That record cover, I saw it about a month ago at a jumble sale ( village fair ) at the retirement village.

Those sales are a absolute gem sometimes, a lot of stuff that came out with the ten pound poms.

Excellent post.........back to that little old chestnut........nature or nurture.

Wish I could give you some Karma moneypenny20, but apparently I have to spread the love around first.

I agree with that & add that if you surveyed the over 40"a and asked what they associate a golliwog with 90 % would say Robertson jam or marmalade. Not racism or derogatory re marks

I disagree. Being openly racist is accepted is both the UK and Australia and it is no longer tolerated in multicultural UK or multicultural Australia. Just depends on the group/place/demographic of the people you are talking to in both countries.

If anything selling them in Britain would be worse where a Golliwog reference is more culturally relevant.

And if you asked me what I associate Coon with the answer is cheese. I don't know when I learnt the other connotation but it was not until my 20's. Frankly I can't bring myself to type some of the other terms in this thread. It just does't feel right and I don't give them air.

Poor Mr Coon would be most upset he's considered racist.

Agreed. My child wouldn't know what a swastika is but I still wouldn't give them a shirt with a swastika on.

Yet a swastika is an old Hindu symbol which was hijacked by the Nazis. For most of history it had a very good image.

I had a home-made golly as a child and I collected Robertsons gollies from jam pots to save up for the free badges. I never associated them with real people. Soft toys were not so common soon after the war and a golly was an easy thing to make at home. Most kids had only one or two soft toys as they just weren't available or cheap. I wouldn't buy one now because times have changed, but you can't impose today's social standards retrospectively. Lots of things that were taboo or extremely bad taste then are acceptable today.

Really? You think someone in the UK would happily say to a random customer in a shop 'I had to get out of the sun I looked like a N*****'?

One of my best pals is black and lives here. Have discussed this tonight with her and she says although they (the Aussies) don't know how offensive the word is, it's up to us to keep telling them it's not acceptable. Her thoughts on the golliwog are that 'it's taking the piss out of black people'. Nothing at all like the Russian/Indian etc dolls you can buy. I've been with her when Aussies have made awful awful comments right to her face, they think it's lighthearted and in jest. This is what needs to change in this country.

Yes I do, or an equivalent. Not where you lived, but in some places. I disagree with you totally. I have been in public situations in the UK where the overt racism or nationalism was overwhelming to me and of course golliwogs are sold in uk shops as well. The idea that most aussies don't know how offensive the N****** word is is quite odd. Why have I lived 40+ years in Australia without hearing a shopkeeper say it? Just lucky given "many" have to be constantly reminded? What rock do you think we all have been under?

We all have anecdotes of racism (would you like a long list of UK ones?) but I think we bring our own bias/nationalism and blind spots to the table when we decide which country is the more racist. There are racists everywhere and it up to you and me to speak up both here and the UK.

My old set of Kipling that belonged to my father has the swastika in the front. The hindu symbol is done a little differently, but I agree that most people don't know that and using it now would be very difficult because of that.

Seriously? In NT and Queensland I have encountered racist comments almost daily mainly from locals trying to be friendly!! It's a very different attitude and I really doubt any of them are aware that I find it offensive.

In London when I go home now my coloured friends joke that I've probably joined the 'clan' I've been in Oz so long. I think one of the most defining aspects of life in Qld is the racism and the self-imposed segregation (FNQ at least) between whites and aboriginals. My first day in Sydney too - I asked for a cab number from a lady in the street and was told 'if you can find one who speaks English and doesn't stink'..... Sorry, I just have never heard anything like this in the UK ever. I might exaggerate about some of the odder and more backward aspects about life in FNQ sometimes but the attitudes on race are hard fact.

What company is making them?

It would be interesting if it were a company making them for Aussies that doesn't make them for anyone else.

I didn't look but according to the Daily Mail (and why wouldn't they know ) they're from China.

Most things are from China now, regardless of the company that's selling them, so the odds of the Daily Mail getting that one right are higher than usual.