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The demolition of two Perth icons…

Posted by ken On December - 14 - 2010

Demolition of the former ABW Channel 2 Television studios in Perth, Western Australia, is currently underway to make way for two new buildings.


ABW Channel 2 Studios in Perth WA Demolished

WA TV History
Demolition of the former Perth ABC Television building on Terrace Road is currently underway to make way for two new buildings.


Stage 1, located at 90 Terrace Road, will become a 23 level building comprising 117 two and three bedroom apartments ranging in size from 105 to 147 sqm. A 343 sqm penthouse and a 265 sqm sub-penthouse will occupy the 22nd and 23rd levels.

Stage 2, located at 88 Terrace Road, will be developed into a 21 level apartment building comprising 43 premium half floor apartments averaging 172 sqm in size. A 676 sqm penthouse and a 476 sqm sub-penthouse will occupy levels 20 and 21.


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The third and fourth stages will comprise the refurbishment of heritage buildings and the construction of a new 29 storey tower on Adelaide Terrace. Details will be released at a later date.

The Basil Kirke Studio and the adjoining radio building fronting Adelaide Terrace will be retained but the remainder of the block will be considerably redeveloped.

Meanwhile another Perth icon, the Perth Entertainment Centre will be demolished and replaced by a string of office and apartment towers after a land swap deal between the West Australian state government and Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group.


Perth Entertainment Centre to be demolished

WA TV History
The mothballed Perth Entertainment Centre will be demolished and replaced by a string of office and apartment towers after a land swap deal between the West Australian state government and Kerry Stokes’s Seven Group.


The entertainment centre opened in 1974, drawing major acts over 28 years before it was shut in 2002.

This development will enable the City Link project to proceed, which will connect Perth and Northbridge, after the city rail line and bus station is lowered underground, to free up the surface real estate.



Dennis Cometti – One of a kind…

Posted by ken On December - 12 - 2010

Though Dennis Cometti is best known as a sports commentator, his dry wit has made him a legend, though his oldest fans will remember his start in the media as a top 40 disc jockey at radio station 6KY in 1968, one year after his league debut for West Perth as a 17 year old.

Not only was he a former Australian rules football player and coach for West Perth in the West Australian Football League, he also played for Footscray in the Victorian Football League, whilst maintaining his radio presence announcing on 6PM, 3DB in Melbourne and 6PR.


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Dennis Cometti joined the ABC in 1972

It was his radio career that took him to Melbourne in 1970 to work at 3DB and play football for Footscray reserves, until injury forced him to hang up his boots and return to Perth where he joined the ABC in 1972 to concentrated exclusively on sport. He became the youngest commentator at the age of 23 in ABC history, to broadcast his first Test match in 1973 and for the next 13 years broadcast Test Cricket alongside Alan McGilvray AM MBE (1909-1996) the doyen of cricket commentators in Australia. Both men are now recognised for their distinctive commentary styles.

In 1986, Dennis joined the Seven Network and called AFL matches around the country as well as covering two Commonwealth Games and being Seven’s chief swimming commentator at the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics Games, as well as the 1998 World Swimming Championships in Perth. When the Seven Network regained the VFL television rights in 1988, Cometti became the highest profile commentator of VFL/AFL matches.


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Dennis Cometti

When Seven lost the rights to broadcast AFL matches Cometti switched to the Nine Network in 2002, but re-signed with Seven when they regained the rights to broadcast AFL games starting from 2007. Dennis is the only network television commentator to have broadcast every season of the national competition. For the past seven years he has been voted the Australian Football Media Association’s “Most Outstanding Television Caller” award and twice “Media Personality of the Year”. He is also a member of the MCG Hall of Fame and the AFMA Hall of Fame in recognition of his services, and for his colourful commentary.

Dennis has accrued a wealth of sporting experience by commentating on football, basketball, hockey, boxing, athletics, equestrian, swimming and cricket. His passion though, is football.

Now Dennis has collaborated with the Los Angeles-based James McKenna to pen the song ‘Last One Standing’ specifically for the 2010 AFL Grand Final.


‘Last One Standing’

WA TV History
Dennis has collaborated with the Los Angeles-based James McKenna to pen the song ‘Last One Standing’ specifically for the 2010 AFL Grand Final.


‘Centimetre perfect’ has become one his trademark phrases, known as ‘Cometti-isms’. These and many more have now been brought together in a pocket book of classic quotes that appeal to his football fans.


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A follow-up to his best-selling Centimetre Perfect? Some would say, ‘That’s Ambitious’.


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‘Thats Ambitious’ contains another collection of his incomparable one-liners and football wisdom.


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Memorable Cometti Footy Quotes:

  • “Barlow to Bateman, the Hawks are attacking alphabetically.”
  • “The Magpies ought to be kicking themselves right now, but with their luck, they’d probably miss.”
  • “He went into the pack optimistically and came out misty optically.”
  • “Why would he do that. There’s more cameras here than Tokyo airport.”
  • “Bell bringing the ball out of the back line… looking for wide runners… passes to Walker… a contradiction in terms, really.”
  • “Hay is bailed up on the boundary line…”
  • “Carr drives along the wing…”
  • “Parker to Carr……sounds like a match made in heaven!”
  • “Kevin Sheedy, who was coaching Essendon 14 years before Adelaide was founded. The team, not the city.”
  • “…still inside the centre square.”
  • “Like a Melbourne Tram, a lot jumped on but nothing was paid.”
  • “The Tiger fans will beat the traffic home tonight.”
  • “Farmer may have an injury to his calf……..hmmm, a farmer with a calf problem.”
  • “Richo’s play is red-hot, but his goal-kicking is at room temperature.”
  • “The Bunsen burner’s being applied to Danny Frawley’s posterior. He’s in the hot seat.”
  • “Spider had both his legs taken out from under him – leaving only the other six to balance on.”
  • “He’s made a typo! – he wanted Bickley and he’s got Buckley!”
  • “Shaun (McManus) goes back to collect the ball, a free kick, and several teeth.”
  • “In for the Cats today, David and Steve Johnson. Who better to patch up a line-up than Johnson & Johnson?”
  • “Ball in dispute, Lamb, now Yze the meat in the sandwich. Really Lamb should be in the sandwich.”
  • “Diabetics look away cause that was Sweet.”
  • “Brent (Guerra) hates losing and that extends to his hair.”
  • Dennis Cometti, several years ago, Fremantle v Port, Josh Carr wearing 9 for Port, crunches his brother Matthew, wearing 9 for Freo. “How’s that, a two Carr collision, both with the same rego!”
  • Daniel Metropolis playing for the Eagles was gang tackled by three opposition players. “Now there’s a city under siege.”
  • “I wonder what the team psychologist will make of that. (Shane) Tuck dropped the mark and immediately shouted out his own surname.”
  • At one point in a match Dennis referred to Ryan Hargrave as looking “fresh”, but then later Hargrave was taken off the field with ice wrapped around his ankle. Another commentator noted that Hargrave didn’t look very fresh any more, prompting Dennis to say, “If he was an avocado, you wouldn’t buy him”.”
  • “(Nathan) Bassett’s my man. He never takes a breather. If he was a postman I reckon he’d finish his round in 20 minutes, stopping only to bite a few dogs.”
  • “Ed (McGuire) had an aura. I remember he asked his personal assistant, ‘Have you seen the letter opener?’ and she replied, ‘It’s his day off.’ I was impressed.”



Tribute to George Grljusich (1939-2007)

Posted by ken On December - 11 - 2010



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George Grljusich (1939-2007)


George Grljusich studied Law and graduated from the University of Western Australia, though his passion in life was sport, playing 12 league games in the West Australian Football League for South Fremantle, and an ardent follower and student of most other sporting endeavours. He began his broadcasting career with the ABC in 1960, whilst still playing for the South Fremantle Football Club. George was one of the few department supervisors who balanced his budget, or was left with a small surplus, when others made a habit of overspending so that they could argue for more funds next year. It seemed less that rewarding when George’s status was diminished and his area and budget placed under a high spending department, whilst the small permanent staff of the sporting team was put under more pressure. The original Sporting Department serviced both television and radio state wide. Now George became subordinate to the local metropolitan radio station. Though when the ABC became a no smoking area, no one was games to tell George that he must stop smoking. George eventually left the ABC to join commercial radio station 6PR in 1996. His unique and highly valued services were also employed by Channel Seven.


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George during his ABC days

During his time he commentated on 93 sports and broadcast at six Olympic Games: 1980 at Moscow, 1984 at Los Angeles, 1988 at Seoul, 1992 at Barcelona, 1996 at Atlanta and 2000 at Sydney, as well as ten Commonwealth Games.

George was considered a volatile chap who expressed things as he felt. On one occasion he lost patience with the temperamental monitoring system in his office, thereupon expressing his displeasure with his foot, which worsened the situation as the device became dislodged from the wall, crumbling to the floor in a mess. On lodging his fault report, his protests were not only furious but hilariously funny, with the officer on the receiving end rendered into uncontrollable fits of laughter, which did not ease the situation. A lot of people misread George, though those who knew him well were aware that even though he had a rough exterior, hidden inside was a more gentle soul. He tended to be like a horse with blinkers on, at times lacking some degree of peripheral vision, as often he was not aware that he had hurt someone’s feelings, until it was pointed out to him.


