What did The Australian Women’s Weekly mean to you when you were growing up as a child?
Ita: The magazine was really a part of my childhood. You never had a Wednesday without The Weekly. I remember saying, “Who’s got The Weekly?” because we all would dive for it. Mum would read it first, then Dad and then I would read it. It was just a fact of life and I think that was the same in most people’s households when I was growing up.
The Weekly was originally a news magazine for women and so every big event in the world was always in The Weekly with a colour picture – this was before the advent of colour TV.
Man went to the moon – you could see it in The Weekly. During World War II it used to be sent to the troops in the war zone so they could keep in touch with what was going on in Australia. It was a very important magazine in Australia.
What was the secret to its success?
First of all, it wasn’t sensational. It reflected what was happening in Australia at the time. It didn’t beat up articles or make thingsentertained, informed and showed us new ideas; new methods of cooking especially were very important in those early decades. has always had a relationship with the woman who
