CONTRADICTORY MESSAGES
One of the many unusual items on display in the Northern Territory Library Parliament House display is this photo of a procession , part of the Alice Springs Bangtail Muster , circa 1962, with a large banner urging the nation to populate to survive .
It was followed by what appeared to be two pregnant women , with children , one brandishing a placard , an obvious play on the do-it- yourself hair perm advertisement, which asked which twin had the Toni. It reads : WHICH TONI HAS THE TWINS? .
Hard to see is another placard with the message WE WANT TV .
History showed that when television arrived many people sat up late watching the idiot box , fell asleep , and forgot about the strategic and patriotic need to populate the north .
Soon to be released is a book by former ABC journalist , Richard Creswick , about the introduction of television in the Northern Territory , in l971, which is why the Top End's population is so sparse .