''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' is an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n children's television show that aired on
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
from 1979 until 1987. It was created and hosted by journalist
Simon Townsend. In 1993, the show was relaunched on the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
as ''Wonder World!'', hosted by
Pascall Fox.
Format
Each episode of ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' featured an introduction by Townsend as the studio host, accompanied by his pet and companion
bloodhound
The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar, rabbits, and since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is ...
Woodrow (Woodrow died in 1986 and was replaced at first with a
sulphur-crested cockatoo
The sulphur-crested cockatoo (''Cacatua galerita'') is a relatively large white cockatoo found in wooded habitats in Australia, New Guinea, and some of the islands of Indonesia. They can be locally very numerous, leading to them sometimes being ...
and then with a
Labrador retriever
The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...
puppy. A competition was run amongst the viewers to name the new puppy and as Townsend had recently won a
Logie award
The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...
, the puppy was named Logie). Townsend would then present four individual magazine-style stories, each presented by a different reporter.
The stories covered many subjects—sometimes serious, sometimes funny, always entertaining. The production team included an executive producer (for most of the show's run, this was
Harvey Shore
Harvey Shore (born 14 February 1947) is an Australian film and television writer-producer. Shore was the producer of the children's TV show, '' Simon Townsend's Wonder World'' from 1980 to 1986, which won five Logie Awards during his tenure.
...
), plus as associate producer, a production assistant, two researchers, two cinematographers, two sound recordists, four reporters and four editors. This team produced the equivalent of one average feature film every week—about eighty minutes of screen time—shot on
16mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
reversal film
In photography, reversal film or slide film is a type of photographic film that produces a positive image on a transparent base. Instead of negatives and prints, reversal film is processed to produce transparencies or diapositives (abbrevia ...
. Stories were not scripted; each one relying upon the researcher's report, the producer's briefing, and the ingenuity of the reporter and the two-person crew.
Every show also contained a viewer segment, and a music segment—often produced by the program itself. For instance, ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' made the first-ever music video to feature Australian band
INXS
INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
. During the course of the series, Townsend and his reporters travelled all over Australia and to many and varied locations in
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the
UK,
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
the Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...
, and other places in the
Pacific region
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
. But Simon Townsend always insisted that Wonder World stories should generally be timeless and placeless, so—although produced in Sydney—they would always appeal to "Tom in Perth".
Simon Townsend would end every show with the same signature farewell—"And remember, the world really is wonderful!"
History
The program was conceived by Townsend in the early 1970s and was designed to be a fast-moving daily dose of informed entertainment for children, as well as be suitable for and attractive to older teens and adults.
Both the
Nine
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Hindu–Arabic digit
Circa 300 BC, as part of the Brahmi numerals, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bot ...
and the
Seven networks helped Townsend make pilots for his concept, but neither network bought the series. However, in 1979 when the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Government of Australia, Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Communications and the Arts, Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 wit ...
introduced a compulsory 'C' classification (making it a requirement for networks to broadcast only 'C' classified shows between 4 pm and 5 pm weekdays), Townsend saw the potential and offered the
Ten Network
Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...
, which was searching for a suitable children's program at the time, the opportunity to produce his show.
The first episode of ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' went to air on 3 September 1979 in Sydney and 10 September 1979 in Melbourne. In early 1980, after
Harvey Shore
Harvey Shore (born 14 February 1947) is an Australian film and television writer-producer. Shore was the producer of the children's TV show, '' Simon Townsend's Wonder World'' from 1980 to 1986, which won five Logie Awards during his tenure.
...
joined the show as executive producer and used his extensive media contacts and movie publicity experience to generate regular publicity and create massive public awareness of the show among all network states, the ratings shot up and other capital cities and regional stations began signing up for the show.
By the end of 1980 the show was screening in every TV broadcast region throughout Australia. Soon it became the top-rating program on the Ten Network outside prime time—and sometimes its ratings were better than prime-time programs. For many years the Ten Network ran two episodes of ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World'' every weekday because of its ratings power—a repeat show at 4 pm followed by a new show at 4:30 pm.
