All titles produced by ABC
184 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next
1940s
Majestic Fanfare music – 1943
The original 1943 recording of the ABC’s much loved ‘Majestic Fanfare’, used in various forms since 1952 to introduce news broadcasts.
Theme From ‘Blue Hills’ radio – 1949
This is the theme from the long-running ABC radio serial Blue Hills (1949–76).
1950s
Corroboree music – 1950
Incorporating Indigenous themes, this Australian orchestral work achieved international recognition.
Australian Walkabout television program – 1958
The Chauvels, on a filmmaking safari of Australia, travel through the Northern Territory to Rum Jungle for a privileged look inside a uranium mine.
A Town To Be Drowned television program – 1958
This ABC program was one of the first homemade documentaries on a contemporary local subject to be seen on Australian television, and previously thought to have been lost.
Kindergarten Playtime television program – 1959
In 1959, two years after the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite is launched, Australia’s first pre-school television show tackles space travel.
1960s
Mr Squiggle and Friends – Episode 148 television program – c1960
Mr Squiggle is one of the most recognised children’s television characters. Although no longer on air, he continues to appear at exhibitions and science fiction conventions.
ABC Children’s TV Club – Monday Showcase television program – 1961
The iconic Children’s Hour on ABC radio morphs into television. This episode features artist Jeffrey Smart and Aroora the Red Kangaroo.
Dancing Orpheus television program – 1962
This black-and-white nature program from the earliest years of ABC TV features the unique lyrebird. Narrated by John West, it won an AFI Gold Award in 1963.
Interview with Archbishop Mannix television program – 1962
Interviewed at age 97, Dr Daniel Mannix, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, was a man of considerable influence in Australian public life.
Wambidgee television program – 1962
An early children’s animated puppet series about the adventures of a young Aboriginal boy living in the bush.
With Gentle Majesty television program – 1962
The high point of the Melbourne Royal Agricultural Show each day is the Grand Parade. The initial languid pace of the filming and editing nicely underscores the images of the huge, slow-moving workhorses.
The Land That Waited television program – 1963
This remarkable documentary tells the early history of colonial Australia through etchings, paintings and drawings produced by the first colonists.
The Pearl Fishers television program – 1963
This black-and-white television production of the opera was one of the earliest performances ever broadcast on the ABC and one of the most elaborate.
Poetry In Australia – Judith Wright television program – 1963
This simple, talking heads interview is most informative and a delight to watch. It is a must-see for students of Judith Wright’s work and fellow poets.
An Airman Remembers television program – 1964
This early ABC documentary is about Sir Gordon Taylor, a fighter ace in the First World War and one of the pioneers of aviation in Australia.
A Changing Race documentary – 1964
An insightful portrait of Aboriginal people in Central Australia in the 1960s, highlighting their experience of racial discrimination and their integration in non-Aboriginal society.
The Legend of Damien Parer television program – 1964
The life of the legendary Australian combat cameraman Damien Parer, through the eyes of those who knew him and through footage shot before his death in action in 1944.
The Stranger – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1964
A stranger with an accent, amnesia and seemingly no heartbeat arrives at the home of the Walsh family in Australia’s first science–fiction series.
Divine Service – Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic Church, Rose Bay television program – 1965
Divine Service was first broadcast in 1956, the first year of television in Australia. In a packed church, everyone is dressed in their Sunday best for the ABC.
In the Head the Fire radio – 1966
This radiophonic piece written by composer Nigel Butterley in 1966 won the prestigious Prix Italia and set a benchmark for radio in Australia.
Mister Prime Minister – Alfred Deakin television program – 1966
A biography of Alfred Deakin, Prime Minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908 and from 1909 to 1910.
Mister Prime Minister – Joseph Aloysius Lyons television program – c1966
A profile of Joe Lyons, Prime Minister of Australia from 1932 to 1939.
Wandjina! – Episode 5 television program – 1966
Strange events occur when people search for two boys missing in the bush.
Australian Visit television program – 1967
Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations were timed to coincide with the five-day visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam and his wife in 1967.
Irkanda IV music – 1967
This is a 1967 recording of the first major work by leading Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe.
