A visual interpretation of a stolen childhood. With over 100 images, Lindsay Arnold has drawn intense scrutiny to the unjust emotional and physical suffering of a sensitive boy trapped in the cruel thrall of a heartless social zeitgeist which prevailed throughout mid 20th century Australia.
No mere moral fable, this is unvarnished social history, and a cautionary tale for future generations.
What is happening here? Why did these bizarre events take place?
At the heart of this story is a mystery, an absorbing question regarding what is going on within its setting. A picture reflecting those often ignored years following World War 2, a personal testament rescued from a time rarely referred to or documented: the 1950s, a time when the hangover from war gestated a generation marked by an upsurge of creative talent to define the next decade, the 60s.
It is the story of a young Australian’s struggle to survive the streets of Sydney and the severities of Bush life after leaving school at 13 almost entirely illiterate.
A frightening “Coming of Age” story, full to the brim with life, humour and hardship.
An extraordinary personal journey that ranges from farce to anguish beyond belief, yet all is true, it all happened.
—- Ron Roberts