After 1,961 episodes, the show ended in 1987 with the final episode broadcast in Sydney on 20 August 1987 and in Melbourne on 3 September 1987
''Wonder World!''
Six years later, in 1993, the Nine Network decided to re-launch Townsend's show with a new host,
Pascall Fox. The title was shortened to ''Wonder World!'', and again ran every weekday afternoon on Nine for the next three years. It also used the same theme music as the original ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' This version was sung by James Morley. At the time, Morley was the bass player for the rock band
The Angels. Simon Townsend is still the rights holder to the theme music and the program format.
Theme music
Simon Townsend was originally keen to use the 1976
Bill Danoff
William Thomas Danoff (born May 7, 1946) is an American songwriter and singer. He is known for " Afternoon Delight", which he wrote and performed as a member of the Starland Vocal Band, and for writing multiple hits for John Denver, including " ...
song ''
Afternoon Delight
"Afternoon Delight" is a song recorded by Starland Vocal Band. It was written by band member Bill Danoff. In the US, it became a No. 1 single on July 10, 1976, and earned a gold record.
Background and writing
The title came from the happy hour ...
'' as the theme song for his afternoon TV show. In fact, this song was used as the opener when the show first went to air. However, when the meaning of the lyrics was pointed out to him, Townsend decided to commission a new and original theme song clearly linked to the eponymous host of the show.
As a consequence, Townsend hired Australian
songwriter
A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...
/
producer Chris Pelcer to write a theme song for ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!''.
John St Peeters
John St Peeters (born Johnny Lo Piccolo, 3 October 1956) is an Australian musician, TV presenter and songwriter. His top 40 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Deep Inside of Me" (July 1978) and "So Many Ways" (April 1979). St ...
sang this original theme. It was arranged and produced by Mike Harvey at
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
Studios Sydney in 1979, and released as a single by
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
that same year. It was simply titled "Wonder World!" on the record sleeve. In 1983, Simon decided to re-record this theme song.
John St Peeters
John St Peeters (born Johnny Lo Piccolo, 3 October 1956) is an Australian musician, TV presenter and songwriter. His top 40 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are "Deep Inside of Me" (July 1978) and "So Many Ways" (April 1979). St ...
was by then working in the
US, and unavailable; so Simon cast around for a new voice and eventually settled on up-and-coming female singer, Naomi Louise Warne, who went on to achieve international fame as a blues singer, composer and instrumentalist. Warne's voice and style just edged out
Edith Bliss, a reporter on ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'', who had released her own songs, possessed a good voice, and was keen to get the gig. Warne's version of the theme was recorded in 1983 and again released on a record, and was used on the TV show every weekday afternoon for one season, then a new, upbeat re-recording by John St Peeters was used until Townsend's show ended in 1987.
Awards and accolades
''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' won many awards, including five Logie awards, a TV Star Award and many other trophies, certificates of commendation and popularity prizes. In 1983, Australian
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
presented Simon Townsend with a special 'Prime Minister's Award' trophy, commemorating the milestone of broadcasting the one thousandth episode of ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' (as recorded in ''
TV Week
''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news.
Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
'', issue of 9 June 1983). The show still remains the highest-rating children's program in Australian TV history.
Townsend was always a great supporter of new Australian talents. His company, Townsend Entertainments, gave many people their first opportunity to prove themselves in the entertainment business and was the first production company in Australia to give a woman, Bronwyn Nicholas, a full-time position as a
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
. Another ''Wonder World!'' cinematographer
Andrew Lesnie
Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC (1 January 1956 – 27 April 2015) was an Australian cinematographer.
He was best known for his collaboration with director Peter Jackson on ''The Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014) and ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy ...
went on to win an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for his film work. Many others who later became well known in the film and TV industry got their first break thanks to ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!''. The program's alumni include:
Jonathan Coleman, who became a huge star in both Australia and UK,
Angela Catterns
Angela Catterns, (born 30 September 1953) is an Australian media personality and broadcaster. Mostly known for her work on Australian radio, she has presented Mornings on Triple J, the National Evening Show on ABC Local Radio, and Breakfast on ...
, who became a radio star, and Edith Bliss, who starred in both advertising and music. Philip Tanner and Maurice Parker became top producers, while Tanner and Brett Clements later made
board game
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
s after being inspired by a ''Wonder World!'' story on
Crown & Andrews. Researcher Kristine Wyld went on to write and produce many TV drama series, and researcher Fiona Baker created many hit TV shows (like ''
RPA'') for the Nine Network and later for other TV networks, after getting her first job as a researcher on ''Wonder World!'' straight out of university.
Reporters
The star reporters on ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' during its seven years on air included:
*
Jonathan Coleman
*
Angela Catterns
Angela Catterns, (born 30 September 1953) is an Australian media personality and broadcaster. Mostly known for her work on Australian radio, she has presented Mornings on Triple J, the National Evening Show on ABC Local Radio, and Breakfast on ...
*
Hugh Piper
* Sandy Mauger
*
Edith Bliss
*
Sheridan Jobbins
*
Alita Fahey
* Maurice Parker
* Phillip Tanner
* Hugh Munro
* Brett Clements
* Wednesday Kennedy
* Adam Bowen
* Carolyn Mee
* Malinda Rutter
''Wonder World!''
In 1992, two of Simon Townsend's former reporters, Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements, purchased a license from Townsend to produce a new version of ''Simon Townsend's Wonder World!'' and sold the new version to the Nine Network, which re-launched the show. The successor's new name was shortened to ''Wonder World!''. The "Wonder World!" theme song, written for the show at Simon Townsend's request by Australian songwriter/producer Chris Pelcer, remained the show's theme until its final episode.
Harvey Shore
was hired to train new reporters and produce the show once again, this time for the Nine Network.
The hosts and reporters of this new series were:
* Pascall Fox (famous for her brightly coloured hair, often red or orange. She was later one of the presenters of the Australian version of ''
Ground Force
''Ground Force'' is a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh.
Production
The series was created b ...
'' in the early 2000s, and on the Australian version of the show ''
Your Life on the Lawn'' (2003–2004))
* Jodie Young (who went on to star in ''Sex/Life'', and in 1998 posed nude for ''
Australian Playboy'')
* Nick Penn
*
Tony Johnston (who went on to produce many TV shows and to work overseas).
Later reporters included:
*
Catriona Rowntree
Catriona Rowntree (born 19 July 1971) is an Australian television and radio presenter.
Rowntree is a long-standing presenter on the Nine Network's '' Getaway'' program.
Career
Rowntree studied journalism at Macleay College in Sydney, after w ...
(who became a major star of the Nine Network in ''
Getaway'' and other series)
* Dave Kelly (who became a film editor and producer)
*
Sonia Kruger
Sonia Melissa Kruger is an Australian television presenter, actress and media personality. Kruger is currently the host of ''Big Brother (Australian TV series), Big Brother Australia'' and a presenter on ''The Voice (Australian TV series), The ...
(who is most well known for her role in
Strictly Ballroom
''Strictly Ballroom'' is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his '' Red Curtain Trilogy'' of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1 ...
).
Appearances on the show:
* Bill Bovill was "Today's Poet" and later referred to it on his blog.
Nine's ''Wonder World!'' began production in 1993, and rated well in its three-year run.
See also
*
List of Australian television series
Future shows
Seven
Nine
*''The Golden Bachelor'' (reality, 2025)
*''The Floor'' (game show, 2025)
*''Château DIY Australia'' (lifestyle, 2025)
Network 10
* ''Airport 24/7'' (reality, 2025)
* ''Ghosts Australia'' (comedy, 2025)
* ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Simon Townsend's Wonder World at the National Film and Sound ArchiveSimon Townsend's Journalism Website
Australian children's television series
Network 10 original programming
Nine Network original programming
1979 Australian television series debuts
1986 Australian television series endings
1993 Australian television series debuts
1995 Australian television series endings