Glenn Mitchell remembers that…

“George’s humour was largely self-deprecating, with himself more often than not, the punchline.”

“A day spent in George’s company was a day in which you would witness first hand almost every human emotion.”

“His short-fused temper could explode at any time, yet minutes later he and all those around him would be falling about laughing as he forgot his latest point of ire and went off on another humour-laced monologue.”


George was a passionate follower of harness racing who for many years broadcast from Gloucester Park and Richmond Raceway. He was also an avid punter who considered that only “poofters” back horses for a place. George was a good tipster, but rarely backed his broadcast selections, often opting to back something else on the nose. One evening at Gloucester Park he was determined to back a champion horse of a close friend, which was coming back from a spell and starting from the handicap mark of 60 metres behind. The press gallery were aware that the horse had a propensity to gallop, rather than settle into the pacing gate, and considered the gelding needed a run before reaching top form. They unanimously warned George against wasting his money, but George insisted that the animal was the best in the field, and supported it accordingly. When the starter released the barriers, the gelding lunged sideways and up on its hind quarters, thereafter taking no further part of the race.


David Hawkes remembers George religiously calling the prestigious Interdominion Pacing Championships where he would be there, heats, semis and the final…


“I remember a Friday night when George did his preview of the 10 event card at Gloucester Park and as it turned out tipped/picked the CARD, all 10 winners.”

“He did NOT bet on a single one of them!”

“One night as the TV newsreader I got to the sporting segment and introduced George as being known at Gloucester Park, as the COURSE (coarse) Commentator.”

“He got my innuendo and said, ‘I don’t know about that David Guy!’ “


David Guy was then the Supervisor of Presentation at the ABC.

George was known to take his race calling seriously and put much energy into it, even when mid race he swallowed a moth. A particular embarrassing moment occurred when he made a private, though derogatory remark in the broadcast box about a committeeman’s wife. Unfortunately the public address contractor had been working on the microphone switch which allowed it to be shared between the ABC and the PA, when appropriate. The contractor had erroneously rewired the switch incorrectly causing the microphone to be live when it should have been off, hence George’s uncomplimentary utterances were broadcast all over the course and into the committee reserve stand, where the committeeman and his wife were entertaining VIPs.

George was noted for his encyclopaedic knowledge and during his 47 years in sports broadcasting he built a reputation as a raconteur with a tendency to cut off any talkback callers he did not agree with. However, he was admired by his colleagues for his meticulous approach to his work. Grljusich’s call of Ben Johnson’s world record 100 metres sprint at the 1988 Seoul Olympics is regarded as one of the best of all time. He spoke 53 words and nine sentences in just under 10 seconds.


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In 2004, the media box at the Fremantle Oval was officially renamed the George Grljusich Media Box in honour of the veteran broadcaster. George retired from broadcasting in October 2007, after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He died on 6 November 2007, the day of the 2007 Melbourne Cup, aged 68.

In November 2007, Radio 6PR announced the establishment of the The George Grljusich Sport Broadcasting Award for students of the WAAPA Broadcasting course.


Tribute to George Grljusich (1939-2007)

WA TV History
During the broadcasting career of George Grljusich he commentated on 93 sports and broadcast at six Olympic Games: 1980 at Moscow, 1984 at Los Angeles, 1988 at Seoul, 1992 at Barcelona, 1996 at Atlanta and 2000 at Sydney, as well as ten Commonwealth Games.




ABC Presenters reminisce about the 1960s, 70’s and 80s

Posted by ken On December - 8 - 2010

On Saturday May 7, 1960, ABW Channel 2 in Perth opened and in the fifty years since, television has gone from black and white to widescreen, colour and high definition with surround sound. A lot of changes have taken place since the station first went on-air.

The first newsreaders selected for ABW were Jim Fisher, who was first to read a News bulletin, Ian Beatty and Earl Reeve.


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Jim Fisher

The television viewer’s first impression of the ABC was often conveyed by the on-air presentation announcers who graced our screens, telling us about the evening’s programs and what to expect. The first person to fill this role in Western Australia was Ian Beatty, though it wasn’t long before the pretty faces of a number of young women filled this role. Such as Sandra Harris, Diana Ward, Jenny Edwards and Jennifer West.


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Sandra Harris

Other early on-air staff included…

  • Clive Hale — Newsreader and on-air presentation announcer
  • John Treffry — Weather presenter and ‘To Market to Market’
  • Jim Fitzmaurice — Sports
  • Peter Harrison — Sportsview (Saturday Afternoons) presenter


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On Friday 7th May, 2010 ABC Television in Perth, Western Australia, celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark this occasion, ABC Perth brought together past and present staff for an ‘afternoon tea’ reunion at the ABC studios, 30 Fielder Street, East Perth on the afternoon of Sunday 16th May 2010.

Each reunion guest received a copy of a DVD titled ’50 Years of ABC Television in Perth’ which was researched and produced by Tracey Stewart and edited by Brian Rogers.


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Here is an trimmed down version to provide a glimpse of ABW presenters over the first 50 years.


ABW Channel 2 – 50 Years of Presenters in Perth, WA.

WA TV History
A lot of changes have taken place since ABW Channel 2 in Perth, Western Australia first went on-air.


The Western Australian State Director Geoff Duncan welcomed the assembled guests and provided a summary of the previous five decades before Peter Holland was introduced to continue as master of ceremonies.


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Michael Brock, Peter Holland, John Barnett, Sue Burns, John Harper Nelson and Earl Reeve


Peter Holland has been a broadcaster, interviewer, newsreader, lecturer and editor who has worked in both ABC and commercial radio and television. Peter won the Premier’s Book Award in 1994 for an anthology of Western Australian writing and the following year won the Western Australian Citizen Of The Year (community services) award. Peter is now the fifth and current Head of the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Broadcasting.


ABW2 – Peter Holland and Earl Reeve reminisce

WA TV History
Former ABC Television newsreaders, presenters and radio announcers Peter Holland and Earl Reeve reminisce about the early years.


Earl Reeve was the third Head of the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Broadcasting and got his start in Brisbane in 1951. By 1960, Earl was appointed one of the inaugural ABW newsreaders positions, along with Jim Fisher and Ian Beatty. Earl has performed just about every announcing and presenting role with the ABC. His intimate involvement with Country Music resulted in his induction to The Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, which was inaugurated by the Australian Country Music Foundation (ACMF) to honour and pay tribute to those broadcasters, past and present, who have played a significant role in the development and promotion of Australian country music through broadcasting. The Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame Honour Roll is located at the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame in Brisbane Street, Tamworth, Australia’s Country Music Capital.


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John Harper-Nelson and Earl Reeve

John Harper-Nelson was for many years a popular ABC radio announcer and television newsreader and presenter, until his retirement in 1981. He has also served as a Kalamunda Shire Councillor. Harper-Nelson has contributed to numerous Australian and international cultural journals, and has written in the areas of biography, literary criticism and local history. He has also written scripts for film, television and radio. He is also a co-owner of Western Australian publishing company Access Press which published many books on Western Australian literature, history and culture, as well as publishing the arts magazine Artlook in the 1980s.


ABW2 – John Harper-Nelson reminisces

WA TV History
Former ABC Television newsreader, presenter and radio announcer John Harper-Nelson reminisces about the early years.


Peter Holland emphasised how important women were to the organisation and expressed his fondness for the ladies of the make-up department.


ABW2 – Sue Burns Make-Up artist reminisces

WA TV History
Sue Burns make-up artist reminisces about the early years.


John Barnett was for many decades an ABC Rural Officer and later Supervisor of the Rural Department in WA. John imparted much vital information aimed at the farming community and the weather conscious, via the Country Hour, cyclone reports and his ABW2 weather broadcasts. He was also the inaugural weather presenter with NEW Channel 10 in Perth. On the ABC front, there was also the much loved anecdotes from his fondly remembered ‘All ways on Sunday’ radio broadcasts. John has a keen interest in shipwrecks off the WA coast, poetry and propensity to quote whole passages verbatim from the Bible, once his tonsils are suitably lubricated. The tourist industry would surely pile many accolades upon John for his long time promotion of rural destinations, through programs such as Channel 9’s ‘Postcards’. John Barnett’s down to earth and modest demeanour underlies a person with a passion for poetry, history, horses, gardening, meteorology, travel and all things Australian.


ABW2 – John Barnett reminisces

WA TV History
Weather man, Country Hour, Always on Sundays presenter and former Rural Department Supervisor John Barnett reminisces about the early years.


Michael Brock was a radio announcer with 6VA in Albany, before joining the ABC in 1963, where he worked in radio before appearing on television in 1969. Michael remained an ABC Talks producer and presenter until 1977. He joined STW Channel 9 in 1978 as the producer and presenter of ‘Clapperboard’, a film review program, until 1987.


ABW2 – Michael Brock reminisces

WA TV History
Former ABC producer, presenter and announcer Michael Brock reminisces about the early years.


