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The
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 ...
had its origins in a licensing scheme for individual radio stations administered by the
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...
established in 1923 into a content provider in
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
. From 1928 the National Broadcasting Service was established to take over 12 radio licences as a national broadcaster, while the
Australian Broadcasting Company
The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a company founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £A 100,000 by a consortium of entertainment interests, notably Farmer & Company, J. C. Williamson Limited and J. & N. Tait to fou ...
(a private company established in 1924) was responsible for supplying programs to the service.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission was established on 1 July 1932, funded by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
and bound by legislation enshrined in the ''Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932''. During and after the war, the ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. From July 1946, the broadcaster was required by new legislation to broadcast parliamentary sessions from the
Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
, and its news services were expanded.
A national television service was introduced in November 1956, and ABC news bureaus were established in several countries through the 1960s and 1970s. During those decades too,
ABC TV showcased
rock 'n roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
music on music programmes
Six O'Clock Rock
''Six O'Clock Rock'' was an Australian rock and roll television show broadcast on ABC from 28 February 1959 to 1962 at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Program synopsis
Inspired by the BBC program '' 6.5 Special'', it had a similar format to its riva ...
and ''
Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
''.
The ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983'' changed the name of the organisation from the "Australian Broadcasting Commission" to the "Australian Broadcasting Corporation", effective 1 July 1983. The ABC Multimedia Unit was established in 1995, to manage the new ABC
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...
.
In July 2002, to celebrate ABC's 70th anniversary, the corporation launched a new logo across all media. In 2006 the
Howard government abolished the position of staff-elected director and restructured the ABC Board.
Origins
Background
The first
public radio station
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
opened in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
at 8:00pm on 23 November 1923 under the call sign
2SB (later 2BL),
which was the first full-time
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
in Australia.
Other stations in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
followed.
A licensing scheme administered by the Postmaster-General's Department was soon established, allowing certain stations government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content.
In 1924, the licensing system was changed. The Postmaster-General's Department collected all licence fees and broadcasters were funded as either A-Class or B-Class stations. A-Class stations (funded largely by listeners' subscriptions
[) received government funding and were able to take limited advertising, while B-Class stations received no government funding but could carry more advertising.]
A 1927 Royal Commission into wireless broadcasting recommended that radio licence fees be pooled to fund larger A-Class stations. The government established the National Broadcasting Service to take over the 12 A-Class licences as they came up for renewal from 1928 through to 1930, at the same time acquiring the stations transmitters and studios.[ The original legislation permitted advertising, but this was removed from the Act before it came into effect.] At the same time, the government contracted the Australian Broadcasting Company
The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a company founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £A 100,000 by a consortium of entertainment interests, notably Farmer & Company, J. C. Williamson Limited and J. & N. Tait to fou ...
, a private company established in 1924, to supply programs to the new national broadcaster.
Initially the Postmaster-General's Department, which operated postal and telephone services, was responsible for operating the National Broadcasting Service, but this arrangement did not have universal political support.
Establishment of the ABC
The Australian Broadcasting Commission
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-owned ...
was established on 1 July 1932 by the ''Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932'', to take over the Australian Broadcasting Company and run the National Broadcasting Service. The ABC was to be based on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
model, funded primarily from listener license fees with some direct government grants.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission's original twelve radio stations were:
*
2FC Sydney
*
2BL Sydney
*
3AR Melbourne
*
3LO
ABC Radio Melbourne (official callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924, and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after 3AR.
Most Local Radio stations in Victoria s ...
Melbourne
*
4QG Brisbane
*
5CL Adelaide
*
6WF
ABC Radio Perth (call sign: 6WF) is the on-air identifier of a radio station located in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasting at 720 hertz, kHz amplitude modulation, AM. It is the flags ...
Perth
*
7ZL Hobart
*
2NC Newcastle
*
2CO Corowa (Albury)
*
4RK Rockhampton
*
5CK Crystal Brook
These formed the basis for the present-day
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
and
Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
networks.
At its inception, the commission was headed by five commissioners appointed by the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. From these five commissioners, one was appointed to the office of chairperson and another to the office of vice-chairperson.
This board of directors then appointed a General Manager that did not have the office of commissioner.
International broadcaster
Radio Australia
ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...
was incorporated into the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932.
