David Thomas Worrall (18 June 1894 – 12 April 1968) was an Australian journalist, radio station manager and soldier. Worrall was born in
Castle Hill,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and died in
St Kilda,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Military service
David Worrall enlisted with the
Australian Imperial Force on 14 October 1915. He saw service in Egypt, France and Sydney. He was wounded at
Pozières
Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge.
Southwest of the village on ...
, France in August 1916 and then spent some time in England in recovery. He was discharged on 29 July 1919.
Journalism
Prior to enlisting, Worrall had worked for
The Leader newspaper in
Orange, New South Wales. After discharge from the A.I.F., Worrall returned to journalism; his first job being with the
Newcastle Morning Herald. Melbourne's
Sun News-Pictorial commenced publication in 1922 and Worrall was one of the first journalists to be employed there. In 1925, he went to
New York where he provided articles for the
New York World
The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...
, as well as supplying material on a freelance basis to
The Herald (Melbourne)
''The Herald'' was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990, which is when it merged with its sister morning newspaper '' The Sun News-Pictorial'' to form the '' ...
and
The Sun (Sydney)
''The Sun'' was an Australian afternoon tabloid newspaper, first published under that name in 1910.
History
''The Sunday Sun'' was first published on 5 April 1903.
In 1910 Hugh Denison founded Sun Newspaper Ltd and took over publication of t ...
. He settled in Melbourne in 1928, beginning a long association with
Sir Keith Murdoch
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation.
Early life
Murdoc ...
and the Murdoch media. In the late 1920s, he organised the Herald learn-to-swim campaign, and their Ideal Town competition.
3DB
Worrall is perhaps best known as the long-running manager of Melbourne radio station
3DB (now
KIIS 101.1
KIIS 1011 (official callsign: 3TTT) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on a frequency of 101.1 MHz and is the Melbourne affiliate of ARN's KIIS Network. The station was formerly known as 3DB ...
). 3DB commenced broadcasting in 1927 under the ownership of the Druleigh Business and Technical College Pty Ltd, hence the DB call-sign. However, from 1929 until 1987, 3DB was owned and operated by
The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd
The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987.
Newspapers
The HWT's newspaper interests date ...
(HWT), owners of ''
The Herald'' and later ''
The Sun News-Pictorial
''The Sun News-Pictorial'' (known as ''The Sun'') was a morning daily tabloid newspaper published in Melbourne, Victoria, from 1922 until its merger in 1990 with '' The Herald'' to form the ''Herald-Sun''.
''The Sun News-Pictorial'' was part ...
''.
David Worrall was appointed manager of the station in 1929, by the ''Herald and Weekly Times'' Sir
Keith Murdoch
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation.
Early life
Murdoc ...
, and he was to remain as manager until 1958. He was responsible for introducing many big budget programs covering all forms of broadcastable material which, inter alia, made 3DB the top station in all Melbourne radio surveys for many decades.
Major Broadcasting Network
Worrall also formed the
Major Broadcasting Network
The Major Broadcasting Network was an important part of the Australian broadcasting scene from 1938 until the 1970s.
History and background
In 1938 David Worrall, manager of 3DB Melbourne, launched the Major Broadcasting Network which up until i ...
, with associated stations throughout Australia. From its formation in 1938 until its closure in the late 1970s, the Major Network was usually recognised as being second in importance after its rival, the
Macquarie Radio Network
Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cit ...
.
Australian Federation of "B" Broadcasting Stations
In 1930 Worrall helped to form the Australian Federation of "B" Broadcasting Stations, now
Commercial Radio Australia
Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) is the peak body for the commercial radio broadcasting industry in Australia. CRA was formed in 1930 as the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters.
It provides representation and advocacy on common statuto ...
, and he was its Federal President in 1938.
Family
David Worrall was the son of Thomas Hirst Worrall, an English-born orchardist and artist, and his wife Emily Jane née Barker.
He grew up in
West Maitland
Maitland () is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle. It is on the New England ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, and was educated at public schools in the
Hunter Region.
In 1929, he married Kathleen Zoe née Norris at the Independent Church, Collins Street, Melbourne.
Kathleen Worrall became a prominent broadcaster in her own right, using the nom-de-plume ''Martha Gardener''. She first broadcast on 3DB and later
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.
The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co.
Hist ...
,
3UZ
RSN Racing & Sport (ACMA callsign: 3UZ) is an Australian radio station in Australia. Owned and operated by thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing bodies of Victoria, it broadcasts a sports radio format to Melbourne, and to much of Victori ...
,
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
radio and
GTV9
GTV is a commercial television station in Melbourne, Australia, owned by the Nine Network. The station is currently based at studios at 717 Bourke Street, Docklands.
History
GTV-9 was amongst the first television stations to begin regular t ...
. Her programs, aimed mainly at a female audience, offered handy hints to listeners, usually in answer to their questions.
[http://adb.anu.edu.au/biogralandphy/worrall-kathleen-zoe-27552 ]
See also
*
3DB
*
Major Broadcasting Network
The Major Broadcasting Network was an important part of the Australian broadcasting scene from 1938 until the 1970s.
History and background
In 1938 David Worrall, manager of 3DB Melbourne, launched the Major Broadcasting Network which up until i ...
*
Australian Federation of "B" Broadcasting Stations
*
Herald and Weekly Times
The Herald and Weekly Times Pty Ltd (HWT) is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by News Pty Ltd, which as News Ltd, purchased the HWT in 1987.
Newspapers
The HWT's newspaper interests date ba ...
*
Sir Hugh Denison
Sir Hugh Robert Denison, originally Hugh Robert Dixson (11 November 1865 – 25 November 1940) was a businessman, parliamentarian and philanthropist in South Australia and later New South Wales. He was a member of the South Australian House ...
*
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch (12 August 1885 – 4 October 1952) was an Australian journalist, businessman and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the current Executive chairman for News Corporation and the chairman of Fox Corporation.
Early life
Murdoc ...
*
Sidney Myer
Sidney Myer (born Simcha Myer Baevski (); 8 February 18785 September 1934) was a Russian-born Jewish-Australian businessman and philanthropist, best known for founding Myer, Australia's largest chain of department stores.
Early life
Myer was ...
*
Martha Gardener (broadcaster)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worrall, David Thomas
Australian broadcasters
Australian military personnel of World War I
Australian people of English descent
1894 births
1968 deaths
20th-century Australian journalists