Jim Anderson (editor)
Encyclopedia
Jim Anderson edited Oz Magazine
and later wrote the book Billarooby.
Jim Anderson was born in Haverhill, Suffolk
, but his family emigrated to Australia when he was a year old. This was due to his father having a dispute with his own father with whom he never reconciled. They moved to Orange
in Central West New South Wales and then to Warwick, a small town (now place name) near Cowra
in Central Western NSW on the Lachlan River where his family had a vegetable farm. The farm became unworkable in the 1940s due to the river drying up in a prolonged drought and at this time he helped his father trapping rabbits for food. . In Sydney
he studied law at the University of Sydney while also working as a public servant at the Attorney General's Department.
Anderson had joined Oz in 1969. In 1971, he was prosecuted in London, along with fellow Oz editors Felix Dennis
and Richard Neville
for Oz number 28, "the Schoolkids Issue". His book, Billarooby, was published in 1988. Told from the view of a 12 year old boy, it explored themes of relationships of the boy with his father and a male teacher who falls in love with his father. Anderson also edited Neville's 1995 memoir Hippy, Hippy Shake.
Jim declared his homosexuality to his mother after the trial, but never told his father. Jim had a mental breakdown and travelled to Ghana in Africa and then to California in the United States to find treatment and relief. He spent some time in Druid Heights
, a healing centre in Marin County and then moved to Bolenos, a small town north of San Francisco where he lived for 18 years. He attended peyote
meetings with Magda Cregg
in San Francisco which were held at the time of the full moon in the tradition of a Mexican Indian tribe. Jim found these meetings very calming and that they healed his mental state: he attended 12 meetings. In Bolenos Jim contributed to a local newspaper and made collages for this publication every week. Jim had attended East Sydney Technical College many years earlier while living in Sydney, but was not successful .
Jim returned to Sydney in the mid-1990s and recently had an art exhibition: "Lampoon: An Historical Art Trajectory" at the Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, February 18 – March 12 2011 .
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
and later wrote the book Billarooby.
Jim Anderson was born in Haverhill, Suffolk
Haverhill, Suffolk
Haverhill is an industrial market town and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England, next to the borders of Essex and Cambridgeshire. It lies southeast of Cambridge and north of central London...
, but his family emigrated to Australia when he was a year old. This was due to his father having a dispute with his own father with whom he never reconciled. They moved to Orange
Orange, New South Wales
Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....
in Central West New South Wales and then to Warwick, a small town (now place name) near Cowra
Cowra, New South Wales
Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. It is located on the Mid-Western Highway, 317 kilometres west of Sydney on the banks of the Lachlan River at an altitude of 310 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census Cowra had a population of 8,430...
in Central Western NSW on the Lachlan River where his family had a vegetable farm. The farm became unworkable in the 1940s due to the river drying up in a prolonged drought and at this time he helped his father trapping rabbits for food. . In Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
he studied law at the University of Sydney while also working as a public servant at the Attorney General's Department.
Anderson had joined Oz in 1969. In 1971, he was prosecuted in London, along with fellow Oz editors Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis is a British magazine publisher, poet, and philanthropist. His privately owned company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom...
and Richard Neville
Richard Neville (writer)
Richard Neville is an Australian author and self-described "futurist", who came to fame as a co-editor of the counterculture magazine Oz in Australia and the United Kingdom in the 1960s and early 1970s...
for Oz number 28, "the Schoolkids Issue". His book, Billarooby, was published in 1988. Told from the view of a 12 year old boy, it explored themes of relationships of the boy with his father and a male teacher who falls in love with his father. Anderson also edited Neville's 1995 memoir Hippy, Hippy Shake.
Jim declared his homosexuality to his mother after the trial, but never told his father. Jim had a mental breakdown and travelled to Ghana in Africa and then to California in the United States to find treatment and relief. He spent some time in Druid Heights
Elsa Gidlow
Elsa Gidlow was a poet, who in 1923 published the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry in the United States: On A Grey Thread. She promoted alternative spiritualities including Buddhism and Goddess Worship. In the 1940s she founded a rural retreat center, The Druid Heights Artists Retreat,...
, a healing centre in Marin County and then moved to Bolenos, a small town north of San Francisco where he lived for 18 years. He attended peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
meetings with Magda Cregg
Huey Lewis
Huey Lewis is an American musician, songwriter and occasional actor.Lewis sings lead and plays harmonica for his band Huey Lewis and the News, in addition to writing or co-writing many of the band's songs...
in San Francisco which were held at the time of the full moon in the tradition of a Mexican Indian tribe. Jim found these meetings very calming and that they healed his mental state: he attended 12 meetings. In Bolenos Jim contributed to a local newspaper and made collages for this publication every week. Jim had attended East Sydney Technical College many years earlier while living in Sydney, but was not successful .
Jim returned to Sydney in the mid-1990s and recently had an art exhibition: "Lampoon: An Historical Art Trajectory" at the Tin Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, February 18 – March 12 2011 .