Diana Warnock is a former Western Australian radio broadcaster, women’s rights activist and state politician who was a radio broadcaster with radio stations 720 ABC Perth, 6PR and 6NR and as a columnist with the West Australian newspaper. Diana also appeared on ABW Channel 2 in Perth. Diana was elected as the State Member of Parliament for Perth in 1993. She was re-elected 1996 but did not contest the 2001 general election. In 1999, Diana’s work for society, and especially for women, was marked by her award as the Australian Humanist of the Year. Diana was married to noted local novelist, playwright and arts patron Bill Warnock, who died in 2001.


ABW2 – Diana Warnock reminisces

WA TV History
Former journalist, TV reviewer and radio presenter Diana Warnock reminisces about moonlighting at the ABC.


Veteran journalist, presenter and producer David deVos explains the incredible pressure the line-up sub editor often put everyone under, by being indecisive in deciding the order of stories for the ABC television news in Western Australia.


ABW2 – David deVos reminisces

WA TV History
Former ABC journalist, producer, presenter and announcer David deVos reminisces about the early years.


On Saturday 8th May, 2010, David Hawkes chaired a public gathering organised on behalf of the Australian Museum of Motion Picture and Television, as their contribution to Museum Week. Daryl Binning, Derric Wright, Trevor Kelly, Harry Smith and Peter Goodall were involved in the planning. The venue was the theatrette in the State Library building.


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Michael Brock, Diana Warnock, John Harper Nelson, Earl Reeve, Michael Palmer, John Colwill and David Hawkes


David Hawkes introduces former colleagues

WA TV History
Presenters who addressed the gathering included Michael Brock, Diana Warnock, John Harper Nelson, Earl Reeve, Michael Palmer, John Colwill, Robyn Johnston and Peter Holland, with other staff such as Voja Milasich pointing out the behind camera contributions.


Until his retirement, David Hawkes was one of Australia’s most experienced and versatile broadcasters.

He had been “on air” for 48 years, working in radio and television for the ABC and commercials networks in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.

David Hawkes first joined the ABC in 1962 in Brisbane and after some time in the commercial wilderness came over to 6WF and became a favourite announcer on Breakfast and finally in the newsroom.

During his 33 years in the West, David was seen on television as: newsreader, interviewer, co-host of the cooking program, “Two for the Pot”, frontman for the games show, “FairGo!” and anchorman for the current affairs program, “Statewide”.

On radio, he took over from the legendary John Juan to present the 6WF (720) Breakfast session and hosted broadcasts by the WA Symphony Orchestra.

In 1984 David joined the staff of the WA Academy of Performing Arts, within Edith Cowan University, to set up the Media Performance department. He returned to the ABC in 1987, and was chiefly heard reading the News. Since hanging up the head phones he has been a regular guest speaker for many clubs and organisations throughout the metro and country areas.

David Hawkes was the first Head of the WA Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) Broadcasting.


David Hawkes & Lis Smyth – Two For The Pot

WA TV History
David was seen on ABC television as: newsreader, interviewer and co-host with Lis Smyth of the cooking program, “Two for the Pot”.


Michael Palmer was born in India and spent his early years there. He was educated in England and became a banker, working in Ceylon, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. Before moving to Australia, Michael was working in the London Information Service, a department of the British government. He was first heard on ABC Radio in 1966, working mainly with the serious music station. Then after about two years, Michael was rushed into television newsreading, with only a few hours notice. Not only did Michael become familiar to television viewers, but he also presented popular music on 6WF, when it was common for each evening to be a different theme, where each presenter played music which they had an affinity with.


ABW2 – Michael Palmer reminisces

WA TV History
Michael Palmer reminisces about his introduction to television news reading.


Earl Reeve took the opportunity to pay tribute to the late Ian Wynne, who was an incredibly intelligent person with a very dry wit, though his appearance and demeanour was enough to intimidate the novice staff member. He was a tall thin man with half moon reading spectacles. Some may remember one unfortunate night when he fell down the stairs and broke his glasses, then having to read the radio news bulletin with only a tiny bit of his lens left intact. He is revered for his much valued mentoring role of announcers during the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.


ABC’s Ian Wynne remembered

WA TV History
Earl Reeve took the opportunity to pay tribute to the late Ian Wynne, who was a mentor to many announcers during the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, though some found his presence intimidating. He was also a decorated war veteran, who suffered much as a prisoner-of-war.


John Colwill will be fondly remembered by ABC staff for his role as a Rural officer and for his congenial personality. Radio listeners will remember him as a presenter of the ‘Country Hour’ on ABC radio, whilst television viewers will recall John as an ABC Weatherman and host of the popular gardening program ‘Greenfingers’.


ABW2 – John Colwill reminisces

WA TV History
Rural officer John Colwill will be remembered as the ABC Weatherman, host of ‘Greenfingers’ and presenter of the ‘Country Hour’ on ABC radio, among many other things.


At one point in his career, the popular Earl Reeve was elected by his peers as a staff representative on the ABC Board of Management.


Earl Reeve explains the ABC Board of Management

WA TV History
During this event, Earl Reeve explained his experience of being on the ABC Board of Management.



Related stories…


Photos courtesy of Derric Wright and the ABC







Not all our stories deal with the fun and fluffy aspects of broadcasting.

The history of the industry also involves many life effecting changes… Its not just all about the nostalgia and reminiscing.


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There’s been considerable social transition brought about by technological enhancements within the different forms of media, as they continue to evolve and impact on our lives.


Change is ongoing and examining the past and studying new concepts can hopefully give us insight into where we will be in the future.


According to the industry body Free TV, over 90 per cent of Australians have access to digital television. However, it estimates that only 40 per cent of people currently watch it. To access these services, you will need to buy either a digital set-top box for your analog TV or invest in one of the growing number of integrated digital television sets on the market. Most TVs on the market today feature an on-board digital TV tuner, with high-definition tuners becoming increasingly common.



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When the transition to digital is complete, our analogue PAL (Phase Alternate Line) TV system will be replaced by the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial) digital television standard, which was first developed in Europe. Our system will differ from the US, which is using the American-developed ATSC standard. Both systems transmit compressed digital video, audio and other data in an MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) transport stream.


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Like DVB-T, our old analog PAL system also has European origins and was considered superior to the United States NTSC (National Television System Committee) system… often referred to as ‘Never The Same Color’ twice because it had a tendency to change hue under poor transmission conditions.
With analogue, a change in video signal amplitude corresponds to an increase in luminance, whilst in digital, changes in video signal amplitude are represented as numbers which are then conveyed using computer technology as binary codes. Computer circuitry understands simple states as ON and OFF. The binary counting system used by computers works to the power of two rather than the usual power of ten for our daily math exercises. With binary notation, only the values of 0 and 1 are needed, rather than 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9… conveniently coinciding with the computer’s use of ON and OFF states in digital circuitry.


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The important point to note is that there is a convergence in not only technical approaches but also uses of the modern television medium. The means of program delivery is not locked into any one form. Transmission through the air waves, by satellite, over coaxial cable, fibre-optic or old fashioned twisted pair telephone lines are all possible. Like photography was once the domain of film that required chemical processing, today’s imagery is now digital in its many forms. Computer concepts are employed from conception to final product delivery. Scripts writing is facilitated by word processing, musical composition and recording is aided by computers, the image capture process and editing is now digitalised and the consumer end is also being impacted in the same way. With it, the expectations of the audience has changed too. Widescreen, colour, 3D and surround sound are not only expected in the cinema but also at home. Viewers no longer are prepared to wait long periods between a show being released in the U.S. and available here. This in turn has led to proliferation of pirated programs, where digital technology now makes it easy to copy and the internet makes it easy to move over borders without the need for prohibitively expensive facilities, circuits or transport.


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Much pirated material is transported by Bit Torrent



In the same way, the ordinary person now has available to them affordable program making means, leading to so much unique material finding its way onto YouTube, where the picture quality is continuously on the improve.

Since the introduction of digital television to Australia in 2001, there has been a flurry of activity at the stations. First equipping, then making and finally broadcasting shows in widescreen and HD (high definition). Though people will argue about what is available in HD. There are more standard definition channels on free-to-air television than high definition. There is also a greater tendency to narrowcast with each outlet targeting a specific audience demographic. Unlike the old days where TV either tried to be all things to all people or target the highest number of viewers, which often meant going for the lowest common denominator.

The ABC once aimed at the intellectuals and those with a fondness for British productions. This suited the commercials, because the ABC elite did not represent the majority and were thus less likely to be considered a serious drain on viewers in a advertising sense. Governments since then have questioned the value of the ABC, considering that it is funded out of the public purse. The ABC has now made itself more relevant without dumbing itself down. There are so many outlets for its products that it can now cater for most tastes whilst taking advantage of new forms of program delivery. Unfortunately this then attracts the ire of the commercial sector who worry when the ABC (and the BBC) make inroads into what they consider should be their market place alone.

Often the ABC achieves a lot with very little. Gaining good audiences for smart and entertaining quiz programs without an outlay on expensive prizes or sponsor involvement. Sadly some of the most informative programs only reach a small audience on Radio National, causing some to argue for its abandonment. Though it can be reasoned that more of their audience is engaged by the content than someone watching a mindless soap opera that pulls in lots of turned on sets.

