Two handwriting samples from seven-year-old boy Drew Rutland adorned page 1 on this day 30 years ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In one the writing is crisp and printed, in the other the letters have curls, almost looking like running writing. Drew's parents provided them to demonstrate the need for a standardised curriculum across Australia.
The loopier version was favoured in Victoria, the printed version, far more familiar to what you'd see today, was accepted in the ACT.
For the Rutlands, a defence family, moving around the country was a reality of life, and the impact of slight changes such as handwriting preference were significant headaches for their children.
The article reported on a meeting in Hobart of education ministers which struck some agreement towards a national curriculum.
Elsewhere, there was fallout of the Hillsborough soccer stadium crush, which had left 95 dead a week earlier. The police chief accepted responsibility for his officers' role in the crush at the Liverpool vs Nottingham City match.
But this acceptance by authorities soon wavered, and it would be two decades of blame shifting before a second inquest in 2016 finally ruled supporters had died as a result of gross negligence by police and other emergency services.