page_title: History of broadcasting
section_title: Australia
hierarchical_section_title: History of broadcasting / 1950s and 1960s / Australia
caption_attribution_description: English: Image sourced from overnighters.com.au. Picture is pre-1952 (probably late 1930's).
context_page_description: It is generally recognized that the first radio transmission was made from a temporary station set up by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 on the Isle of Wight. This followed on from pioneering work in the field by a number of people including Alessandro Volta, André-Marie Ampère, Georg Ohm and James Clerk Maxwell.
  The radio broadcasting of music and talk intended to reach a dispersed audience started experimentally around 1905–1906, and commercially around 1920 to 1923. VHF stations started 30 to 35 years later.
  In the early days, radio stations broadcast on the longwave, mediumwave and shortwave bands, and later on VHF and UHF. However, in the United Kingdom, Hungary, France and some other places, from as early as 1890 there was already a system whereby news, music, live theatre, music hall, fiction readings, religious broadcasts, etc., were available in private homes [and other places] via the conventional telephone line, with subscribers being supplied with a number of special, personalised headsets. In Britain this system was known as Electrophone, and was available as early as 1895 or 1899 [sources vary] and up until 1926.
context_section_description: Norman Banks was one of Melbourne's (and Australia's) most prominent broadcasters at 3KZ (1930-1952) and 3AW (1952-1978). He is remembered for founding Carols by Candlelight, as a pioneer football commentator, and for hosting both musical and interview programs. In later years he was one of Melbourne's first and most prominent talk back hosts. At the commencement of his career, Banks was known for his double entendres and risque remarks; as a talk back host he was outspoken in his conservative views, especially regarding the White Australia policy and Apartheid. In 1978 his 47-year career in radio was hailed as the longest in world history. Not including the early television experiments (see above), mainstream television transmission commenced in Sydney and Melbourne in the latter part of 1956, that is, in time for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games in November/December 1956. It was then phased in to other capital cities, and then into rural markets. Many forms entertainment, particularly drama and variety, were considered more suited to television than radio, and many such programs were gradually deleted from radio schedules. 
  The transistor radio first appeared on the market in 1954. In particular, it made portable radios even more transportable. All sets quicklly became smaller, cheaper and more convenient. The aim of radio manufacturers became a radio in every room, in the car, and in the pocket. The upshot of these two changes was that stations started to specialise and concentrate on specific markets. The first areas to see specialised stations were the news and current affairs market, and stations specialising in pop music and geared toward the younger listener who was now able to afford his/her own radio. Talk back ("talk radio") became a major radio genre by the end of the 1960s, but it was not legalised in Australia until October 1967. The fears of intrusion were addressed by a beep that occurred every few seconds, so that the caller knew that his/her call was being broadcast. There was also a seven-second delay so that obscene or libelous material could be monitored. By the end of the 1960s, specialisation by radio stations had increased dramatically and there were stations focusing on various kinds of music, talk back, news, sport, etc.
caption: Naomi ("Joan") Melwit and Norman Banks at the 3KZ microphone, in the late 1930s.
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