Hats off to the shining moment of a much-maligned 80s

THERE is one fabulously ridiculous 80s cultural “trend” which just doesn’t get its moment to shine in lists about the fashion crimes of that much-maligned decade. And that would be the hair hat.

A hat made by styling a model’s hair around cupboard shaped like a piece of millinery.

It’s truly gobsmacking and made its appearance on Australian television during the Mike Walsh Show on September 23, 1981.

The clip of this hilarious television moment is just one of 50 Wonderful Surprises plucked from the National Film and Sound Archives website to spread some cheer during the winter pandemic blues.

Here’s some of the cheery “surprises” to make the NFSA list.

BABY BARBER

A 1938 short from Cinesound Movietone Productions, a three-year-old “barber” who you may assume was the son of the shop’s owner, gives a customer a very close shave with an old-school blade. The brave subject of this precocious groomer addresses the camera

before the shave but because it’s a silent film, you can only imagine he is muttering “What could possibly go wrong?”

The action is tense as the camera goes in for a close up as the child reaches a precarious contour at the man’s chin.

UFO IN FRENCHS FOREST

Another gem from the Mike Walsh vaults features an interview between fill-in host Ita Buttrose with Mrs Glenys Messiah who was one of 13 residents who reported seeing a UFO hovering over a Sydney suburb on a Saturday night in 1980.

“Well, this one looked like the saucer shape, a definite saucer shape. And I think a lot of people would change their attitude if they saw one,” Mrs Messiah of Frenchs Forest in Sydney’s northern suburbs told an equal parts serious, incredulous and bemused Buttrose.

THE BUSHRANGERS SING HIPPITY HOP

It has been a rite of passage for Australian children since 1968 to enjoy the kitschy goodness of Skippy: The Bush Kangaroo.

Skippy’s dexterous paws have never been more gainfully employed in this clip from the beloved show which shows Skippy busting out drum solos as the Bushrangers sing her theme song.

I LOVE BOWIE

A short snippet of an interview with revered trailblazing music critic Lillian Roxon in 1973 reveals a classic rock’n’roll story.

Roxon tells of how Bowie brought a tribe of journos from Australia to see him perform an intimate gig. During the press conference for the event, Bowie’s wife Angie “inexplicably came over and bit me on the bosom. I think he was getting too much attention, and she wanted to get some attention”. Roxon said the incident made all the newspapers back home.