-
First Feature Film
Australia created its first feature film in 1906, "The Story of the Kelly Gang", based on the legend of famous Australian outlaw and bushranger Ned Kelly. The silent film was originally an hour long, making it the longest movie narrative at that time. It premiered at the Melbourne Athenaeum Hall, on the 26th of December, and was afterwards first shown in the United Kingdom January of 1908. -
First Radio Broadcast
Ernest Thomas Fisk of the AWA organised the first radio broadcast in Australia on the 19th of August, 1919. This began the contribution of radio to Australia and its pop culture. -
Opening of the First Public Radio Station
Following the public's demands for the commencement of Australian radio broadcasting, showing the impact the idea had made. The government set up a licensing system and two stations were established in Sydney- one on the 23rd of November 1923, the other on the 9th of January 1924. This meant that Australia could now listen to broadcasts direct from their own country, and the community and culture was affected by this. -
Australian Broadcasting Company is Nationalised
The Australian Broadcasting company was nationalized in 1932 by the Australian Broadcasting Commissions Act. This meant that they were more accessible to the public and what citizens wanted to be broadcast. The company was funded by listeners' license fees up until the 1970's. -
First Australian Movie wins Oscar
Ken G Hall, the chief director at Cinesound Review, was awarded the first Australian Oscar for the 1942 movie 'Kokoda Front Line!', a film depicting war experiences of Australian troops along the Kokoda track in the jungles of New Guinea, during WWII. This further legitimized and certified the Australian film industry as a whole. -
First Colour Movie
The Film division produced the first fully Australian-funded feature-length colour film in 1954, a documentary on the Queen's visit titled "The Queen in Australia". -
Transistor Radio on the Market
The transistor radio first appeared on the Australian market in1954. This model was increasingly more portable and transportable than ever, and the sets became cheaper, smaller and far more convenient, meaning more people could afford to buy them and it was easier to use them all the time, as their intention was to spread radios to every room, car and person. This meant that the audience listening to radio broadcasts notably increased. -
ABC begins television broadcasting
The federal television act was passed in 1953, which providing the framework for commercial television channels. After three years of preparations, ABC television began broadcasting. The new cultural experience of television resulted in a dramatic decline in cinema attendance. TV quickly transformed to be one of the most popular and influential forms of entertainment in the country. Originally 80% of the content shown came from the US, enabling those themes and culture to influence viewers. -
Top 40 in Australia
With the rising competition of television taking radio's most popular programs, radio was beginning to fade out. However, the Sydney station 2UE pushed to continue by adopting a new format that the U.S.A. had created- 'Top 40'.The most popular songs were played in a countdown pitched at a younger target audience. The idea quickly caught on, with other stations following their lead, and within a year this led to music dominating radio airwaves in Australia. -
Color introduced to TV
While colour TV had already been introduced to the United States in 1954, colour television manufacturers only arrived in the early 60's. in 1972 it was announced that colour TV would arrive in 1975, heralding the appearance of commercials and advertisements for those televisions.