Considerable innovation is taking place within the ABC, as previous articles on our site have highlighted. A list of links are provided below for your reading convenience.

Meanwhile, in examining what is available to the free-to-air television audience, we find that Standard Definition (SD) provide widescreen picture with DVD equivalent picture quality (a resolution of 576 horizontal lines interlaced).

    

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The following will hopefully explain these concepts better… in particular notions such as 720p and 1080i.

All television images are divided into a number of lines to be drawn on your screen. The numbers 576, 720 and 1080 represents how many lines (downwards) the screen can produce.

One of the most important factors in analog television broadcasting is signal bandwidth, measured in megahertz. Interlace is a technique of conserving available bandwidth whilst maintaining the picture quality of a video signal. This technique uses two fields to create a frame. One field contains all the odd lines in the image, the other contains all the even lines of the image. A PAL based television display, for example, scans 50 fields every second (25 odd and 25 even). The two sets of fields work together to create a full frame every 1/25th of a second, resulting in a display of 25 frames per second. Therefore, for a given line count and refresh rate, analog interlaced video reduces the signal bandwidth by a factor of two.

You can sometimes see an odd effect known as ‘Interlacing artifacts’ when viewing the modern HD interlaced displays, something that was not apparent on the old cathode ray tube monitors. This can happen when there is fast action or a fast camera pan, where a comb effect appears… making obvious the line structure of the image. To avoid these artifacts, interlaced images are often blurred slightly to cover them up (anti-aliasing).  

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In contrast, ‘Progressive Scan’ produces crisp images with text, moving and still images. It draws the image lines sequential as (1,2,3,4) resulting in sharper and better images.

High Definition (HD) also provides widescreen pictures, with an even sharper image.

The term HD is somewhat ambiguous as different stations interpret it differently with regard to what they broadcast.

SBS HD and ABC News 24 broadcast in 720p (720 horizontal lines progressively scanned) yet TEN HD, 7mate and GEM broadcast in 1080i (1080 horizontal lines interlaced).


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ABC News 24


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Susannah Carr and Rick Ardon – Seven News Perth


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Dixie Marshall – Nine News Perth


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Narelda Jacobs – Ten News Perth


Here is a spot check of what the various FreeView stations were broadcasting in Perth at a given time.
    

  • 1 TEN HD – Video: Mpeg-2 1440×1080, 14 Mbps with Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 kHz, 448 kbps
  • 2 ABC One – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 7 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 3 – SBS One – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 192 kbps
  • 7 – Seven Digital – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 7 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 9 – Nine Digital – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 10 – TEN Digital – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 6 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 22 – ABC Two – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 23 – ABC Three – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 24 – ABC News 24 – Video: Mpeg-2 1280×720, 9 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 30 – SBS HD – Video: Mpeg-2 1280×720, 10 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 192 kbps
  • 32 – SBS Two – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 192 kbps
  • 72 – 7TWO – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 73 – 7mate – Video: Mpeg-2 1440×1080, 10 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 384 kbps
  • 90 – GEM – Video: Mpeg-2 1440×1080, 10 Mbps with Audio: Dolby Digital, 48 kHz, 448 kbps
  • 99 – GO! – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps
  • 202 – West TV – Video: Mpeg-2 720×576, 5 Mbps with Audio: Mpeg1, 48 kHz, 256 kbps


The bit-rate is also a significant factor. The higher the bit rate, the more data that is processed and, typically, the higher the picture resolution. Typically a broadcaster will use as much of the bit rate budget as they can to get an error free signal on all services on that channel. This is sometimes a bit of a balancing act.


The maximum video bit-rate for a Blue-Ray is 40 Mbps, which explains why programs in that format look outstanding. TEN’s 1080i HD channel in Perth operates at about 14Mbps, 7mate and GEM’s 1080i are about 10 Mbps whilst showing SD shows on their HD channels.


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With narrowcasting becoming more common, we have TEN dedicating its HD channel to sport and the ABC dedicating their’s to News. Then with the Seven and Nine HD offerings: 7mate and GEM show many vintage TV shows that are essentially standard definition fare.

This reduces the outlets for high definition entertainment in the form of music, dance and variety… as currently no HD channel is available for it. For example ‘Hey Hey It’s Saturday’ was appearing on a SD channel, as was the last series of ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and other shows of that kind.

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Hey Hey Its Saturday
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So You Think You Can Dance



What is fashionable in television programming seems to undergo change too. Long gone are programs such as Graham Kennedy’s ‘In Melbourne Tonight’, Brian Henderson’s Bandstand, Johnny O’Keefe’s ‘Sing Sing Sing’, Bobby Limb’s ‘Sound of Music’ and many more of that ilk. ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘Battle of the Choirs’, ‘Australian Idol’ were popular for a while, now being replaced by a variety of reality television, such as, well produced multi-camera cooking shows, sagas on weight loss, and a spate of travel, home make-over and gardening programs. The 2008-2009 American actors strike was the impetus for increased Australian production, which has been an employment boon for our local industry, though most of the production is centred on the east coast.


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Graham Kennedy



Meanwhile, new forms of program delivery, such as iTunes, give the viewer the ability to taylor their watching to that they really want to see rather than what is being served up on a schedule by conventional TV. It’s all very well having lots of pay TV channels, that also intersperse their content with advertising, if much of the shows are decades old and very cheap for the outlets to buy, when there’s a multitude of production sources of varying quality around the world that the public can tap into. Now the consumers are gaining the power to better pick and choose what they watch, when they watch it and how they watch it. For content is going mobile, and many youngsters prefer viewing programs on their computer in the privacy of their bedroom, rather than around the family TV, governed by the viewing habits of parents and siblings.


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Australian Idol

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Australia’s Got Talent


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Battle Of The Choirs



Another concern is for the media ownership to be concentrated in too few hands. Diversity of open and honest information is important for a heathy democracy as well as a knowledge endowed populace. The internet has revolutionised the rapid distribution of information, though sadly not all of it accurate. Twitter now beats any other form of news dissemination in alerting people of world shattering happenings, thus overcoming the potential for media owner prejudice and the censorship of governments. If the media had been doing its job properly, then there may not have been the need for WikiLeaks. Some argue that many in the press stayed silent when it was declared that, “You’re either with George W. Bush or you’re against us.” There was no provision for shades of grey. Probably one reason for the French backlash.

WikiLeaks has taken freedom of information to a whole new level, causing the powers to attack the participants, arguing the need to keep secrets. The other argument is that if everything is open and honest, then there can be trust in the system rather than a chance of corruption and conspiracy theories. Of course the open flow of information should not be restricted to giving away American secrets, but also Russian, Iranian, North Korean and Chinese, etc. Otherwise it will be considered U.S. bashing.

So while ever the free WikiPedia is considered more relevant than the traditions forms of Encyclopaedia. Google is the fastest way to find any information. Twitter breaks the news faster than the press. The youth increasingly avoid reading newspapers. There’s an online revolt against paying for information, music, movies and TV shows. New technology continues to revolutionise the way we entertain ourselves. Musicians abandon record companies and market their produce through social networking, iTunes and internet sales. More power will end up in the hands of motivated individuals as old structures crumble or need to find new relevance and change. Otherwise they’ll go the way of the horse and cart, steam train, typewriter and a plethora of other things no longer in common use. For any business that relies on them will also end up obsolete too.

Here are a few more stories we’ve published that are in this vein…


Chiefs, Indians and allegiances

http://watvhistory.com/2010/09/chiefs-indians-and-allegiances/

A Rock Mass For Love LP was recorded live during a TVW Channel 7 outside broadcast at St George’s Cathedral, Perth on 21st March 1971. The Director was Keith Mackenzie and 2 of the OB cameramen were Bob Finkle and Murray Kelso.


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It was one of the first Australian musical works of its kind, preceding the first Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar by almost a year. It was a hip and happening place at St George’s Cathedral in Perth. Rock masses became a feature at the Cathedral and thousands attended to hear and be moved by updated church music more relevant in an era of Christian rock musicals such as Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar.


Historic ‘Rock Mass For Love’ Outside Broadcast

WA TV History
A Rock Mass For Love LP was recorded live during a TVW Channel 7 outside broadcast at St George’s Cathedral, Perth on 21st March 1971.


The Dean of Perth, the Very Rev. John Hazlewood presided over the event, which was written and performed by local drummer Bruce Devenish, and his Jazz Ensemble and the rock group Bakery, with vocalist Tom Davidson, Peter Walker (ex-Jelly Roll Bakers), bass player Eddie McDonald, keyboards Rex Bullen and drums Hank Davis (ex-members of the NZ Avengers).


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Use of the heritage listed Cathedral for loud rock music is believed to have contributed to its decay, worsened earlier by the Meckering earthquake in 1968, thereby needing millions in government money for restoration.

The music fitted the Christian Rock, Psychedelic Rock and Jazz-Rock genres with the LP released world wide.


LP Release information

  • Astor ALPS 1032, Australia
  • Decca DL 7-5328, Canada


Bakery was formed in Perth at the start of 1970, changed their line-up over time and continued gigging until their split in February 1975.