The opening-day program included the first
Children's Session with 'Bobby Bluegum', the first sports program, 'Racing Notes', with WA Ferry calling the Randwick races, 'British Wireless News', received by cable from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...
,
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
and
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
news, the ABC Women's Association session (on 'common-sense housekeeping' and
needlecraft
Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...
), a talk on
goldfish
The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have ...
and their care, as well as 'Morning
Devotions' and music. Conductor
Sir Bernard Heinze was appointed part-time musical adviser to the ABC in 1934, while in 1937, the network was further expanded with the purchase of Brisbane's
4BC. Two years later, the commission began publishing the ''ABC Weekly'' – a radio magazine promoting the ABC's local radio, and later television, programs.
Over the next four years, the stations were reformed into a cohesive broadcasting organisation through regular program relays, coordinated by a centralised bureaucracy. The Australian broadcast radio spectrum at the time was made up of the ABC and the commercial sector.
During the broadcaster's first decades, programs generally consisted of music, news and current affairs, sport, drama, religion, children's educational supplements and school broadcasts. Because recording technology was still relatively primitive, all ABC programs (including music) were broadcast live until 1935, when the first disc-based recorder was installed at the commission's Sydney studios. For this purpose, the ABC established broadcasting
orchestras in each state, and in some centres employed choruses and dance bands.
Among the other early programs were the stations' famous "synthetic"
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
broadcasts – when tests were played in England, commentators in the ABC's
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
studios used cables from
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and sound effects to recreate the match in play. In addition, all 38 of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's plays were performed live between 1936 and 1938. Local drama was also produced, with a competition for plays and sketches from Australian authors held in 1934. Talks from prominent figures of the time such as
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
,
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
, British Prime Minister
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...
, German Chancellor
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
and
H.G. Wells were also broadcast.
By 1933, regular program relays were in place between the ABC's stations in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
,
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
– it was not until 1936 that
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
was connected with the mainland, through a cable under the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
.
News bulletins, however, continued to be read in each state from local newspapers (by agreement with the Newspaper Proprietors Association). It was not until 1934 that the ABC hired its first
journalist
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 ...
– the service continued to be expanded, with the appointment of a Federal News Editor in 1936, and in 1939 a
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
correspondent to cover national politics.
In November 1935, Sir
Charles Moses
Sir Charles Alfred Joseph Moses (21 January 19009 February 1988) was a British-born Australian administrator who was general manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) from 1935 until 1965.
A 1918 graduate of the Royal Military ...
was appointed general manager at the age of 35, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1965.
News broadcasts were initially restricted, due to pressure from
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 ...
, who controlled many Australian newspapers. However, journalists such as Frank Dixon and
John Hinde began to subvert the agreements in the late 1930s. in 1939, Warren Denning was appointed to Canberra as the first ABC political correspondent, after Murdoch had refused to allow his newspapers to cover a speech by
Joseph Lyons
Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the List of prime ministers of Australia by time in office, 10th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1932 until his death in 1939. He ...
.
World War II
![ABC Mobile Studio Caravan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/ABC_Mobile_Studio_Caravan.jpg)
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the ABC continued to recruit staff, including a greater proportion of women to replace men who had joined the armed forces.
In 1941
Margaret Doyle became the first female radio announcer on Australian national radio. The organisation established reporting and recording facilities in a number of overseas locations, including the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and around the
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
region. An early challenge to its independence came in June 1940 when wartime censorship was imposed, meaning that the Department of Information (headed by 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 ...
) took control of the ABC's 7pm nightly national news bulletin. This lasted until September, when control of the news was returned to the ABC after listeners expressed a preference for independent news presented by the commission.
In 1940 one of the
ABC Board
The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. , Ita Buttrose is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Jane Connors is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...
's most prominent members,
Dick Boyer
Sir Richard James Fildes (Dick) Boyer, (24 August 1891 – 5 June 1961) was an Australian Pastoral farming, grazier and broadcasting chairman, chief. From 1945 until his death he served as chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Aus ...
, was appointed to the ABC, becoming chairman on 1 April 1945. Today known for the continuing series of
Boyer Lectures
The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National.
The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commis ...
initiated by him in 1959, he had a good but not too close with the general manager Sir
Charles Moses
Sir Charles Alfred Joseph Moses (21 January 19009 February 1988) was a British-born Australian administrator who was general manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) from 1935 until 1965.
A 1918 graduate of the Royal Military ...
