''Wombat'' was an Australian children's television show which screened on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

from 1979 to 1990. It was produced at BTQ7 in Brisbane and aired across Australia on weekday afternoons, and later Saturday and Sunday mornings.

Synopsis

The show had a number of hosts or presenters who were accompanied by their co-host Agro, a puppet portrayed/voiced by comedian

Jamie Dunn Jamie Dunn (born 12 August 1950) is an Australian television and radio personality, puppeteer, comedian, and voice artist. Starting his entertainment career as a singer, Dunn moved into television, working the puppet Agro on ''Agro's Cartoon C ...

, who had previously become known on the program ''Boris' Breakfast Club''. The show consisted of small educational editorials presented in a variety of segments. The segments featured a number of regular reporters including Eric Summons, Cecelia Martine, Craig Campbell, Fiona MacDonald, Fran Morrison,

Bob La Castra Robert "Bob" La Castra (born in England) is an Australian local politician who was a popular children's television show presenter in the 1980s, best known for hosting the children's show ''Wombat'' and the game show ''Big Square Eye''. He went on ...

, identical twins

Gayle & Gillian Blakeney Gayle and Gillian Blakeney are Australian identical twins who performed together as actresses and as a dance/pop duo in the 1990s, releasing music under the monikers The Twins and Gayle and Gillian. Born in Brisbane on 9 July 1966, Gayle is old ...

Rob Elliott Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by actor Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 Sep ...

, Jill Ray, Sam Harvey and

Gary Hardgrave Gary Douglas Hardgrave (born 5 January 1960) is a former Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing the Liberal Party. He was a minister in the Howard Government from 2001 to 2007, and later ...

. The program also included children as regular reporters including Scott Sutherland, Pippa? Some of these reporters performed double duty as host of the show, notably

and

. Other regular guests included: Laurel Edwards, Michael Futcher, Stacey Thomson ("Ranger Stacey"), Ashley Wilkie, Kristine Davis, Nicky Gibson, and Glenn Hansen.

Awards

The show received four consecutive

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for Most Popular Children's Program from 1987 to 1990. It also won a United Nations Media Peace Award for the 1988 Bicentennial Special. In addition, Agro won a

Penguin Award The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954. The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin, hence the ...

from the Television Society of Australia. Some of the cast went on to appear in the similar themed ''

Totally Wild ''Totally Wild'' is an Australian children's television series which premiered on Network 10 on 12 July 1992. The series aired on 10 Peach from 2013 to 2020, and 10 Shake from 2020 to 2021. It had a current affairs program format, and did stor ...

''. Agro himself went on to host ''

Agro's Cartoon Connection ''Agro's Cartoon Connection'' was an Australian children's television show that aired on the Seven Network from 1990 to 1997. Shown on weekday mornings, it was primarily hosted by Agro, a puppet played by comedian Jamie Dunn. It was originally ...

'' and '' The Super Sunday Show''.

External links

*
Wombat at the National Film and Sound Archive
Australian children's television series Australian television shows featuring puppetry Seven Network original programming 1979 Australian television series debuts 1990 Australian television series endings 1980s Australian television series {{Australia-tv-prog-stub

Synopsis

Awards

See also

External links