Latest Tweets from WA TV History

Posted by ken On November - 30 - 2010

Been busy uploading lots of history related videos and articles to the internet. Please find below a list of links for those who may be interested…


WA TV History’s Twitter page can be found at… http://twitter.com/watvhistory

WA TV History’s YouTube page can be found at… http://www.youtube.com/watvhistory


  1. Ken McKaywatvhistory Tribute to Former ABC Site in Perth (1960-2005) can be found at… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaTPF9Om8dU

  2. Ken McKaywatvhistory TVW Slideshow 1959-1961 can be found at…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Mt0Pn9-Js

  3. Ken McKaywatvhistory TVW Slideshow 1962-1965 can be found at…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjhdhJce0aY

  4. Ken McKaywatvhistory TVW Slideshow 1965-1972 can be found at…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtKUZKaOB_c

  5. Ken McKaywatvhistory TVW Slideshow 1972-1999 can be found at…http://tinyurl.com/295d4b7

  6. Ken McKaywatvhistory Video on the proposed demolition of the Perth Entertainment Centre can be found at…http://tinyurl.com/2adqv7q

  7. Ken McKaywatvhistory Seven Perth’s historic News story features changes that took place in Perth between the 1950’s and 1970’s… http://tinyurl.com/2coo3g2

  8. Ken McKaywatvhistory Vintage video of Thorts on ‘Club 7 Teen’ in 1965 – “I Want You For My woman.” now at…http://tinyurl.com/2asje37

  9. Ken McKaywatvhistory Johnny Young hosted the popular teenage show ‘Club 7 Teen’ from 1964 to 1967 seen here singing ‘Round and Round’ http://tinyurl.com/259d877

  10. Ken McKaywatvhistory Vintage video of Thorts on ‘Club 7 Teen’ in 1965 – “Bumble Bee” can be found at… http://tinyurl.com/2ccv73g

  11. Ken McKaywatvhistory Vintage video of Thorts on ‘Club 7 Teen’ in 1965 – “In Dreams” can be found at… http://tinyurl.com/2fk2gp3

  12. Ken McKaywatvhistory Coralie Condon – Western Australia’s first lady of television talks about her early days in TV…http://tinyurl.com/2dpxct2

  13. Ken McKaywatvhistory The building of the Western Australian State Theatre Centre is almost finished…http://tinyurl.com/23nw47c

  14. Ken McKaywatvhistory Video highlights of the TVW Channel 7 Perth Western Australia’s 50th Anniversary Reunion are now at…http://tinyurl.com/25qaype

  15. Ken McKaywatvhistory A tribute to the former ABC Radio and TV Studios in Perth, Western Australia (1960-2005) can be found at… http://tinyurl.com/2ga4lcz

  16. Ken McKaywatvhistory 95 year old TV and stage veteran Coralie Condon welcomed former colleagues at a recent party…http://tinyurl.com/2e8sc8b

  17. Ken McKaywatvhistory Celebrating Coralie Condon’s contributions to theatre and television in WA at… http://tinyurl.com/2cwbuxs

  18. Ken McKaywatvhistory Dr Peter Harries describes himself as “an entertainment host, poet, musician and raconteur” at…http://tinyurl.com/2b7cu7e

  19. Ken McKaywatvhistory The shift in allegiance motivated by the takeover of TVW Enterprises by Robert Holmes à Court is explored at…http://tinyurl.com/385k2ol

  20. Ken McKaywatvhistory TELEVISIONAU poses a question regarding a TV Week article from 1973 showing the Number 96 star Abigail…http://tinyurl.com/253rlpw

  21. Ken McKaywatvhistory TVW veterans Richard Ashton and Gordon McColl joined Professor Mark Balnaves to discuss TVW’s origins at… http://tinyurl.com/34559cd

  22. Ken McKaywatvhistory Tribute to Veronica Overton-Low is now at…http://tinyurl.com/2d74rcw

  23. Ken McKaywatvhistory Future site for Seven Perth and a flash back in time for Michael Edgley is at… http://tinyurl.com/23dqnqm

  24. Ken McKaywatvhistory Tribute to popular dancer, choreographer and teacher Mr Albert Raymond (Bert) Shaw is at…http://tinyurl.com/3yqky9n

Watch a video demonstration!


The ABC in Perth managed for many years with substandard accommodation until purpose built facilities were constructed for both radio and for the introduction of public owned television in Western Australia in 1960.


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The ABC moved to the Supreme Court Gardens in 1937


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Rehearsing at Broadcast House in the Supreme Court Gardens


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Announcer Godfrey Carter at the 6WN desk in 1939

The ABC started in Perth with radio station 6WF, when it was nationalised by the Commonwealth Government, following a Royal Commission in 1927. Prior to that, 6WF dates back to 1924 when Western Farmers Limited (Wesfarmers) began operating the radio station from the top floor of the company’s Wellington Street building.


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Basil Kirke – WA State Manager 1929-1936 & 1952-1958


In 1929, the Australian Broadcasting Company took over the station until the Australian Broadcasting Commission Act was passed on July 1, 1932, under the Federal Labor government. This company was a consortium of entertainment interests formed to supply radio programs for broadcast on the former “A-class” transmitters contracted to the Commonwealth Government’s ‘National Broadcasting Service’. A-Class stations received government funding and were able to take limited advertising. B-Class stations received no government funding, but instead were funded by advertising. The Royal Commission of 1927 had recommended full nationalisation, but the conservative Nationalist government chose this approach instead. A policy that changed when Federal Labor gained power.


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Former Perth ABC Studios Under Construction

The Perth studio complex featured in the below video was built in 1958, on the former site of Rose Hill House, at 191 Adelaide Terrace. ABC radio moved to the new facilities in 1959, whilst work continued on the television building on the lower part of the site, facing Terrace Road.


Former ABC Radio and TV Studios in Perth, Western Australia

WA TV History
The Perth studio complex was built in 1958, on the former site of Rose Hill House, at 191 Adelaide Terrace. ABC radio moved to the new facilities in 1959, whilst work continued on the television building on the lower part of the site, facing Terrace Road.



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On Saturday May 7, 1960, ABW Channel 2 in Perth opened.



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Much of the credit for the new building goes to Basil Kirke, who returned to Western Australia as manager in 1952 and lobbied tirelessly for new offices and studios. He fell seriously ill in 1957 and died in 1958, before the move to the new premises took place. In 1961 the large orchestral studio 620 was named in his honour.


Errol Kirke talks about his father Basil Kirke

WA TV History
Errol Kirke talks about his legendary father Basil Kirke, who was the Western Australian State Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Company from 1929 to 1932 and then the WA State Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1932 to 1936 and 1952 to 1958.


On Saturday 8th May, 2010, Errol Kirke, the son of the legendary WA State Manager Basil Kirke, gave a talk about his father and his lobbying for the former ABC site, which at the time was considered the most modern facilities in Australia. Basil Kirke was the Western Australian State Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Company from 1929 to 1932 and then the WA State Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission from 1932 to 1936 and 1952 to 1958. This talk was given at the David Hawkes chaired public gathering, organised on behalf of the Australian Museum of Motion Picture and Television. The venue was the theatrette in the State Library building in Perth.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act (1983) changed the name of the organisation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983.

Interestingly, the ABC does not own the transmitting facilities it uses to broadcast its programs. The Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932 specified that the Postmaster General should undertake the provision and operation of all technical services associated with the transmission of programs. This included control of the radio technicians working for the ABC, the transmission lines for Outside Broadcasts and circuits to transmitting sites and the actual transmitters. The Postmaster General’s Department (PMG) was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal (and later, telecommunications) services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission (trading as Telecom Australia) and the Australian Postal Commission (trading as Australia Post). It also controlled radio and television broadcast licensing, which is now controlled by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Telecom Australia changed its name to Telstra in 1995.

Both the PMG and the ABC were responsible to the Postmaster General, who could issue instructions to broadcast, or not to broadcast, particular items. A change began with the advent of ABC Television, as then the ABC was responsible for its television technical facilities and had to engage the necessary engineers and technicians. It wasn’t until 1964 that the PMG relinquished control of the technical side of ABC Radio, though radio technical staff continued to work under a different appendix to their TV equivalent. Once the signal left the ABC studios, the technical aspects of the National Broadcasting Service continued to be operated by the Postmaster-General’s Department, until the creation of Telecom Australia in 1975. Thereafter Telecom provided and operated the transmitters and equipment under contractual arrangements with the Department of Communications, until these functions were brought under one body with the establishment of the National Transmission Agency (NTA) in 1992. In December 1998 Parliament approved legislation to permit the sale of the NTA. In March 1999 NTL (a UK based telecoms and media company) won the bid to own and operate the national transmission network.


Related stories…


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The former studios of ABW Channel 2 in Perth 1960-2005

Now the former ABC Television building on Terrace Road is being demolished to make way for two new buildings.


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Stage 1, located at 90 Terrace Road, will become a 23 level building comprising 117 two and three bedroom apartments ranging in size from 105 to 147 sqm. A 343 sqm penthouse and a 265 sqm sub-penthouse will occupy the 22nd and 23rd levels.


