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Rod Wise

‘Knee replacement agony: What I wasn’t told about pain and complications pre-surgery’
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The Seekers performing in London circa 1965. Source: Getty Images
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‘The carnival is over: The Seekers are such an awful blast from a long-buried past’

‘The carnival is over: The Seekers are such an awful blast from a long-buried past’

To my ear, when The Seekers’ songs are played, I feel I might as well be listening to a barber-shop quartet of the 1890s ...
Could this have been the Greek kafeneio that Durrell visited? Source: Getty Images
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‘Greece: In admiration of Corfu’s picturesque past’

‘Greece: In admiration of Corfu’s picturesque past’

I’ve never been to Greece. I’d always assumed that I would get there eventually -- almost inevitably -- but it just didn’t happen.
The graffiti protest on Madgwick Drive that started it all. Source: Rod Wise/The Armidale Times
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‘Libraries: Cleaning the shelves of irritating, useless, boring, out-of-date books’

‘Libraries: Cleaning the shelves of irritating, useless, boring, out-of-date books’

The question to be addressed is what is happening to books and the libraries that were supposed to protect, and promote, them and their contents.
Brittany Higgins, left, (the former Liberal staffer whose rape allegations sparked a national discussion) joined thousands attending the March 4 Justice rally in Canberra calling for action against gendered violence in Parliament. Source: Getty Images
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‘How much more outrage do we need for rape allegations to be taken seriously?’

‘How much more outrage do we need for rape allegations to be taken seriously?’

This situation has exposed the limitations of our prime minister in not being able to respond in any way other than in playing word-games and dodgy footwork.
Rod writes about one of Hollywood's greatest leading men: Dana Andrews. Source: Getty Images
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‘Dana Andrews: Admiration of the man behind the movie star’

‘Dana Andrews: Admiration of the man behind the movie star’

Dana Andrews was one of Hollywood's top leading men of the 1940s and '50s and someone Rod had always admired.
Rod wants you to consider the number of international students stranded in Australia due to coronavirus. Source: Getty Images
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‘Hanging tough: Students in regional Australia received little support during pandemic’

‘Hanging tough: Students in regional Australia received little support during pandemic’

We seem to have forgotten how terrifying it must have been to give up everything you ever knew or held dear ... and head off into the virtual unknown.
Where's a bloody lawnmower when you need it? Source: Getty Images
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‘Creeklands, long grass and a lost pair of glasses’

‘Creeklands, long grass and a lost pair of glasses’

There was no other option. I had to go back to the Creeklands in the utterly vain hope that I had dropped them in my travels.
Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, former prime minister of Papua New Guinea and a giant of Pacific politics, has died from pancreatic cancer. He was 84. Source: Getty Images
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‘Memories of Somare: PNG’s separation from Australia and the challenges for government’

‘Memories of Somare: PNG’s separation from Australia and the challenges for government’

Sir Michael Somare led Papua New Guinea into independence from Australia in 1975 and was the country's longest-serving parliamentarian.
Source: Getty Images
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‘Memories of Malawi: The real value of my childhood stamp collecting’

‘Memories of Malawi: The real value of my childhood stamp collecting’

Rod writes about one of his earliest memories and how it came to be an important part of his life.

About Rod Wise

Rod Wise lives in country New South Wales, Australia after having spent his childhood and working life in Sydney and Wollongong. He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School and the University of Sydney, where he earned degrees in Arts. Rod was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study in Europe and North America in 1980. For most of his working life, Rod was a journalist. He was employed by various Fairfax Media publications, including The Australian Financial Review and the Sydney Morning Herald as a reporter, feature writer, subeditor and editor. He is also the publisher of The Armidale Times, a community newsletter circulating in his local region.