THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION
TELEVISION.AU FLASHBACK #38: Weather Girls
There were times when presenting the weather on television was more for entertainment value rather than providing an in-depth weather analysis. Clockwise from top left: In the 1970s, SAS10 Adelaide's Helen Cutting was seen but never heard as she would write the temperatures on a large scale map of Australia - while subject to some less than subtle camerawork - as the newsreader read out the forecast. Adelaide favourite Anne Wills donned a bikini as part of a dare when presenting the weather at NWS9 in 1966, and thirty years later found an alternative to the bikini when presenting the weather at SAS7. And Melbourne's Robina Beard had her drawing skills put to the test in the 1960s as she illustrated the weather in front of the cameras at GTV9.
From Bandstand and Six O'Clock Rock to Countdown, MTV and Australian Idol, TV and popular music have grown up together.
Famously axed by the Seven Network after 170 episodes, and picked up by Network Ten, Neighbours has gone on to become Australia's longest running drama.
Australian TV was almost ten years old before the first police drama hit our screens. Since then, police and crime dramas have been almost a constant presence on TV.
For thirty years, viewers in regional areas in the eastern states had a limited choice of TV channels. Aggregation changed all & for the first time these viewers enjoyed the same choice as their capital city cousins.
February 1979
In February 1979, the launch of two very different but both popular and groundbreaking programs hit Australian TV screens.
Great OZ TV Flops
When you look back at the history of Australian TV it's easy to look only at the success stories, the shows that were groundbreaking, popular and successful. It's easy to forget the shows that didn't have such a long life, the ones that seemed "a good idea at the time".
40 Years of OZ SOAPS
From humble beginnings, Australians have seen soap operas evolve from wholesome fare in the fifties and sixties, through the sexual revolution of the seventies, the glitz and glamour of the eighties and the sun and surf settings of the nineties.
The Logies
From humble beginnings to becoming Australian television's night of nights - love them or loathe them, the Logies have survived when others have come and gone.
The Game Shows
In 1956, the first game show to appear on Australian television was TCN9's Name That Tune hosted by Bruce Gyngell. Since then, game shows have become a popular fixture with Australian viewers and have featured regularly and prominently
Number 96
In the 1970s, a new evening soap opera dared to shock on the night 'Australian television lost its virginity' and would set the pace for many others to follow.
SBS
From its beginnings in 1980, SBS promised it would provide programs aimed specifically at the growing number of Australian citizens for which English is not their native language, and would also reflect the various aspects of Australia's now multicultural society.
Classic TV Guides
TV listings from around Australia from the past five decades. Re-live some memories and see what Australian's watched in years gone by.