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Stage 2, located at 88 Terrace Road, will be developed into a 21 level apartment building comprising 43 premium half floor apartments averaging 172 sqm in size. A 676 sqm penthouse and a 476 sqm sub-penthouse will occupy levels 20 and 21.


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The third and fourth stages will comprise the refurbishment of heritage buildings and the construction of a new 29 storey tower on Adelaide Terrace. Details will be released at a later date.

The Basil Kirke Studio and the adjoining radio building fronting Adelaide Terrace will be retained but the remainder of the block will be considerably redeveloped.



Coralie Condon welcomes old colleagues

Posted by ken On November - 14 - 2010

On Friday 12th November, Coralie Condon and Audrey Long organised a small get together of friends who participated in either the Seven Ex, a group of former TVW staff, who for many years assisted with Telethon fund raising, and people involved with the 1964 television production of ‘The Good Oil’, which was broadcast in 1965.


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(Flashback) Jeff Newman accepts donation from Seven Ex.
(back row) Phil Salinger, Margie Nayler, Bernie Roddy
(front row) Audrey Long, Frank Moss and Coralie Condon

Those present included Coralie Condon, Max Bostock, Audrey Long, Joy Campbell, Margie Nayler, Liz Kirkham, Lewese Shaw, John Easton, Phil and Briony Salinger, Russell Sage, Richard Ashton, Gordon McColl, Pixi Burke, Rick Herder and Ken McKay.


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Max Bostock, Margie Nayler, Lewese Shaw and Joy Campbell

Phil Salinger was a key member of the TVW engineering staff, with an important role in the installation, operation and maintenance of the station’s transmitter and studio equipment. Phil also operated the telecine facilities, which were temporarily located at the transmitter for the test transmission period. Phil is now deeply involved with 6SEN – Capital Community Radio Inc. which broadcasts on 101.7FM from Wireless Hill Park in Ardross.


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Phil and Briony Salinger, Audrey Long and Margie Nayler

The Seven Ex sprang from an idea suggested by Audrey, to involve many enthused former staffers in the Telethon fund raising process, whilst also providing a wonderful excuse to socialise. Audrey was part of the Old Girl’s Association of Channel Seven, dating back to 1977-79. In 1990, it was decided to start the group up again, but this time to include all past and present staff, both male and female. This was initiated by Audrey, who at this time was assisting Coralie Condon at Dirty Dick’s Bawdy Banquets, the theatre restaurant chain owned by Coralie and Frank Baden-Powell.


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The first meeting of the Seven Ex group in the TVW board room on Friday June 1st 1990
  

Early participants included Max Bostock, Judith Byrne, Joy Campbell, Peter Dean, Gay Egan, Rhonda Fletcher, Liz Kirkham, Lloyd Lawson, Audrey Long, Helen Malloch, Margaret Nayler, Lewese Shaw, Carolyn Tannock and Frank Moss as the chairman. Within five years they had raised more than $200,000, and soon the membership had climbed to sixty former staff. Sadly the wind was taken out of their sails with the forced redundancies that took place in 1999, resulting in a much somber mood.


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(Flashback) Susannah Carr accepts a Seven Ex donation to Telethon from (front row) Frank Moss, Audrey Long, Joy Campbell, (back row) Phil Salinger, Margie Nayler and Bernie Roddy.


Meeting of the Seven Ex
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(Flashback) Front row: Janet Gill, Lloyd Lawson, Peter Dean, Phil Salinger and Maureen Demasi (Scorer)

Behind: Ivy Sucich (Fryzop), Linda Page (Brownrigg), Joan Dye (Cohen), Joyce Nisbet (Shepherd), Frank Moss, Margie Nayler (Heweston), Joy Campbell (Heweston), Audrey Long (Barnaby) and Dorothy Lee (Whitely)

Meanwhile, back at Coralie’s party, the team responsible for the TVW production of ‘The Good Oil’ was represented by the director Max Bostock, author Coralie Condon, audio operator George Baker, floor manager John Easton, makeup artist Audrey Long and videotape operator Ken McKay. Audrey also appeared in the 1958 stage production, at a time when John Easton was the Playhouse stage manager.


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John Easton

Also present was the team responsible for the Johnny Young era ‘Club 7 Teen’ where Gordon McColl was the director, Lewese Shaw (O’Garr) the production assistant and Max Bostock the executive producer.


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George Baker with Gordon McColl

Interestingly, a number of ladies present had to leave TVW on marriage, due to the policy of the day. STW absorbed a significant number of former TVW women, as Channel 9 did not adhere to that archaic policy. Liz Kirkham and Audrey Long (Barnaby) were two present at the gathering, who moved to Channel 9, along with Lloyd Lawson, George Baker and cameraman/director Russell Sage. Liz was a youthful journalist and promotions person, who also dabbled in many other facets of television production in those early days. Meanwhile, Audrey had established the highly successful ‘Shopping Guide’ program, where her close association with the many advertising clients made this a good money spinner for the station. Particularly during the early years when advertising revenue was limited. There was an incredible amount of multitasking and innovation coming from the rank and file at TVW, when the station by necessity had to maintain a lean and efficient operation to survive the pioneering days of television in WA. A situation that was quickly turned around through hard work, astute management and an effective sales team.


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Russell Sage with Liz Kirkham


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Russell Sage with Richard Ashton

Amusingly, Coralie Condon often refers to herself as a ‘dogs body’ during those formative years. A term that barely describes the considerable value this first lady of TV was to the fledgling station. Coralie was not only an experienced stage producer, but also a seasoned actress on both stage and ABC radio, who was most adept at writing music and entertaining scripts. Coralie knew everybody who was anything in the theatrical and performing fields, so was an invaluable resource in marshalling the necessary talent to mount any form of television program production.


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Pixi Burke (Hale), Lewese Shaw (O’Garr), Liz Kirkham (Sorley) with Coralie Condon

Max Bostock was enticed to Perth by Brian Treasure, following an early program collaboration with Brian Williams. Treasure was a dynamic man with incredible powers of persuasion and salesmanship. It was the friendship between Treasure and Coralie which resulted in this Grande Dame of the theatre becoming a vital and intragal part of television too. Interestingly, it was Treasure who pushed Max Bostock into TV directing, when Max’s forte up until that point was as a musician, band leader, talent representative, conductor and music arranger. Max was always a people person who cultured a great team of program makers, including Richard Ashton, who was part of Max’s Special Events Unit. The creative section of TVW that was responsible for everything from Perth Entertainment Centre extravaganzas to Christmas Parades and the annual Telethon. Max went on to be Chief Executive Officer of TVW Enterprises when Sir James Cruthers was chairman of the board. On leaving TVW, Max was engaged by Rupert Murdoch to run the TEN Network, whilst Sir James played an important role with Murdoch’s News Corporation, both overseas and in Australia.


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Richard Ashton with George Baker

Singer, dancer and actress Pixi Burke (Hale) will be remembered not only for her stage performances but as one of the Channel Nine children’s program team along with Peter Harries and Veronica Overton, after making her TV debut years earlier as a young performer on Children’s Channel Seven. Pixi also appeared in the early Hole in the Wall theatre productions, and The Old Time Music Hall, followed by theatre restaurant presentations at Dirty Dicks. The most successful ventures of Frank Baden-Powell and Coralie Condon. Pixi also had the opportunity to work overseas and interstate, meeting and supporting many key performers of the day.


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Pixi Burke and Ken McKay

Rick Hearder is well known for his theatrical and radio performances as an actor. He too has a long friendship and association with Coralie Condon and the Frank Baden-Powell era. Rick has been a professional actor all his life, first performing in films and television in England and Germany with stage appearances on the West End, London’s famed theatrical district. Rick not only played the professional antipodean theatres, but also toured the state performing Shaw and Shakespeare to the schools. His association with the Playhouse and His Majesty’s goes back many years. Following which, The Old Time musical Hall became his second home. Rick recently appeared in David Williamson’s ‘The Removalists’ at the Playhouse.

John Easton was not only the stage manager at the Playhouse, but also toured with Rick Hearder, performing around the state. Both were early performers on the Children’s Channel Seven, before John took up full time employment with Seven as a highly valued floor manager.

Frank Baden-Powell was the original Artistic Director of the Playhouse Theatre in Perth, under the auspices of the National Theatre Company, a company which evolved from the amateur Reparatory Club and Perth’s first professional theatre company, The Company of Four. Coralie played a pivotal role producing for both thespian ventures, as well as her management committee involvement. She was also involved with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

Which ever way you look at it, there is a complex web of interconnections between the various performing arts, where Coralie was the glue that connects it all together during the early days of television and professional theatre in Western Australia.

Photos of the gathering were courtesy of Gordon McColl, with flashback images courtesy of Joy and Kevin Campbell.






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Coralie Condon (OAM)


Coralie Condon was raised on musical comedy, as her mother’s family were all singers. She was interested in theatre from an early age. Even while she was a ledger machinist with the Commonwealth Department of Works, she was producing shows at the Repertory Club in her spare time, involving an eclectic range of plays, revues and musicals. The Repertory Club had developed from humble beginnings in 1919, working out of a basement room at the Palace Hotel, and later, the old composing room of the Western Australian Newspaper Company. It was not long before Coralie became widely known in Perth theatrical circles for her work as an actress and producer.

