A CANBERRA CLASSIC

Posted by Amanda Whitley on Jul 14, 2011 in CONVERSATION | 8 comments

Yesterday, within minutes of each other, my friends Leah and Barb forwarded an absolute cracker of an email to me, saying it was absolutely perfect for HerCanberra. Oh, and how.

The attached PDF was of an APS recruitment campaign booklet circa December 1973, aimed squarely at enticing young women to the Capital.

Entitled “Hi! Come and join us in Canberra: a week in the life of 3 young girls in Canberra – a typist, a stenographer and a secretary“, its main aim seems to be to show just how fabulous life is in The Berra (a slightly antique ‘Live in Canberra’ campaign, if you will.)

Choc full of classic scenes like shopping at Woden Plaza, living at the Gowrie Private Hotel and sailing on Lake Burley Griffin (all while wearing platforms and flares), it shows just how much Canberra life has changed…and how much it’s remained the same!

It’s a real slice of history – there are hirsute men everywhere (oh, the sideburns!), Holden Kingswoods on display…even a yellow chenille bedspread (I had an aqua one…)

Throughout it all, there’s an undertone of ‘and there are plenty of eligible young men here…play your cards right and you could snag yourself one!’)

Case in point:

“Unlike most other cities, half the population is under 24 – and there are more men than women.” Woohoo! Just like catching fish in a bucket…

And my personal fave (see top right image) “This is Ian. He’s very nice but a bit shy. Ian works in my department…so we see quite a bit of each other.” Ah, I do love an office romance…

Do yourself a favour and download a copy (and forward it to all your friends)!

And if you’re up for a bit of fun, write a caption for the cover image shown below. The best entry will win something fabulous and very Canberra (I haven’t figured out what yet, but work with me here!)

Caption it!