, and remained chair until his retirement in 1961.
During the war, the ABC's
news bulletins
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televi ...
attained a reputation for authority and independence, and from 1942 onwards, were broadcast three times daily through all national and most commercial
transmitters
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to th ...
. During and after the war, the ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role.
On 7 January 1941, the ABC revived the Children's Session as a national program, including the "
Argonauts Club", which was first broadcast in 1933–34 in Melbourne.
The Argonauts Club proved hugely popular with young Australians – by 1950 there were over 50,000 members, with 10,000 new members joining each year through 1950s. The Club encouraged children's contributions of writing, music, poetry and art, and became one of the ABC's most popular programs, running six days a week for 28 years.
![Patricia Delaney ABC Announcer 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Patricia_Delaney_ABC_Announcer_1944.jpg)
In 1942, ''The Australian Broadcasting Act 1942'' was passed, giving the ABC the power to decide when, and in what circumstances, political speeches should be broadcast. Directions from the Minister about whether or not to broadcast any matter now had to be made in writing, and any exercise of the power had to be mentioned in the commission's Annual Report. It was used only once, in 1963. In the same year, "Kindergarten of the Air" began on ABC Radio in Perth. It was later broadcast nationally and became one of the ABC's most popular programs.
Another Act passed in the same year required that one of the commissioners be a woman.
[
Boyer was determined to maintain the autonomy of the ABC and not allow it to be subject to interference by politicians, and was able to persuade Prime Minister ]John Curtin
John Curtin (8 January 1885 – 5 July 1945) was an Australian politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Australia from 1941 until his death in 1945. He led the country for the majority of World War II, including all but the last few ...
in 1945 to issue a public statement recognising the ABC's "special independence of judgement and action".[
]
Post-war
In December 1945, the long-running rural and regional affairs program ''The Country Hour
''The Country Hour'' is Australia's longest running radio program, established in 1945. The program is currently broadcast on all regional ABC Local Radio stations from midday to 1pm each weekday, presenting news from rural and regional Australia, ...
'' premiered. The ABC's coverage of rural affairs was significantly enhanced by the deployment of journalists and "extension officers" to major country areas. The increasing availability of landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
s and teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...
s allowed the organisation to gather and broadcast news and other program material with much greater efficiency than in the previous two decades. By this time, as many as 13 national news bulletins were broadcast daily.
Legislation passed in 1946 (the ''Parliamentary Proceedings Broadcasting Act 1946'') requiring the ABC to broadcast Parliament live when in session. The first broadcast from Parliament was of Question Time
A question time in a parliament occurs when members of the parliament ask questions of government ministers (including the prime minister), which they are obliged to answer. It usually occurs daily while parliament is sitting, though it can be ca ...
on 10 July 1946. The broadcasts were put onto the interstate network; however, the Commission frequently commented on the disruption this caused to its programming in its annual report
An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance. ...
s. The ABC was also required to "secure its news for broadcasting purposes within the Commonwealth by its own staff, and abroad through such overseas news agencies and other overseas sources as it desired" (along with its own foreign correspondents). The news department continued to expand, and was inaugurated on 1 June 1947.
Prime Minister Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...
pledged that his government would aim to introduce television to the country as soon as possible. Changes to the ABC's funding structure took place in 1948. Amendments were made to the Broadcasting Act with the effect that the ABC would no longer receive its finances from licenses, but from a government appropriation. These amendments also increased the number of commissioners to seven, specifying that two must be public servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
s – one each from the Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
departments and the Postmaster-General's Department.[ Boyer however continued to insist on the ABC's independence.][ (The requirement for public servants was dropped in the ''Broadcasting and Television Act 1956'', but the need for seven commissioners was retained – this allowed for each state and territory to be represented.][)
Changes made in the post-war moved "serious" programming such as news, current affairs, and features – early forms of what became known as ]documentaries
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
to the commission's national network, with lighter entertainment programming left for the metropolitan stations. A Light Entertainment department was formed, to produce programs such as ''ABC Hit Parade'', the ''Wilfrid Thomas Show
Wilfrid Coad Thomas AO (2 May 1904 – 16 August 1991) was a British-born singer and broadcaster, who had a significant career in Australia, then as radio and television commentator for the BBC in London. His name is very frequently mis-spelled ...
