The Big Issue

The Big Three Oh! Oh!

Edition 300

It’s our 300th birthday! We celebrate with messages, poems and praise from vendors, memories from past and present team members and a look back at some of our favourite, and sometimes controversial, covers.

Also in this issue:

Shaun Micallef ponders anniversaries and his parents’ marriage in ‘My Word’; Second Time Around’ – Anthony Morris talks to Australian director Peter Carstairs about the delayed success of his first feature-length film September; ‘Girl Empower’ – writer Emily Maguire on why the fight for gender equality will continue for some time yet; and births, death and bike helmets – it all happens on ‘Page 300’.

Our ‘Vendor Profile’ for this edition is Campbell from Sydney. We also have ‘Streetsheet’ contributions from Melbourne vendor Adam, Fremantle’s Linda Cameron and Trevor C in Wynyard, NSW.

What, No Medallions?

In 1988, 200 years after the arrival of the First Fleet, Australia took time out to party. Highlights included Expo ’88 in Brisbane, the release of commemorative postage stamps, and schoolchildren being presented with Bicentennial Heritage Medallions. In 1997, David Bowie marked his 50th birthday with a concert in New York. Musical guests included the Foo Fighters and Lou Reed. Last year, to celebrate his second wedding, Australian gambling kingpin James Packer splurged millions on festivities in the south of France. Onlookers included Tom Cruise and many nosy media people. But what do you do when you turn 300?

This is the dilemma we faced when we started thinking about this magazine, the 300th edition of The Big Issue in Australia. As dilemmas go, it’s a fine one to confront. Three hundred editions is a significant milestone for any publication, and one that would have seemed way out of reach for all those involved in the magazine’s early years after its launch in June 1996. But we’ve got here. And far from resembling one of those marathon runners who collapses over the finish line, we’re growing stronger all the time. Last year, at a time when many print publications were in decline, our official national readership figure increased by 10.8% to 174,000. We have good reason to celebrate. But how?

It’s not our style to hire Madison Square Garden or fly all our pals to the Riviera. (Tom’s busy, anyway.) So Plan A was to try rounding up some of the usual suspects: ask some big-name writers to contribute to our 300th edition. Some invitations even went out. Recipients wished us well but were, by and large, too busy to pen original pieces. A setback? Not really. Plan B was born: use this edition to celebrate what we’ve achieved and, in particular, to focus on the people for whom The Big Issue has always existed: our vendors. We’ve done this in words and photos – getting vendors in front of cameras all around the country and encouraging them to say what the 300th means to them.

In the courtyard of the Melbourne office, where we took one of our group photos, I chatted with some of the vendors about the early days. Paul S reckons he sold a bundle of magazines straight after the original launch. But, he says, “a lot thought it couldn’t last six months”. That was almost 12 years ago. In honour of the occasion I also talked with Leo – Vendor Number 299. (Herbie, his ever-present dog, is the honorary 300th.) Leo has had stints away from the magazine. Yet, he insists, it’s been great to have as something to fall back on; another means of support.

While this photo was being taken (see pages 16–17) something happened that made me understand the real significance of this anniversary. Trying to get some order into the group (you try getting two dozen people to stand still and look the same way) photographer James Braund asked “the gentleman in the back” to please move just a little bit to one side. The gentleman… This was the key to it all, I decided: treating people who’ve done it tough with respect. The magazine is one way for vendors – our sales team – to make some money and, just as importantly, give them a sense of purpose. They deserve our respect because they are trying to do something about their circumstances

James knows many vendors by name. He’s been taking photos for The Big Issue since 2003 – the same year, incidentally, that I first wrote for the magazine. But we’re newbies compared with many others, which is why I encouraged some magazine veterans to reminisce (see page 28). Peter Ascot, The Big Issue’s long-time proofreader and now our Vendor Profile Editor, tells stories about the days before the first magazine even came out: days of working in an office without a toilet; and, oh yes, the day a ceiling caved in. He also suggested, correctly, that we should acknowledge the enormous contribution made by The Body Shop, without which we could not have grown. Many vendors still pick up their magazines from its stores around the country.

So: a big thank you to Body Shop staff who (that word again) treat vendors with respect. Thanks also to…well, here’s our biggest problem. There are too many people to mention. But you know who you are.
To everyone, past and present, who has ever played a part in getting The Big Issue on to the streets, and selling it…this one’s for you.

I’m so glad we went with Plan B.