In 1949, Coralie produced the award winning ‘Our Town’, a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder, for the WA Drama Festival and co-produced the highly successful ‘Bittersweet’ with Sol Sainken at His Majesty’s Theatre. ‘Bitter Sweet’ is an operetta in three acts written by Noel Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.

Coralie’s passion for musical comedy was reignited following her trip to England in 1950, for on her return she produced six revue shows called ‘On The Beam’ at the Repertory Club between 1951 and 1955.


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‘On The Beam’ humour

The scripts were written and the music composed by Coralie, with brother James Condon as the compere and cast of Hazel Lewis, Ian Millbank, Laurie Croisette, Harry Phipps, Gina Curtis, Kevin D’Alton, Noel de la Hunty, Lynne Clancy, Phillipa Howitt, Bernadette Pratley, Michael Cole, Robin Brennan, Toby Krantz, Judy Grace and many others, including several well-known ABC radio personalities.


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The cheeky ‘On The Beam’ team

Biddie Lawson was in charge of the ballet and took part in many dances whilst Harry Bluck and the Rhythmaires provided the music. The shows featured songs, sketches, dance sequences and were scattered with many comedic moments.


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‘On The Beam’ cast members Judy Grace and Gina Curtis

Coralie was also active in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Western Australia, which was established in 1951, and performed as an actor in ABC radio productions.

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In March 1954, Coralie produced ‘Ring Round The Moon’ by the French playwright Jean Anouilh for the Company of Four at the Somerville Auditorium, starring Harold Harvey and James Condon. ‘Ring Round the Moon’ is a 1950 adaptation by the English dramatist Christopher Fry of Jean Anouilh’s satirical play ‘Invitation to the Castle’ (1947). The ‘Company of Four’ was WA’s first professional theatre company of local artists set up after the war by Harold Krantz, Sol Sainken, Lily P. Kavanagh and Nita Pannell. John Birman, the Director of Adult Education was also most helpful.

In February 1955, Coralie produced ‘Mary of Scotland’ by the American playwright, author, poet, journalist and lyricist Maxwell Anderson for the Adult Education Board, at the Somerville Auditorium, starring Dorothy Krantz, Gina Curtis and James Condon. The play had been a hit on Broadway starring Helen Hayes in the title role. It was turned into a film in 1936, starring Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Queen of Scots.

In February 1956, Coralie Adapted Oscar Wilde’s ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’ a collection of short semi-comic mystery stories starring Frank Baden-Powell (with whom she formed a partnership in 1967 which resulted in a thriving trade in theatre restaurants).

Also this year, Coralie was called on to adjudicate at country drama festivals, during which time she met her lifelong friend Audrey Barnaby.



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Audrey Barnaby with Barry Michael in 1960

By this time, Coralie was a member of the committee of the Repertory Club, which become a fully professional theatre company called the National Theatre, following the move to The Playhouse at 3 Pier Street, Perth, on Wednesday 22 August, 1956, after the site of the former Church of England Deanery tennis court was transformed into a live performance theatre.


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The Playhouse theatre in Perth was designed by Krantz and Sheldon in 1956


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In 1957, Sol Sainken produced a play titled ‘Small Hotel’ by Rex Frost, which starred Garry Meadows and Frank Baden-Powell. Garry became a well known radio and television presenter both in Perth and in the eastern states, before his untimely death at 42.

In December 1957, Coralie produced ‘As Long as They are Happy’ by Vernon Sylvaine, a British musical comedy starring Margaret Ford, Ken Brougham and a cast of ten. It was a tribute to the author who only died the month before on November 22, 1957, age 61.

In February 1958, Coralie produced ‘George Washington Slept Here’ by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, which starred Ron Graham, Joan Bruce and a cast of seventeen at The Playhouse. It was a comedy about a couple of New Yorkers who purchase a dilapidated farmhouse where, according to rumours, George Washington spent the night. It was made into a movie in 1942 starring Jack Benny and Ann Sheridan, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.

Coralie then wrote ‘The Good Oil’ which was staged at The Playhouse in 1958. It was produced by Peter Summerton and the cast included Gerry Atkinson, Janice Beilby, Joan Bruce, Don Burgess, George Burns, Paula Cantello, Ron Graham, Philip Porter, Roland Redshaw, Neville Teede, Bert Shaw, Judy Schonell, Dorothy Wilson, Ron Barnaby and Audrey Barnaby. Following which Coralie introduced Audrey to television in early 1960. John Easton was the stage manager at The Playhouse, who later went on to floor manage the television production, which was broadcast by TVW seven years later.


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“Got The Dinkum Oil”


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‘The Good Oil’ was staged at The Playhouse in 1958

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“An Honest To Goodness Barbecue”


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Bert Shaw and Judy Schonell were the lead dancers

Cast member Ron Graham later appeared in many television roles and married the shows lead female dancer, Judy Schonell. Their son is the former Hollywood actor Marcus Graham, who most recently played Melbourne underworld figures in two Australian television dramas, 1995’s Blue Murder and 2008’s Underbelly. Marcus also lived with Nicole Kidman before she met Tom Cruise. Bert Shaw also married Dorothy Wilson. Bert Shaw, Dorothy Shaw (nee Wilson) and Judy Schonell formed three members of the Guys and Dolls dancers for TVW’s first variety show ‘Spotlight’. They were also joined on the TV show by Reg Whiteman, who had a remarkable career with TVW working as a favourite children’s character for a large number of years.


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Guys and Dolls

Coralie then went to Sydney and wrote children’s television programmes for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, before returning to Perth in 1959 where she was involved in talent selection for the opening of TVW Channel Seven on Friday October 16, 1959.


Coralie Condon – Western Australia’s first lady of television

WA TV History
Coralie Condon in the company of Audrey Long (Barnaby) and Richard Ashton (both off-camera) talks about her start in television during 1959. Coralie is also recognised as the Grande Dame of theatre in Western Australia.

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Coralie Condon, Beverly Gledhill, Lloyd Lawson with script assistant Penny Hoes auditioning television hopefuls at Newspaper House in St Georges Terrace, Perth


Coralie Condon – Dog impersonating Winston Churchill

WA TV History
Coralie Condon explains how an old schoolfriend brought along her dog to audition as Winston Churchill, during the earliest days of TVW Channel 7 in Perth, Western Australia.


In the 7 years Coralie worked with TVW on a permanent basis she produced children’s, women’s, nightly variety programs, then produced and later hosted a woman’s session. Meanwhile, she kept her hand in producing the occasional stage show.

In October 1960, Coralie produced ‘The Gondoliers’ for the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of WA, with Earle Nowotny as the musical director. (In the 1950’s and 1960’s Earle Nowotny was not only the musical director for a number of the Society’s productions, but also engaged by Coralie to appear on TVW Channel 7 in the program ‘Lets Build an Orchestra’.)


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Coralie Condon produced TVW7’s first afternoon women’s program called ‘Televisit’ which was initially directed by John D. Brown. The first presenter was Joan Wilson, though at one early point it was co-compered by Joan and David Farr.


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Joan Wilson hosting Televisit (photo by Gordon McColl)

It was a local ‘live’ program, shown mid-afternoon and considered to be a necessary service as part of TVW’s community responsibility. The late Lloyd Lawson described the show to Dr Peter Harries as,

“…like a visit to Joan’s own home. …with a fashion parade, a serial Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal, a six-minute feature on home safety by Health Education Council Director Mr. Jim Carr, a four-minute News by David Farr, Robin Harwood would play the piano, then conclude with Joan Wilson reading ‘listeners’ letters and answering their questions.”


By 1962, the Televisit hostess was Sandra McNab, but she had to retire because of pregnancy, then Coralie took over both producing and presenting, and the program gained considerable popularity due to her natural style.


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Former Televisit host Sandra McNab chats with Jeff Newman

Televisit was on Wednesday afternoons and had no live audience or live music during the early years. Audrey Barnaby’s Shopping Guide was also a segment in the show. Shopping Guide then appeared as a stand alone program on Thursdays, and during Lloyd Lawson’s ‘Today’ show.


Coralie Condon – The origins of ‘Televisit’

WA TV History
Coralie Condon produced TVW7’s first afternoon women’s program called ‘Televisit’ which was initially directed by John D. Brown. The first presenter was Joan Wilson, though at one early point it was also co-compered by Joan and David Farr.


In 1965, Stephanie Quinlan took over the Shopping Guide role, and later became the presenter of Televisit.

In 1964, it was back to the theatre part-time as Coralie produced WS Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’ at The Playhouse. The executive director was William Beecham and musical director was Alan Woodend.