'', Bob Dyer
Robert Neal Dyer OBE (May 22, 1909 – January 9, 1984) was a Gold Logie-award-winning American-born vaudeville entertainer and singer, radio and television personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dy ...
's ''Dude Ranch'' and ''The Village Glee Club''.
In 1956, the ABC had three international bureaux in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
. In the same year, a new office opened in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
The television era: 1956
In 1953, the federal ''Television Act'' was passed, providing the initial regulatory framework for both the ABC and commercial television networks. Over the next three years, planning for the introduction of a national television service was put in place – land for studios and transmitters in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
was acquired, and overseas tutors were brought to Australia to assist with training.
The first national public television station in Australia opened in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
at 7:00pm on 5 November 1956 under the call sign ABN-2
ABN is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located wit ...
. It was opened by Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
, with the first television broadcast presented by Michael Charlton
Michael Charlton (born 1 May 1927) is an Australian-born Gold Logie winning former journalist and broadcaster, who worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for many years.
Biography
Charlton was born in Sydney to broadcaster Conrad and Hazel ...
, and James Dibble
James Edward Dibble (4 February 1923 – 13 December 2010) was an Australian television presenter, best known as the presenter of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Sydney news for 27 years, from Monday, 5 November 1956 until his ...
reading the first television news bulletin. ABV-2
ABV is the name of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Melbourne, Victoria.
History
The station began broadcasting on 19 November 1956 and is transmitted throughout the state via a network of relay transmitters. ABV ...
(Melbourne, Victoria) followed two weeks later at 7:00pm on 18 November 1956. Stations in other capital cities followed: ABQ-2 (Brisbane, Queensland) (1959), ABS-2
ABS-2 is a Space Systems/Loral FS 1300 satellite launched in February 2014. It is positioned in geostationary orbit at 75E and serves four continents across Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and CIS countries. The satellite ...
(Adelaide, South Australia) (1960), ABW-2 (Perth, Western Australia) (1960), and ABT-2 (Hobart, Tasmania) (1960). ABC-3
ABC Television in the ACT comprises national and local programming on the ABC television network in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital city of Australia, Canberra, and broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC ...
(Canberra) opened in 1961, and ABD-6 (Darwin, Northern Territory) opened in 1971, both named after the base city.
Although radio programs could be broadcast nationally by landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
, television relay facilities were not put in place until the early 1960s. This meant that news bulletins had to be sent to each capital city by teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...
, to be prepared and presented separately in each city, with filmed materials copied manually and sent to each state.
A purpose-built television studio
A television studio, also called a television production studio, is an installation room in which video productions take place, either for the production of live television and its recording onto video tape or other media such as SSDs, or for t ...
was built in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and opened on 29 January 1958, replacing temporary sound studios used since the ABC's television services launched in 1956. In the same year, technical equipment was also moved to permanent locations, while main transmitters were introduced to Melbourne and Sydney in 1957 and 1958 respectively.
1960s and 1970s
Weekly current affairs program ''Four Corners
The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...
'' began in 1961, followed in the same year by ''Profiles of Power'', a series of interviews with prominent Australians. Direct relays between Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, as well as Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, were also established in 1961, replacing temporary microwave relays as a means of simultaneously airing programs across multiple stations., Videotape equipment, allowing the sharing of footage with much greater ease and speed, was installed in each state capital by 1962.
The ABC was one of the first television networks to embrace the rock'n'roll revolution of the late 1950s, most notably with ''Six O'Clock Rock
''Six O'Clock Rock'' was an Australian rock and roll television show broadcast on ABC from 28 February 1959 to 1962 at 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Program synopsis
Inspired by the BBC program '' 6.5 Special'', it had a similar format to its riva ...
'', hosted by Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...
. During the 60s and early 70s the ABC continued to produce programs on popular music, including the pop show ''Hitscene'', performance specials by groups such as Tully and Max Merritt & The Meteors, as well as the magazine-style program ''GTK
GTK (formerly GIMP ToolKit and GTK+) is a free and open-source cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs). It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, allowing both free and propriet ...
'', which premiered in 1969 and screened for 10 minutes, four nights per week at 6.30pm, immediately prior to Bellbird and the 7pm news bulletin.
Although it was long thought that most of this priceless material had been erased – much like the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, an "economy drive" undertaken in the late 1970s led to the erasure of large amounts of videotaped material, including most of the first two years of ''