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Page 22 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 26, 2014
■ Elizabeth Harris was born in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and the family moved to Queensland when she was 15. Liz started taking singing lessons and then took a job in the office at radio station 3UZ in Melbourne. She made her debut as a professional actress in the television series Consider Your Verdict in 1962. Liz co-hosted the television series Video Village with Dan Webb on Channel 7 from 1962 till 1964. This was a game show which was played on a giant board with three streets: Money Street, Bridge Street and Magic Mile. It was produced by Crawford Productions. Chris Christensen was in the original cast and later replaced by Vic ‘Funny Face; Gordon. I saw Dan Webb at the survivor's luncheon this month and he is looking good at the age of 90. The episodes of Video Village closed with a group children singing Goodbye from Video Village That's it today See you at Video Village Next time you're this way. In 1965 Liz Harris was cast in the children's television series The Magic Circle Clubon ATV0 and took over as hostess when Nancy Cato suffered a temporary illness.
Whatever Happened To ... Liz Harris
By Kevin Trask of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM
The series was produced and directed by Godfrey Philipp and the cast included John Michael Howson, Fred Tupper, Ernie Bourne, Colin McEwan and Bunney Brooke. After more than 500 episodes the show was cancelled in 1967. Liz told me in a radio interview that she could remember being on a plane flying into Melbourne with John -Michael Howson and Godfrey Philipp. As they were landing John -Michael outlined his idea for the television series, Adventure Island ,and Liz thought to herself "Good luck with that". But the ABC picked up the show and Adventure Island ran successfully for six years.
● Liz Harris My friend, the late Brian Crossley, played Mrs Flower Potts in the show. Liz performed in stage productions at the Ensemble and Marion Street Theatres in Sydney and also in a production of Oh What a Lovely War at St Martin's Theatre in Melbourne. Liz married the popular actor Leonard Teale in 1968. They met at a party in Melbourne and they were introduced by musician Ivan Hutchinson. Leonard was famous for his role of Superman in the radio series and then later as a regular cast member of television shows such as
Homicide and Seven Little Australians. In 1984 Liz appeared in the stage play 84 Charring Cross Road with her husband and Judi Farr. Leonard Teale had four children from previous marriages. Liz and Leonard enjoyed 26 years of marriage together until his sudden death of a heart attack in 1994. Liz played guest roles in many television productions such as Homicide, Hunter and Sons and Daughters. She also had ongoing roles in Prisoner and A Country Practice. Her final television appearance was in 1993 when she played Shirley Harrison in GP. Liz has retired from acting these days and her last public appearance was in 2004 to honour her late husband at a book signing and film preview. I told Liz that I was a big fan of Leonard Teale and she said "Kevin, you would have loved him." Liz Harris is a beautiful person and we wish her happiness in retirement. Kevin Trask The Time Tunnel - with Bruce & PhilSundays at 8.20pm on 3AW That's Entertainment - 96.5FM Sundays at 12Noon 96.5FM is streaming on the internet. To listen, go to www.innerfm.org.au and follow the prompts
High praise for Territory observer ■ Richard Waring is a bird observer. Whilst I love looking at birds and listening to their melodic chirpings, I've never gone to the extent of following them around and officially spotting them. However, Richard does. He's just made up a portfolio of his best bird pictures and entered it into the Australian Photography's Nature
Photographer of the Year competition. There is a site called E-bird, with 100,000 participants worldwide - he's the top Territorian. There are 347 bird species in the Northern Territory, and he's seen 237 of them this year alone. He's made it a family affair, and takes his sons out on his forays, and they've won a couple of Central Aus-
tralian Twitchathons this year - it was the white-browed tree creeper that nailed it - theirs was the only sighting in the Territory this year. I've got friends who delight in exploring bush tracks in the Centre, and I have joined with them on several occasions, but when there is an added bonus as there is with Richard, it would make these adventures more exciting than ever. Not only is there the bush, but an added incentive of well. To be in the bush, bonding with one's family, observing the sheer beauty of Mother Nature, in all her glory, is about as good as it gets. ■ Last week I mentioned Ali Curung and some of its problems. However there is now a positive slant. Even though they look delicious, I just don't like watermelons, so they don't interest me much. However there is an inspiring watermelon story coming from Ali Curung, the aboriginal community just south of Barrow Creek, the home of my good mate Les Pilton. There's the Desert Springs Farm, operating on aboriginal land, which grows these fruit, and is expecting to harvest about 5000 tonnes this summer. Paul McLaughlin owns the business, and tells that he and his family enjoy cordial relations with the community. "We lease the land and we look after it for them. "We came here in 2006, and the elders asked us to clear it and give the children a hope for the future." They harvest about 15 truckloads of fruit every week. The workers enjoy their employment: "We've got an opportunity to work here and I think it is good. It keeps us out of trouble and out of drinking", said Gary Small, one of the band of pickers. "Instead of just watching movies, I now work," said Kieran Rice, his colleague. A good happy story for a change.