Brian Treasure then announced that he wanted Max Bostock to produce and direct ‘The Good Oil’ for television, and asked for Coralie’s assistance writing the TV script based on her 1958 musical comedy, which premiered on The Playhouse stage in 1958. The show was recorded in 1964 and broadcast in 1965. Coralie was delighted when Jill Perryman accepted the lead with the choreography and male lead performed by Jill’s husband Kevan Johnston. It also starred: Margot Robertson, Vic Hawkins, Bill McPherson, John Chalton, Neville Teede, Philip Porter, Joan Bruce, Gerry Atkinson, Danni Harford and the Channel 7 Dancers Jennifer Hayden, Karen Obbs, Janet Ladner, Adrienne O’Meara, Gay Chandler and Clarice Page. Joan Bruce, Philip Porter, Neville Teede and Gerry Atkinson appeared in both the stage and television versions. Veronica Overton was also in the cast and went on to be a popular personality on STW Channel 9. The sets were designed by Brian Lever, technical direction by Alex Stewart, lighting direction by Pat Cahill, audio by George Baker (assisted by Vic Jones and Terry Green) and the floor manager was John Easton, who also made a brief appearance in the Western Australian produced show. The principle camera was Alan Richards, with Vinton crane driver Murray Kelso.


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‘The Good Oil’ Mansion Set


Got The Dinkum Oil

WA TV History
This is the opening number of ‘The Good Oil’ a musical comedy written by Coralie Condon and first performed on stage at Perth’s Playhouse Theatre in 1958. Following this, TVW Channel 7 in Perth broadcast the television version in 1965.


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Max Bostock checks out the Stock Exchange set

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Coralie checks out the Stock Exchange set

I’m Doing It All For You

WA TV History
This number was from the 1965 TVW Channel 7 production of ‘The Good Oil’ (a musical comedy written by Coralie Condon and directed by Max Bostock) which features Jill Perryman and Kevan Johnston.



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Alan Richards on camera with crane driver Murray Kelso. Terry Green on the microphone boom

An Honest To Goodness Barbecue

WA TV History
This number from the 1965 TVW Channel 7 production of ‘The Good Oil’ features the full cast in the barbecue song and dance and scene.


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The Dalkeith mansion set – shooting interior scenes


Watching The Market Rise

WA TV History
This number from the 1965 TVW Channel 7 production of ‘The Good Oil’ features the chorus.


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Rehearsing the barbecue scene


“Give Me 99 Good Reasons Why!” -and- “Dear Bunny”

WA TV History
Two numbers from the 1965 TVW Channel 7 production of ‘The Good Oil’ (a musical comedy written by Coralie Condon and directed by Max Bostock). The first song is titled “Give You 99 Good Reasons Why!” and features Kevan Johnston and the boys of the chorus. The second is titled “Dear Bunny” and starts with Clancy (Kevan Johnston) singing as he writes to Bunny, then segues into Bunny (Jill Perryman) singing in reply.



It’s Good Being Bad

WA TV History
A number from the 1965 TVW Channel 7 production of ‘The Good Oil’ which features Neville Teede, Joan Bruce and Philip Porter.


Coralie’s knowledge of the theatre, her music and producing skills and her many contacts proved invaluable to TVW. Sir James Cruthers described Coralie Condon to Dr Peter Harries as,

“…a very important cog in the TVW wheel… She was responsible for almost all the production we did, one way or another… quite unusual that a woman should do this in those days.”


She had the opportunity to employ her old theatre and musical pals Frank Baden-Powell and Harry Bluck as judges for a children’s talent quest. In those very early days of television, Frank took on a role we now associate with Simon Cowell of American Idol fame.


Coralie Condon – Frank Baden-Powell anecdote

WA TV History
Frank Baden-Powell was a close theatrical friend of Coralie Condon, who she engaged as a judge for a children’s talent quest.


Though a producer, writer and presenter for television, Coralie had always maintained contact with the stage and joined with Frank Baden-Powell to open the Old Time Music Hall in Perth in 1967. It did not take much persuasion when Frank, by now a well known theatrical entrepreneur, asked her to do the music for a show he was producing at the Hole in the Wall Theatre. It became an evening of old time music which proved very popular.


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Frank Baden-Powell


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2010 view of original 1960’s Hole in the wall Theatre and Club on the corner of Newcastle and Stirling Streets in Northbridge



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Frank Baden-Powell started The Hole in the Wall as an late night unlicensed Jazz Club which provided live music and served the member’s drinks with a corkage charge. Each member was provided a cloverleaf emblazoned key to gain access through the front door. In 1965. Frank Baden-Powell and John Gill established the Hole in the Wall Theatre next door in the old Braille Hall. The name was derived after Frank bashed a hole between the connecting wall to the club.

The full blown music hall concept opened first in Fremantle, and the following year at the Civic Theatre Restaurant (which later became Diamond Lil’s and then the Island Trader) and in 1970 they opened Dirty Dick’s Elizabethan Room, which spread nation wide, with premises in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and several regional centres. At one time there was even a Dirty Dick’s in Los Angeles. The theatre group also toured extensively throughout the country with a selection of about fifteen shows.


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In January 1993, Miss Coralie Grace CONDON, was awarded The Order of Australia (OAM) during the Australia Day honours ceremony, for service to the entertainment industry.

On Monday 4th October 2010, our humble TV heritage team descended on the Battye Library in Perth to research Coralie Condon’s contributions to theatre and television in Western Australia.


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Gordon McColl and Richard Ashton conduct research at the Battye Library

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Richard points out the crew members on the Dalkeith mansion set of the TVW production of ‘The Good Oil’

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Gordon views the behind the scenes activities on the Barbecue set

This was followed up on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th of October 2010, when our intrepid team was joined by Coralie Condon.


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Coralie with Allison Fyfe the Subject Specialist: Music at the State Library of Western Australia

Allison is presently preparing an exhibit at the library on Peter Piccini and the impact of other Italian musicians on Western Australia.


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Coralie with Barbara Patison the Manager: Collection Development at the State Library of Western Australia


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Coralie with the acclaimed director and teacher Ray Omodei at the Battye Library

Checking out the boxes of memorabilia that Coralie gifted to the library… photos, music, scripts, clippings, souvenirs, cassettes and videotapes.


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The lunch that followed the library visit…


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Pounding out a tune next day on Coralie’s piano


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Coffee with Ivan King (curator of the Performing Arts Museum) at His Majesty’s

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Gordon McColl with Ivan King

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Coralie and Gordon

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Richard Ashton with Coralie

Since the National Theatre Company’s closure in 1984, The Playhouse has been home to The Playhouse Theatre Company [1984–85], Western Australian Theatre Company [1985–1991] and Perth Theatre Company [1995 – present], now managed by AEG Ogden (Perth) Pty Ltd on behalf of the Perth Theatre Trust. As of 2010, the Black Swan State Theatre Company and the Perth Theatre Company will be the resident companies of the State Theatre Centre on the corner of William Street and Roe Street in Northbridge, ending its 16-year residency at the Playhouse. Now the wrecker’s ball is expected to swing through the 54-year-old Playhouse soon after its operations shift to the State Theatre Centre in January, 2011.


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The WA State Theatre Centre

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Heath Ledger Theatre seating

The design includes:

  • 575 seat Heath Ledger Theatre
  • 200+ seat flexible Studio Underground
  • The Courtyard, a multi-purpose outdoor space
  • spacious foyers and public amenities, including bar facilities for each performance space
  • associated rehearsal rooms
  • state-of-the-art theatre equipment.


The WA State Theatre Centre

NewsOnABC
The building of the Western Australian State Theatre Centre is almost finished.


Extract from Hansard [ASSEMBLY – Thursday, 17 June 2010] p4097a-4097a
Mr John Hyde
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN THEATRE PROFESSIONALS — RECOGNITION
Statement by Member for Perth
MR J.N. HYDE (Perth) [12.50 pm]: With the new Northbridge State Theatre Centre in my electorate nearing completion, we need to ensure that those champions of the Western Australian theatre who have kept the art form alive and flourishing over two centuries and many decades are acknowledged within our flagship theatre building. We need a creative honouring tableau, perhaps with odd names scattered on bricks throughout the building, or some other recognition medium so that all theatregoers will know about the inspiration and hard work that has preceded the completion of this building. Apologies to those whose names cannot be squeezed into a parliamentary 90-second statement, but we need to honour: Raymond Omodei, Jill Perryman, Edgar Metcalfe, Jack Davis, Jenny McNae, Faith Clayton, Ernie Dingo, Andrew Ross, Ros Barr, Aarne Neeme, Maurie Ogden, Sally Sander, Ivan King, John Aitken, Stephen Barry, Robert van Mackelenberg, Alan Becher, Joan Sidney, Coralie Condon, Frank Baden-Powell, John Gill, Jake Newby, Serge Tampalini, Robert Faggetter, Bernie Davis, Jenny Davis, Michael Loney, Bill Dunstone, John Milson, Geoff Gibbs, Elizabeth Caiacob, James Bailey, Margaret Anketell, Nancy Nunn, Margaret Ford, Dorothy Krantz, Nita Pannell, Lily Cavanagh and Anita Letessier. We should also honour the stalwarts of the Perth Repertory Club from the 1920s until the arrival of the Playhouse Theatre in the 1950s; and lest we forget one of my predecessors as member for Perth, Thomas Molloy, who built the first two theatres in Perth, including His Majesty’s Theatre. (The Royal Theatre in Hay Street was his first)