Of Flutes & Foghorns: Growing Up In 1950s Neutral Bay
Autobiography Australian History Local History Memoir Post-war Social History Nostalgia Illustrated Non-fiction
Of Flutes & Foghorns: Growing Up In 1950s Neutral Bay is the warm, witty memoir that every Sydney history-lover keeps on the “must-find” shelf. In 232 generously illustrated pages, Peter Austin reconstructs a vanished harbour-side childhood of rattling trams, foghorns echoing across the water, and the toot of a beginner’s flute drifting down from a fibro cottage. Set against the backdrop of post-war Neutral Bay, the book captures the everyday magic of 1950s Australia—ration tickets giving way to rock ’n’ roll, backyard cracker nights, ferry wharves alive with barefoot kids, and the first stirrings of television in suburban loungerooms.
What makes this copy especially appealing is its pristine, unmarked condition: no inscriptions, no dog-eared corners, just crisp pages and the original illustrations intact—perfect for gifting or for completing an Australiana collection. Austin’s storytelling is both intimate and panoramic; he weaves family anecdotes with the wider social changes that shaped modern Sydney, so readers come away feeling they have walked the winding lanes of Neutral Bay themselves and watched the Harbour Bridge grow into its role as the city’s grand stage.
Collectors and educators prize Of Flutes & Foghorns because it doubles as a highly readable memoir and a well-researched slice of local history. Teachers use extracts for HSC English or Australian History units, while family historians rely on Austin’s vivid detail to colour their own North Shore narratives. Whether you’re hunting for a nostalgic gift for a baby-boomer parent, a reliable secondary source for school projects, or simply a transporting weekend read, this 2015 illustrated paperback delivers the harbour breeze and laughter of 1950s Sydney in one very good-condition package.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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