''Bush Telegraph'' was a radio program on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National network, broadcast weekdays (Monday-Friday) at 11-12am, presenting stories from rural and regional Australia. It ran from 23 April 2001 until 19 December 2014. " Bush telegraph" is the Australian country term for the informal network which spreads news and gossip through a region of rural or

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

Australia.

History

The show began on 23 April 2001 and the last program was aired on Friday, 19 December 2014.

Format

The show presented original stories, Australian music, rural news and reports from ABC rural

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

s across Australia. The show's topics of debate included genetically modified food, services in rural Australia, climate change and water policies.

Special series

''Bush Telegraph'' also ran several innovative listener participation series, where listeners were able to vote on aspects of a project through the internet site and phone-in lines, such as:

2002/3: Grow Your Own

In 2002 and early 2003, ''Bush Telegraph'' listeners voted on production of a cotton crop. Stu Higgins, a cotton farmer from Jandowae (near Chinchilla) in Queensland, offered of his crop. The show had weekly updates, and votes were taken on matters such as: how the crop should be fertilised, or whether natural or artificial defoliant should be used. The crop was successful, and achieved a premium price. Higgins received an award, the Queensland Primary Industries Achievement Award for media and communication.

2006: Wine on the Wireless

For the 2006 harvest, commencing March 2006, a grape grower and winery owner, Ian Davison of Galens Tor winery near

Orange, New South Wales Orange is a city in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney on a great circle at an altitude of . Orange had an estimated urban population of 40,493 Estimated resident population, 3 ...

, offered Shiraz grapes for two vintages: * a listener-decided vintage; * a competing vintage made by students from the Orange

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

course. Each group would make a

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

of Shiraz wine with the help of professional winemakers, with professional judges deciding on the outcome. Listeners were able to buy bottles of each wine and decide for themselves.

Presenters

The last presenter was Cameron Wilson. Previous presenters include Helen Brown, Michael Mackenzie (2004-2009) and Michael Cathcart (2009-2012).

References

{{reflist Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio programmes 2014 disestablishments in Australia