerbu%u00a0 et, and we were spoilt for choice.The Australian car industry %u2013 once a symbol oflocal manufacturing prowess %u2013 gradually cameto an end, hampered by rising production costs,1980s1990sPublic telephone boxes in%u00a0Queensland,%u00a01989