Summary: To Deprave and Corrupt: Forbidden, Hidden and Censored Books | Dennis Bryans Robert Close’s two trials for obscene libel were fought tooth and nail by the prosecution. The reason for such alarm appears partly to have arisen because publishing since the war had advanced to where the demand for novels in Australia justified printing them here. This removed censorship controls from the Customs department and left the authorities with State police powers alone with which to enforce the law. Anxiety came from a section of the public, who, having been accustomed to partaking of a carefully scrutinised diet of literature imports was shocked by even the mildest of profanities published within the country. As the law stood the police could only act on receiving a complaint, and naturally there were complaints. Close was confident of winning when a mistrial was declared because Ian Mair, an Argus journalist, was seen having lunch with the jury foreman on the last day of the first trial. After a second trial in Victoria, Close was convicted and fined £100 and sentenced to gaol for three months in April 1948. ‘In passing sentence the judge said ‘he had little doubt that Close had selected the plot of “Love Me Sailor” because it gave him opportunities for salacious writing which he considered would appeal to a number of minds in the community and would result in a large sale.’A warrant was issued empowering police to search the premises of Georgian House and destroy any copies of "Love Me Sailor," held by bookshops, librarians or newsagents. The National Library resisted calls to withdraw the novel, which continued to be sold in the ACT. Throughout the Commonwealth advocates of law-reform, publishers and booksellers increasingly demanded action, resulting in uniformity of Commonwealth laws (1966) and the removal of responsibility from the Department of Customs and Excise in March 1973.
