PIX magazine Volume 16 Number 4

Date28 July 1945

Object numberANMS0331[001]

NameMagazine

MediumPaper

DimensionsOverall (Closed): 358 x 260 mm, 10 g
Overall (Open): 358 x 520 mm,

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Ben Greer

Terms

DescriptionAn edition of PIX magazine, dated 28 July, 1945 (Vol.16, No.4). The cover features a photograph of two little girls at Sydney's annual Dragon Ball. The Dragon Ball was once the premiere event on the local Chinese community’s calendar and local Chinese-Australian women were presented as debutants in society. One attendee, Lily Ma, recalls “The Dragon Ball was organised by a group called the Young Chinese Relief Movement, which originally started to raise funds for the war victims in China, that was back in 1933-34,” says Lily. Traditionally, the Dragon Festival Ball Princesses also raised money for charities - an orphanage in Taiwan, a retirement home in Hong Kong, as well as Australian causes. And for 35 years the Ball provided significant moments for Lily and her husband, who was on the committee. Her sister making her debut, then years later, her daughter. “It gave the children a chance of mixing with other people, and also to understand a little bit more both the culture of the Chinese idea of things, and the Australian way,” Lily recalls. The night bringing back fond memories for King Fong, on the organising committee from 1960. “At that time, there weren't many of us in Sydney, only a few thousand,” explains Fong. “And it was a once a year item that we look forward to, to integrate with our Caucasian friends in the community.” The Dragon Balls went into decline when the Whitlam Government decided to recognise the People's Republic of China, and not Taiwan." http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/02/25/chinese-dragon-ball-tradition-revived Other articles featured in this edition include 'We ust B Tough On Germany', 'Group Aids Allied Unity', 'NSW Town Greets Service Visitors' and 'How Aussies Delouse Bougainville'. HistoryPIX magazine was established in 1938 and became one of Australia's most popular magazines during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The publication focussed on devoting editorial space to captioned images rather than text and became known for its cover girls. Like Australasian Post, PIX was dedicated to exploring Australiana and showcased cartoons, jokes, fiction and general interest stories. Following the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the magazine became more risqué with its content and images, indicating an Australian society going through political and cultural change. In the 1970s, with the rise of other popular culture media such as television, circulation for PIX began to drop and it merged briefly with People magazine before disappearing from sale altogether.SignificancePIX magazine was one of Australia's most popular general interest magazines. PIX became known for its cover girls, who often sported the latest in swimwear designs, and the changes in the magazine's content and style records the development of Australian culture during the latter half of the 20th century.