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 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 ...

news for 27 years, from Monday, 5 November 1956 until his retirement on Friday, 10 June 1983.

Career

Dibble was born in February 1923 in Newtown, New South Wales. He joined the ABC after the end of World War II. He started as a clerk in the accounts department. His voice soon attracted attention, and in

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 ...

he gained his first ABC job in radio doing voice-overs. Dibble was best known as the senior newsreader for ABC-TV, beginning with the first televised news bulletin on ABN-2 Sydney on 5 November 1956. He reported the biggest news stories of the period, including the Soviet intervention in the Hungarian Revolution (in his very first bulletin; the events in Hungary caused the scheduled commencement of the ABC-TV news service to be brought forward), the assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963), the disappearance of Prime Minister

Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...

(1967), the Apollo 11 Moon landing (1969), the destruction of

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by Cyclone Tracy (1974), and the dismissal of the Whitlam government (1975). He appeared as himself in episodes of the ABC-TV comedy series ''

Our Man In Canberra ''Our Man in the Company'' is an Australian comedy series which screened on the ABC in 1973 and 1974. This series was a spin-off from the controversial series ''Our Man in Canberra''. Cast * Jeff Ashby as Humphrey Sullivan * Katy Wild as Kate ...

'' and ''

Our Man In The Company ''Our Man in the Company'' is an Australian comedy series which screened on the ABC in 1973 and 1974. This series was a spin-off from the controversial series ''Our Man in Canberra''. Cast * Jeff Ashby as Humphrey Sullivan * Katy Wild as Kat ...

'' episodes, narrated segments of the radiophonic works
What's Rangoon To You Is Grafton To Me
(1978) and
Hot Bananas
, written by

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and originally broadcast on radio station 2JJ (Double Jay). Dibble also did voice-over work for many newsreels, documentariesJensen, Eri
"James Dibble, 'the face and voice of the ABC', dies at 87"
The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2010. p.3 Retrieved 14 December 2010 and educational films. Spanning almost 30 years, his career at the ABC ended with his retirement in 1983. His last broadcast was on 10 June of that year. However, in 1992 he returned to read the 8pm radio news from 1932 during a broadcast marking the 60th anniversary of ABC Radio.

Personal life

Dibble was the son of Roland and Vera Dibble. He attended school in Marrickville at St Brigid's Primary School and then De La Salle College. He served in the Pacific with the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

during World War II as a wireless telegraphist. Dibble never married or had children, but was described as a family-orientated man."ABC newsreader Dibble dies"
. Yahoo7, 13 December 2010, Retrieved 13 December 2010 He served as a chairman of the Peer Support Foundation, a president of the Rotary Club of Warringah, and a member of Rotary International District 9680 Public Relations Committee.

Awards

Dibble was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 1 January 1972 for services to media, and a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1989 for community and media services. He was also awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001. He was the first winner of the Better Hearing Australia Clear Speech Award in 1967, for his clear diction. He also received Clear Speech Awards in 1968 and 1981."Clear Speech Award Winners"
Better Hearing Australia-Sydney Branch, betterhearingsydney.org.au, Retrieved 14 December 2010

Death

Dibble died of cancer in Sydney on 13 December 2010, aged 87.

References

External links

* ttp://www.abc.net.au/sydney/stories/s739512.htm Mrs Dibble's Christmas Pudding
History of the ABC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dibble, James 1923 births 2010 deaths People from Sydney ABC News (Australia) presenters Members of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Centenary Medal Royal Australian Air Force airmen Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Burials in New South Wales Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II