Jan Farr was the Secretary to the Programme Manager and a Script Assistant with TVW Channel Seven between 1959 and 1964. Jan is also the sister of TVW on-air personality, Sales representative and Radio 6IX Manager David Farr.

TVW EARLY HISTORY – Jan Rogers (nee Farr)

I worked for TVW in the very early years for approximately 3 years starting in 1959 when the office was in the basement of Newspaper House in St. George’s Tce. in Perth. This office was temporary whilst the studios were being built at Tuart Hill. There was very little room and hardly any staff.

I was secretary to Programme Manager Lloyd Lawson. It was an exciting job, as our State was new to TV. New studios were being built, new staff were being hired. I remember going through lots of applications for television auditions for news commentators and other staff. Making it more personal for me was the fact that my brother David was one of the applicants for a news commentators position, and turned out to be the first one of these to be appointed. I still remember Lloyd’s surprise when I admitted David was my brother.

When the studios were completed everything had to be moved from St. George’s Tce. to TVW at Tuart Hill. That was a huge task and suddenly a lot more staff appeared. There was room to move and things began in earnest. Just being able to see the inside workings of a television station was a whole new world.

In those days the studios had a feeling of being one big family, and you were expected to move around from one job to another to help out until things were organized. As well as secretarial work, I became Script Assistant for live teen music shows. For a time in the Record Library I selected background music for news stories. I appeared with Lloyd Lawson in a commercial for a diamond ring. I was even a kitchen assistant in a cooking show a few times. The job certainly had variety.

I feel I was lucky to be in a position to work at TVW in those years.

Veteran Producer and Director Brian Williams kindly added the following footnote…

I recall, Jan, who is David Farr’s sister, was LLoyd Lawson’s secretary from the outset. I have a strong feeling Marion Leyer joined TVW to be Max’s P.A. a few months in, while down the corridor in Production sat Lloyd, Jan Farr, John D Brown, Jean Hunsley, Coralie Condon, Penny Hoes, Wendy Nevard and moi! At times it seemed a little crowded and later on the crowd split up.