To understand the title you need to know a bit about recent Australian art history and politics. Ern Malley was a fictional poet invented during the early 1940's to ridicule and discredit the infant modernist group associated with the Angry Penguins editors Max Harris and John Reed, the irony being that Ern Malley later became a bastion of the modernists in their battle with the conservative establishment. You beaut country refers to a commonly held belief of Australia as the lucky country, and hooroo is an aussie term for goodbye. For further reading see "Inventing Australia" by Richard White. pub George, Allen & Unwin 1981. and "The Ern Malley Affair" by Michael Heyward. pub Uni of Qld Press, 1993.

'Ern Malley is on the Dole, Hooroo you Beaut Country' was a four part performance art event presented at The Food Factory for the Melbourne Fringe Arts Festival. March, 1983 spanning the Fraser-Hawke federal election. Written and directed by Neil Howe, performed by composer Greg Riddell, poet Ian McBryde, actor Cheryl Cameron, ex Yellow House puppeteer Julian Greig, sculptor Debbie Cox, with film animation by Neil Howe and didgeridoo by Ralph Nicholls.

Part One. In the beginning an invading culture takes the land, culture and people from the original inhabitants.

In a large darkened space a centre spotlight illuminates a pile of red earth. On the right side of the space a conservatively dressed woman sits under a light, knitting. A didgeridoo starts playing. On a large screen behind the earth mound, there is a flicker at the bottom as an animated snakes head appears and slowly begins to arc itself across the screen. It is the Rainbow Serpent. Suddenly a white man wearing a suit with a shovel in his hand approaches the mound and scoops up some of the earth then leaves. As the rainbow serpent continues its journey across the sky filling in the universe, more people come and scoop up the earth . By the time the music ends and the serpent has completed its rainbow there is no earth left. The sitting woman passively watches while all the time knitting.

Part Two. The beginning of a search for a modern identity is stymied by established colonial conservatism.

A spotlight to the left illuminates an artist seated at a small easel painting in the style of Nolan. On a large screen is the same image showing a landscape with a single building labelled as the department of social security, dss. As the painter works, a man in a suit approaches and takes away the paintjar from the artists table. The same woman sits passively watching and knitting. On the screen behind, little animated characters from Nolan, Boyd and Percival paintings walk one at a time along a path that leads to the DSS. Other people come and remove pieces of the artists equipment one piece at a time. First the paints, then the table, etc, the artist stubbornly keeps working, trying to adapt to each difficulty presented by the confiscators. One by one the windows of the dss fill with the heads of little Kellys and Potato Eaters and Images of the Modern Evil. Finally the artist is left with only a brush and the painting, as he raises his brush to try to complete the work it is snatched from him, he is left standing utterly frustrated with an unfinished painting, which he eventually drops to the floor and walks off. The dss is full. The woman still knits.

Part Three. The ruling conservative culture supresses freedom of thought and expression to maintain a staus quo.

In a darkened space the amplified sound of a typewriter heralds a spotlit writer sitting at a portable table typing. On a large screen a closeup of the typewriter shows the words as they are typed. It is a poem titled "Durer:Innsbruck 1495", one of the poems of Ern Malley. Again, as the writer works at the typewriter, people appear and start to remove pieces of the writers chattels.. As with the painter, finally he is left with only the paper and an unfinished work. And the woman knits.

Part Four. Dominant male culture assaults an emerging new female identity.

An intelligent, educated, well dressed, independant woman stands proudly in the spotlight, passively observed by the knitter. A Marianne Faithful song is playing. Pictures of woman are flashing on the screen. As the images slowly start to get more exploitive of women, a man in a suit suddenly approaches the woman, tears her dress then leaves. One by one, as the song lyrics get more raunchy and the images more severe, people come and rip the womans clothes until at the end of the song she is left standing under the light with shredded clothes, smudged makeup and tangled hair. She turns and hobbles off, part naked wearing her rags and one high heel shoe. The knitter still knits. Fade to black.