The play is set in 1971 – a turbulent time in Australian history and society. In 1956, Melbourne hosted the Olympic Games, and television was launched in Australia. Both these events meant Australians began to see more of the world, and had a different picture of their place in it. In 1962, changes were made enabling the indigenous Aboriginal population to vote. In the same year, the Vietnam War began, which led to an increasing Australian involvement, including the introduction of National service (1964.) In 1964, The Beatles toured Australia. Young girls went crazy, and society changed forever. In 1966, the Australian Labor Party dropped the White Australia policy as part of its platform. 1969 saw men walk on the Moon, and Australian women getting the right to equal pay. In the late 1960s and into the early 1970s, Australian Society was getting more publicly vocal – women's right, indigenous rights, protesting against the Vietnam War, etc. With a string of public trials against corruption in the police force, The Removalists is an examination of Australian society at one of its most turbulent times.
David Williamson aimed to create an Australian identity in international drama. The Removalists uses generic characters to which the Australian audience can relate. Williamson used familiar issues in his society such as corruption and violence in the police force and reflected them in The Removalists.
Williamson was inspired to write the play by a story told to him by a removalist.[1] He later said, "the play was actually a very black satire on the very worst aspects of Australian macho, male behaviour, which the audiences, interestingly, read straight away. Audiences are far more intelligent (sorry) than critics. They read what's actually happening there in front of them on the stage, whereas those occasional critics who view life through an ideological framework, they interpreted the play to be a searing attack on police brutality, which it never was."[2]
Williamson himself appeared in the La Mama production as the removalist alongside Kristin Green. Both wound up leaving their spouses for each other.[3]
