Some of the ragers who celebrated the Sixties at a recent "happening" in Melbourne certainly weren't there - they weren't born until after all the flowers had gone.
But they sort of remember - because they've heard so much about the times of peace, love and rock 'n roll; of Gunsmoke and Mods and living dolls.
The Sixties were simpler times, and the Sixties Appreciation Society has one simple rule - if you like the Sixties, or like what you've heard about them, you're in.
About 150 Sixties-lovers, aged from 23 to 50, gathered at the Thumpin' Tum, in Richmond, Melbourne, to celebrate being lost in time.
The occasion was the 10th anniversary of the Sixties Appreciation Society, with entertainment by Sixties-style bands including The Fudds, The Preverts, The Disciples, The Hekawis, The Daily Planets, and The A1 Mining Company.
So what was so good about the Sixties?
Greg Plancke, 42, who's president of the society, says many members think of it as a much happier time - and live their lives in a Sixties time warp.
That includes driving 1964 EH or '63 FB Holdens, wearing stovepipe trousers, and listening to the music of Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison.
"But it's a whole lifestyle thing," Greg says.
"Our members like the attitudes and music of the Sixties much better than what's on offer today."
David Brookes, 28, is certainly in a time warp. He turned up in a tightly-cut brown suit with cream vertical stripes and stovepipe trousers. He explained that he wasn't dressed up for the "happening". This was how he dressed every day of the week.
"I've got a Sixties-style suit for every day of the week and I wear them to work," says David. "And I hang around with people who like the Sixties.
"We dress like Mods, but I guess you'd call us revivalists now."
David, born in 1968, admits he can't remember the Sixties. "But it was a much better time, and I've been committed to the clothes and music since I got into the Sixties in the late-Seventies.
"Listen to the music," he says, as he prepares to take to the dance floor with his girlfriend Anna Piastrino, 25. "Notice something? You can hear it. Most of the stuff that's put out today you need earmuffs for."
David doesn't drive a Sixties car. Instead, he opts for the teenage emblem of the Sixties - a motor scooter. He owns a Vespa and a Lambretta, and girlfriend Anna is about to take lessons.
Anna says: "I got into this when I started going out with David. I like the music, and I guess I'm going to like riding motor scooters, too."
Tania Bishop, 23, Jackie Vidot, 28, and Saffron Craig, 22, say they turned up because they like the music - and know some members of the bands.
Ron McIntosh, who's been a society member for four years, was born in 1955, which puts him very much on the young side as a Sixties player.
But he loves the Sixties lifestyle, the music, the great TV.
"It was the time of the great Westerns - like Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Branded, Rawhide, and The Virginian," Ron says.
"And Robin Hood, Superman, and the classic cartoons. And Australian music shows like Go Show and Uptight.
"There's nothing like them on now."
It organises several "happenings" and record fairs each year.
Story: PETER MAYER
Some Pictures: ROB FOX
[reprinted from the Australasian Post of November 5, 1994, more of the pictures have been included on this page than were in the magazine]
Great TV? In the Sixties?
The Sixties Appreciation Society publishes a [ir]regular magazine, Sixties Scene, and meets at lunchtime on the first Saturday of the month at the Sherlock Holmes Bar [the Canadian Hotel now] in Melbourne.
The Sixties, it seems, just won't go away - and neither will the appreciators.