A Big Country – Peninsula People television program – 1968
An early episode of this iconic series. A Big Country aimed to bring country Australia into the lives of urban Australians.
Dig A Million, Make A Million television program – 1968
Lang Hancock, nicknamed ‘the flying prospector’ for aerial prospecting with his naked eye, and Peter Wright find Australia’s richest iron ore deposit.
Chequerboard – It’s Amazing What You Can Do With a Pound of Mince television program – 1969
The series brought to light the lives of individuals and families who had missed out on the benefits of Australia’s growing affluence in the 1960s.
Chequerboard – Too Much For Molony television program – 1969
Chequerboard introduces a 'fly-on-the-wall’ observational style. A Catholic priest leaves his order to live with one of his young parishioners.
Play School – Trains Thursday television program – 1969
An early episode of iconic pre-school program Play School featuring presenters Don Spencer, Anne Haddy and Ruth Cracknell.
1970s
Bellbird television program – 1970
Australia’s first successful national weekly serial, dealing with the lives and loves of ordinary people in a small country town.
Chequerboard – My Brown Skin Baby, They Take ‘im Away television program – 1970
This powerful film documents the impact of the government’s policy of removing light-skinned children from their Aboriginal mothers to be raised in Christian missions.
Dynasty – Have You Got the Numbers? television program – 1970
A drama series that revolves around the Mason family, owners of a media empire in the tradition of the real-life Packer and Murdoch clans.
Profiles of Power, HC Coombs television program – 1970
When Dr Coombs saw the unnecessary cruelty of the Great Depression and its terrible impact on ordinary people, he decided to dedicate his life to economics.
Monday Conference – PNG television program – 1971
In one of the earliest Monday Conference programs, Robert Moore moderates an interview with the impressive New Guinea politician John Guise.
Adventure Island – Episode 1174 television program – 1972
A successful children’s show set on the magical Adventure Island, a ‘land that’s far across the sea’.
The Aunty Jack Show – Series One television program – 1972
Grahame Bond’s Aunty Jack was a cross-dressing bikie hostess who threatened to jump out of viewers’ television sets and 'rip their bloody arms off’.
Chequerboard – It’s A Big Day In Any Girl’s Life television program – 1973
A 1970s country society wedding is contrasted with the union of two people living in the city who met on their way to work in a local shoe factory.
Monday Conference – Rhodesia or Zimbabwe television program – 1973
Out of the studio and into the community, Robert Moore interviews Senator Glen Sheil, just returned from Rhodesia, and Bishop Donal Lamont.
Seven Little Australians television program – 1973
This is a delightful and faithful adaptation of Ethel Turner’s iconic Australian story, Seven Little Australians, into a charming television series.
Why It Is So television program – 1973
Professor Julius Sumner Miller amazes and astounds his viewers with ‘light, optics and a brief adventure into modern physics’.
The Aunty Jack Show – Series Two television program – 1974
The Aunty Jack theme song was one of the earliest video clips, showcasing a great character and a memorable tune that stays with you.
Billy and Percy television program – 1974
Based on the diaries of Percy Deane, private secretary of Prime Minister WM Hughes during the conscription debates of the First World War.
The Fourth Wish television program – 1974
An obstinate single father struggles to grant his terminally ill son three wishes.
Torque – Series 1, Episode 8 television program – 1974
Peter Wherrett, a former racing car driver and motoring journalist, praises or blames car manufacturers without fear or favour.
A Big Country – On the Hook television program – 1976
An unusual departure for the A Big Country team as they examine the traumatic history and growth of the union that protects wharfie’s rights.
Certain Women – Episode 166 television program – 1976
The final episode of this long-running serial about a family of strong-minded women who take on a changing world in the 1970s.
In the Wild with Harry Butler – Lake Argyle television program – 1976
Harry Butler CBE, naturalist and environmentalist, explains how man-made Lake Argyle has changed the ecology of the Kimberley region forever.
In the Wild with Harry Butler – Scars on the Landscape television program – 1976
Harry Butler seems the archetypal bushie, with his khaki shorts and battered bushman’s hat. He doesn’t work to a script, but moves around the bush with a keen eye.