The Outback Legend
with Nick Le Souef Lightning Ridge Opals 175 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Phone 9654 4444 www.opals.net.au This began with the Howard Government reacting to Rex Wilde's Little Children paper, in which he documented a litany of abuse of aboriginal children on remote communities. Although I wasn't aware of this in the NT, I had close knowledge of it in Coober Pedy. I've never understood why there was, and still is, any opposition to this, because it's improved the lot of many children, and it stopped much money being spent on grog. Many aboriginal mothers wheeling trolleys full of food around Woollies in Alice Springs had nothing but praise. It seems to me that there are so many issues still facing remote aborigines in CentralAustralia that any small step in the direction of practical assistance would be welcome. However, one activist, a Brisbane based campaigner, Sam Watson, has called on attendees to "revisit violent moments of the sixties", when marchers brought their actions to the streets "where blood was spilt". That'll be a real help.
■ Coming up at the end of the month in Alice Springs is the Freedom Summit, where about 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders will sit down and discuss major issues affecting indigenous Australia. High on the agenda will be the intervention. ■ The good old dingo is once again
in the Alice Springs spotlight. I have always found the dingo to be quite a majestic beast. I don't see many of them, and occasionally I see them arrogantly glowering at me as I roll on down the highway. They seem totally impersonal, and it's difficult to imagine how they are in the least bit vicious, but apparently their impervious stare belies a sinister streak. I've never been close enough to any of them to observe any such mannerisms - they just slink off into the undergrowth, or the night, if I ever even stop the car. However, they're now sneaking about Alice Springs. And warnings have been posted as a result. The Alice Springs Ranger, Kevin Everett, has warned residents to beware of them. "Large predators will always kill small predators, and they may or may not eat them. The best thing to do is to lock up your pets at night," he said. They've been roaming around the Centre for centuries now, so I'd be closely watching the little fluffies on their walkies.
■ Oh bureaucracy! The Menzies School of Research is conducting a three-year study, collecting data from 60,000 Northern Territory children to come up with answers as to why NT children are disadvantaged in education and health and justice. This'll cost $15,000,000. Blind Freddie could answer this in about five minutes. It amazes me how all this comes to pass. They could sit down with me and I could tell them pretty quickly! For a fraction of $15 million. There's such a maelstrom of often divergent issues - and the exemplification of all this is to see disadvantaged little kids roaming around the streets, day or night, hungry and unwashed and unkempt, with no self esteem, and basically no hope, no goals, no ambition. You just know that shortly they'll be angry, uneducated and unemployable teenagers, on a path to sniffing petrol and drinking alcohol and smoking dope and smashing things, all to dull the pain of disadvantage. It's just a vicious cycle. There is a bottom line - get a sense of ambition for parents, a sense of self esteem. Give them some hope, some goals to aspire to, to alleviate the perpetual boredom. And to eradicate the worst evil of all - sit-down money.