Tharunka is a student newspaper published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 at the then New South Wales University of Technology, Tharunka has been published in a variety of forms by various student organisations. At present, Tharunka is published approximately 10 times a year by Arc @ UNSW Limited. The name Tharunka means "message stick" in a Central Australian Aboriginal language.
Until 1980, Tharunka was a weekly newspaper, switching to a fortnightly magazine format from 1981. In 2004 and 2005, Tharunka returned to a tabloid newspaper format. In 2006, Tharunka returned to the fortnightly magazine format. Since 2013, the newspaper has been published in a tabloid newspaper format.
Tharunka was published by the UNSW Students Union from 1953 until 1992, when that body was replaced by the University of New South Wales Student Guild. The Guild published Tharunka from 1993 until 2006. A new student organisation, Arc @ UNSW Limited, took over publication of Tharunka from 2007, with Tharunka now published by a student team under the steerage of its Marketing Department.
By the light of the moon
To a 50's tune
He pledged his love to her
A girl so rare
A girl so fair
The girl for him for sure
He could see himself getting up every mornin'
For the rest of his life
Just to look in those eyes so blue
It was all he ever wanted to do
She was all he'd ever need to see him through
They were still in their teens
When he gave her the ring
They were married late one May
And they moved into a little house
On the far end of town
Out by the big highway
And all through the days
And all through the nights
The cars and trucks rolled on by
And he slept through it all just fine
Every night he slept just fine
Sometimes she'd stare at the stars out the window
Sometimes she'd walk `neath the moon
Sometimes she'd sit there just watching him sleeping
Hoping the dawn would come soon
She'd done well in school
She'd followed the rules
And she'd always stood out from the rest
She'd go off to college
And work her way through
Then move to some city out west
She had it all planned
She'd have her career
She'd have all of the things that she'd always lacked
She'd wake up one morning all packed
And leave here and never look back
Most of her friends thought it soon would be over
Not many thought it would last
Most seemed to think they were all wrong for each other
And soon it would pass - soon it would pass
Now twenty years have gone
And her kids have moved on
And she's still on the far end of town
Her youngest - she's livin' somewhere in L.A.
And her oldest - he works on a nearby farm
Her husband comes home
And they talk over supper
He's usually the first to turn in
Another day comes to an end
Another day just ends
And sometimes in the wee hours when the traffic dies down
She'll hear the sound of some bird on the wing
And she'll look out the window and she'll look at his picture
But not at the ring - not at the ring