Australian Bicentenary A new musical "Manning Clark's History of Australia", directed by John Bell, that was loosely based on the life of historian Manning Clark opened in January at Princess Theatre (Melbourne) to coincide with the Bicentenary, but facing poor reviews and concomitant lack of attendance, closed before the end of February. Significant improvements to Australian roads were made through the "Australian Bicentennial Road Development Program". The event triggered debate on Australian national identity, Aboriginal rights, historical interpretation and multiculturalism. The event was widely viewed as controversial. Planning for the event raised issues of national identity and historical interpretation. Some wanted to
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County the book suffered from lackluster sales. The collection included: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its original title) and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a bartender, Simon Wheeler, at the Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, about the gambler Jim Smiley. The narrator describes him: