By a strange twist of circumstance I found myself on the Reunion Committee, together with my mother, Jocelyn and a group of people who actually worked at TVW in the early days (I was 15 years old when Brian was forced to resign in a board-room coup; I never worked at the station).
2009 – TVW 50th Anniversary Reunion Planning Committee
Left to Right: Keith Bales, Jill Glass, Keith Mackenzie, Jocelyn and Bret Treasure with John Young
Jocelyn and I decided that if we were on the Committee, Brian’s contribution to Seven was less likely to be overlooked. The contribution of people who are deceased tends to be assumed by people who’ve survived them.
One of the things that’s obvious to me now is that none of the achievements of the station were individual. Someone had the idea, someone else significantly modified the concept, other people implemented the idea in ways that fundamentally changed it and there were people in the corporate infrastructure without whom the thing would not have worked.
Brian brought Disney on Parade to Australia, but it never would have happened if Graeme Plummer hadn’t suggested they go and see the show while they were buying programs in the states. It also needed Edgleys and the Bullens and executive support from TVW. The same is true of Brian’s other contributions; the Entertainment Centre, the many live shows, the innovations in programming and advertising and the community involvement.
The career achievements were significant (here is the Brian Treasure bio if you’re interested) and his contradictions and personality are accurately summed up by Darcy Farrell in a piece he wrote after Brian’s death. “Uncompromising, brilliant, difficult and dominating… yet soft as a kitten”. Eric Fisher observed, “he was as much at home playing pool in the front bar of the local pub as he was in the executive suites of New York and London”.
Darcy refers to Brian’s negotiating skills with high-powered American executives and his ability to connect personally with staff and celebrities. I saw a lot of that as a teenager, because so much entertaining happened at home. The bar at 86 Harrison Street was like the after-hours annex. People would just arrive, drink beer and then be invited to stay for dinner.
In writing this article, I found myself wondering what Brian would have said about his time at TVW. Here is what I think he would have said if he had the opportunity to address his co-workers.
I am so proud to have worked with you people. Not only did you take television into people’s homes, you took it into the community and made it part of Western Australia. That didn’t happen by accident and it happened differently here to the way it happened in other parts of Australia. You were resourceful, you worked long hours, you were original and you were very professional. And many of you had wives and relatives who helped the stations in many ways but were never properly thanked.
Probably, TVW is the most successful TV station in this country. But more importantly, a force for good in Western Australia. There is nothing in the world like Telethon; it is special and you made it that way. In Telethon and in your deep connections with the community you became something more than a television and radio station. You understood that local was important and you gave unprecedented opportunities to local people.
This is a glamorous industry and it’s a fickle industry. Talented people are overlooked and lose their jobs and we are all subject to the same management mistakes and insensitivities that occur whenever people do business together. If that happened to you, don’t let it define you; you’re bigger than that.
You have done great work, you’ve been part of something bigger and for seventeen years of my life, you were family, friends and career. You’ll excuse me, I’m getting a little emotional.
Footnote: Ken McKay challenged me on whether Brian would have got emotional. He wouldn’t have in 1965 or 1975 but he got more sensitive as he aged. I think he would say his years at Seven were the best years of his life.
Im now relating to the expression ‘there’s nothing like the good old days’
we were one big very happy family, and we all knew who the boss was.
TVW Perth took a leap in creative direction and filled its viewers hearts.
The worst day of Dad’s life was when he was voted off the board, he had to leave because of an accident that wasn’t even his fault, after he left, no one of the staff was allowed to visit him or they were to be fired, it broke his heart, that’s why he died so young, he kept it all inside.
He kept going making more accomplishments, 96fm radio station, the next commercial television license, everything he did was a major success, but he never got over the back stab of that time in TVW, they were the best days of his life, and he was the best
“This is a glamorous industry and it’s a fickle industry. Talented people are overlooked and lose their jobs and we are all subject to the same management mistakes and insensitivities that occur whenever people do business together. If that happened to you, don’t let it define you; you’re bigger than that.”
Thank you for that.
I was browsing down melody lane web style & came across Brian Treasure, who I remember meeting in 1978. I was the pianist in Boz Scaggs tour band that year when we visited Perth and played at the Entertainment Centre. He was a fascinating man and, although I wasn’t aware at the time of how important he was to Perth and Australian TV etc, I find this article/photos extremely interesting & inspiring.
Those few days at Perth, almost 40 years ago, was the only time I’ve ever been to your neck of the world. Yet ever since, I’ve thought of retiring at Perth. Of the places we toured with Boz, Perth was my favorite. In fact, it’s my favorite city of all the towns I’ve visited on music tours through the years including Europe, Japan, USA etc. Probably this is because of the weather similarity to my hometown Los Angeles (born/raised) and how Perth is like a mirror in some ways to LA, leaving out the bad parts & retaining the better ones.
I wasn’t the only musician on that tour who fell in love with Oz. Two others, Vanetta Fields and Scott Shelly did as well. Scott has lived for aat least two decades now at Coolangatta suburb of Gold Beach & has become successful in his music endeavors including scoring music for the croc hunter shows & video games etc.
Anyway, thanks for the great article. Wish me luck on someday making it back to Perth.
Pete Reilich