ABC WA |  Television | History

The original studio at Supreme Court Gardens in Perth
Rose Hill House at 191 Adelaide Terrace
Work at 191 Adelaide Terrace is underway
The first Outside Broadcast van off-loaded at Fremantle.
Earl Reeve during a 1970 reconstruction of May 7 1960
Black & white camera with 5 fixed lenses on rotating turret.

The Beginning

Western Australia has eight ABC centres servicing listeners and viewers across a landmass of 2.5-million square kilometres. As Australia’s largest state, Western Australia has a multitude of audience interests, and the demands of providing dynamic and relevant broadcasting to local communities is enormous.

The WA branch of the ABC began life in 1932 in a tiny house on the edge of the Supreme Court Gardens in Perth.

The Commission had acquired the local commercial station 6WF from farm supplier and retailer, Wesfarmers whose transmissions had largely been aimed at selling wireless sets to the new audience.

It was the first time the station’s listeners heard a variety of programs. These make-shift premises were to last for 26 years before the present multi-studio complex at Rose Hill, 191 Adelaide Terrace was built in 1958.

This purpose-built facility not only provided a home for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra but numerous rehearsal and recording studios.

The WA radio network was extended across the state during these first three decades, including the introduction of a regional service and Station 6WN. Television came to WA in 1960, with the ABC closely following TVW channel 7 in the race to be the first on air.

Construction began on a site between the Rose Hill radio studios and the Swan River and on 7th May 1960, ABW channel 2 Perth transmitted to West Australians for the first time. By the 1960s and early 70s, the ABC employed almost 800 people in WA - mainly in Perth and a few major country towns.

Despite the large reduction in staff numbers since that time and an increase in the number of ABC centres - programming quality has been maintained.

To achieve this, the branch’s staff today draw on a wealth of experience, qualifications and knowledge. Most operational and production staff are multi-skilled, performing a number of different functions in any one day.

Western Australians are very focused on local issues, a genuine state-wide presence is something our country viewers demand from their National Broadcaster. Additionally, our services to rural listeners are enhanced by comprehensive information about market prices and rural trends.

With such a large farming and mining population throughout the state, this is a priority for the ABC in Western Australia.

The ABC in Western Australia has come a long way since its early days. We now produce programs for our Metro Station 720 ABC Perth, Radio National, ABC Classic FM and Triple J. Television production in the branch is also nearing an all time high.

Email us: abctvperth@your.abc.net.au