1960-1969

slider_1960s
1965: Don Lane and Graham Kennedy performed a duet in a split-screen telecast between Sydney and Melbourne via the coaxial cable that linked the two cities

As could be expected, television was warmly received in Australia. While a lot of the faces on our screens were still predominantly imported, the Australian identity was slowly but surely making itself known in the new medium. Hit shows like Bandstand, IMT, Homicide and The Mavis Bramston Show were making their mark in Australian popular culture.

Bob Dyer

1960:

  • Highlights of Graham Kennedy’s In Melbourne Tonight are screened interstate as The Graham Kennedy Channel Nine Show
  • New TV stations: ABS2 Adelaide (11 March), ABW2 Perth (7 May), TVT6 Hobart (23 May), ABT2 Hobart (4 June).
  • July: Frank Packer’s Consolidated Press (proprietor of TCN9, Sydney) acquires a controlling interest in GTV9, Melbourne, forming Australia’s first commercial television “network”.
  • November:  The Postmaster-General announces the thirteen successful applicants to operate the first stage in the roll-out of commercial television to regional areas in New South Wales (including Canberra), Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Graham Kennedy (In Melbourne Tonight, GTV9)

1961:

Lorrae Desmond

1962:

  • New TV stations: NBN3 Newcastle (4 March), CBN8 Orange (17 March), WIN4 Wollongong (18 March), BTV6 Ballarat (27 April), RTN8 Lismore (12 May), TNT9 Launceston (26 May), CTC7 Canberra (2 June), DDQ10 Toowoomba (13 July), TNQ7 Townsville (1 November), ABC3 Canberra (18 December).
  • Variety program Revue ’61, produced at ATN7, is sold to the Canadian CTV network. It is believed to be the first Australian production sold to an overseas network for prime-time screening.
  • March: The Government announces that an additional commercial television station will be licenced for each of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Later (17 April) it was announced that the new Sydney and Adelaide stations will be licensed to broadcast on Channel 10, the Melbourne and Brisbane stations on Channel 0, and the new Perth station on Channel 9.
  • July 1: Station affiliations change. GTV9 and TCN9 align to form the National Television Network (now the Nine Network) along with QTQ9 and NWS9; HSV7 and ATN7 align to form the Australian Television Network (now the Seven Network) along with BTQ7 and ADS7. TVW7, being the sole commercial TV station in Perth, remains independent of network affiliation.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Tommy Hanlon Jnr (It Could Be You, GTV9), Lorrae Desmond (The Lorrae Desmond Show, ABC)

1963:

  • New TV station: RTQ7 Rockhampton (7 September).
  • ABC launches its first regional stations
  • February 4: ATN7 Sydney premieres an Australian version of pre-school program Romper Room. The show continues for 25 years.
  • November: TCN9 and GTV9 are connected via coaxial cable, allowing the instant sharing of news stories and programs between both cities.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Michael Charlton (Four Corners, ABC)

1964:

  • New TV stations: RVN2 Wagga Wagga (19 June), AMV4 Albury (7 September)
  • August 1: Melbourne’s third commercial TV station, ATV0, is opened by Ansett Transport Industries. The first program is This Is It! presented live from studios in the Melbourne suburb of Nunawading.
  • October: Coverage of the 1964 Olympic Games from Tokyo is provided by ABC and commercial stations, in co-operation with the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), compiling daily 30-minute reports from Tokyo and rushed to Australia for transmission within 24 hours.
  • October 20: HSV7 screens the first episode of a new Melbourne-produced police drama, Homicide. It becomes a huge success and runs on the Seven Network for 510 episodes over 12 years.
  • November 11: Comedy revue series The Mavis Bramston Show debuts on ATN7, Sydney.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Bobby Limb (Sound Of Music, Nine)
Jimmy Hannan

1965:

  • New TV stations: NRN10 Coffs Harbour (23 January). TEN10 Sydney (5 April), NEN9 Tamworth (10 April), WBQ8 Maryborough (10 April),  STW9 Perth (12 June), TVQ0 Brisbane (1 July), SAS10 Adelaide (26 July), STV8 Mildura (27 November), CWN6 Dubbo (1 December), MTN9 Griffith (15 December)
  • TV Spells Magic, a lavish variety production with over 150 performers and extras, is the highlight of opening night for TEN10 and is relayed to ATV0 and regional stations.
  • The Independent Television System, Australia’s third commercial television network, is formed between TEN10, ATV0, TVQ0 and SAS10. The network is later re-named the 0-10 Network.
  • September: Showcase, promoted as Australia’s richest talent quest, begins a five-year run.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Jimmy Hannan (Saturday Date, Nine)

1966:

  • New TV stations: SDQ4 Southern Downs (26 February), SES8 Mt Gambier (25 March), ECN8 Taree (27 May), FNQ10 Cairns (7 September)
  • Australia starts to receive daily news reports via satellite.
  • An Australian version of Play School, based on the BBC production of the same name, begins on ABC.  Here’s Humphrey begins its long run on Nine.
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Gordon Chater (The Mavis Bramston Show, Seven)

1967:

  • New TV stations: BTW3 Bunbury (10 March)
  • April 10: ABC’s controversial nightly current affairs program This Day Tonight begins.
  • June: Australia takes part in two global satellite telecasts: Our World, a two-hour telecast screened simultaneously in 30 countries and included segments produced in 18 countries including Australia, and Expo 67 a live telecast highlighting Australia’s contribution at Expo 67 in Montreal.
  • June 15: ATV0 produces the first colour TV program on Australian television when it televises the Pakenham racing in colour.
  • August 28:  ABC’s popular evening series Bellbird premieres. A huge hit in the country, but only a moderate success in the cities, it ran until 1977.
  • September 16: The NSW Rugby League Grand Final is telecast live for the first time
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winners: Graham Kennedy (In Melbourne Tonight, Nine) and Hazel Phillips (Girl Talk, 0-10). The first TV Week Logie Awards presentation hosted by Bert Newton.
Brian Henderson

1968:

Fredd Bear’s Breakfast A Go-Go

1969:

  • January: Sydney channels ATN7 and TCN9 launch competing breakfast news shows, Sydney Today and Today respectively.
  • February: The Government announces that Australia will adopt the European PAL colour TV standard, instead of the American NTSC system.
  • March 8: The world title fight between Lionel Rose and Alan Rudkin becomes the most watched telecast in Australian television history.
  • March 11: Crawford Productions and GTV9 launch Division 4, a new police drama.
  • April 28: Fredd Bear’s Breakfast-A-Go-Go, with Judy Banks and Fredd Bear, starts a successful run on ATV0.
  • July: Australian television broadcasts live coverage of the Apollo 11 moon landing. GTV9 extends transmission to 24 hours a day for the duration of the Apollo 11 mission to include live coverage.
  • December 23: Graham Kennedy presents his final In Melbourne Tonight
  • TV Week Gold Logie Winner: Graham Kennedy (In Melbourne Tonight, Nine)
Eric Pearce crowns Graham Kennedy “the King” on Kennedy’s last In Melbourne Tonight