ASRA 2023 Conference
‘A Century of Radio Broadcasting’
Canberra, Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country and online
2-3 November 2023
Day 2
Friday, 3 November 2023
Conference Registration
8:30
Heather Gill, National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
9:15
Max Afford
In the 1930-40s, Max Afford was known for writing radio serials, particularly the Jeffrey Blackburn detective series and Hagen’s Circus. Join Senior Curatorial Officer Heather Gill as we explore the world of Max Afford (1906-1954), including clips from his home movies.
Heather Gill works in the Curatorial and Accessioning Team at the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) and has worked in the arts and cultural sector for almost 20 years. Passionate about social history, she finds working with audiovisual archives offers wonderful opportunities for exploring Australia’s society, culture and the stories we tell.Brendan Somes, State Library of New South Wales
9:45
John Henry Austral
In the twenty months prior to their December 1949 Federal Election victory, the Liberal Party funded over 200 episodes of a radio program featuring the fictional character ‘John Henry Austral’. The program played twice weekly over 80 stations around Australia. The program, created by the Liberal Party advertising agency Hansen-Rubensohn, is now viewed as a seminal work in political advertising. The State Library of New South Wales has the largest collection of John Henry Austral programs with over 200 gramophones that are currently being digitised.
The Library also holds scripts for the program. This presentation will tell the story of the creation of John Henry Austral, the gramophones that have carried the program for over 60 years and the broader context of the Library's program to review and preserve our audiovisual collections.
Brendan Somes works at the State Library of New South WalesMatthew Hopkins, National Archives of Australia
10:15
The Listening Room
Matthew’s presentation is on The Listening Room; an acoustic art program broadcast on ABC’s Classic FM from 1989 to 2003. This program produced radiophonic works in conjunction with critically acclaimed composers, writers, performance artists, electronic media artists and environmental sound recordists. Matthew will discuss a selection of works made for The Listening Room that are part of the National Archives of Australia’s audio collection, examining how these works explore radio as an artistic medium; a unique technological and conceptual sonic space that artists have experimented with over the course of Australia’s broadcast history.
Matthew Hopkins is an audio preservation officer at the National Archives of Australia (NAA), a community radio presenter/producer for the Listening Space program on Sydney’s Eastside Radio (89.7FM), and an independent sound artist that has created radiophonic works for Radiophrenia (Glasgow), Kunst Radio (Vienna), Resonance FM (London), and the international Radia network.Peter Kolomitsev, State Library of South Australia
11:05
Dulwich Calling: The Harry Kauper story
Two Wireless Technicians, Harry Kauper, (left), and Lancelot Jones (right) sitting beside a wireless receiver providing the music for the first Radio Dance in South Australia on Thursday 28 June 1923. Photograph by D. Darian Smith, (State Library of South Australia PRG 280/1/36/129).The life of Melbourne born Henry Alexis (Harry) Kauper, 1888-1942, was one of adventure and innovation. Moving to England in 1911 to pursue a passion for aviation, he competed in an air-race around the United Kingdom and designed the interrupting machine-gun mechanism for Sopwith aeroplanes during World War I.
Returning to Australia after the war, he was at the forefront of radio technology with nascent wireless broadcasts under experimental licence S643 in 1919. Crystal-sets across Adelaide tuned in to his popular “Dulwich Calling” program. As chief engineer for radio stations across the country, he was called the engineer’s engineer. He pioneered film sound for Australian news reels, and radio communications for the Australian Air Force.
Despite his unassuming nature, Harry Kauper’s contribution to Australian radio, sound recording, film, and national security, cannot be underestimated. This is the story of a true Australian legend.
Peter Kolomitsev is an Audio Visual Preservation Coordinator at the State Library of South Australia.James Aitchison
11:35
More Drama Than You Heard on Air
From 1940, hundreds of radio serials and dramas were recorded every week by ten production houses in Sydney, and five in Melbourne.
But who wrote the scripts?
Answer: only a handful of writers!
Jim Aitchison takes you behind the scenes at Grace Gibson Radio Productions. Writing for the legendary Grace was tough. What were her unique demands and restrictions? Why did every serial need a "bitch"? What did a young writer learn from sales manager Reg James and producer John Woodward? Every episode called for 8 pages of dialogue — that's 800 pages per 100 episodes — how did writers keep track of the plot and maintain the standard despite the deadlines? What happened when major characters needed "time off"? There was more drama than you heard on air as scripts were rushed into the studio — just in time!
Jim Aitchison wrote for Grace Gibson, ABC school broadcasts, Channel 7's Mavis Bramston Show, and Don Lane. His children's books have sold over 3 million copies, and are now a Netflix series titled MR MIDNIGHT: BEWARE THE MONSTERS. He wrote two books with Reg James: YES, MISS GIBSON and A THEATRE IN MY MIND. He also made time to work in advertising.Sarah Johnston
12:05
Aotearoa on the air: New Zealand's first experiences of radio broadcasting
On the evening of 17 November 1921, an experimental broadcast of voice and music was made from Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand. It marked the beginning of radio broadcasting in Aotearoa, a nation which was to become one of the world’s most enthusiastic early adopters of the new medium. By the end of the following year, there were 10 radio stations established throughout the country, and soon, government legislation would organise and regulate the infant industry. Sound history researcher Sarah Johnston will present recordings and oral history memories of New Zealand’s first broadcasts and early radio stations, with archival audio courtesy of Radio New Zealand and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.
Sarah Johnston is a former radio broadcaster, journalist and sound archivist. For five years she presented a weekly Sound Archives programme on Radio New Zealand National, exploring aspects of the country’s history through archival broadcast recordings. She is now an independent sound history researcher, currently investigating the work of New Zealand’s World War II mobile broadcasting units. When not listening to the war, she is co-ordinator at the Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury, in Ōtautahi Christchurch.Dr Ros Bandt
1:50
The gift of Radio and how it has facilitated her experimental soundart career over four decades
In this paper Ros looks at how the wonderful worlds of Radio have sourced every aspect of her diverse and continually evolving career. From early experimental music programs, live to air concerts, international commissions, airplay and interviews, major residencies, international live to air performances, the innovative and daring producers and engineers helped her to realise her audible dreams: flying spatial sounding artworks and swimming in a sea of sound. Together they made the impossible happen. Audible highlights will be played, including MIRAGE and STACK.
Dr Ros Bandt is an International Australian Sound Artist. Her bio can be listened to here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcfVr4j5SEQ
2020 Richard Gill award for distinguished services to Australian Music
2021-22 she was awarded the Fellowship for Emerging and experimental music, Australia Council
Her full bio can be heard here www.rosbandt.com/bio Natalie Cassaniti, Alysha Connor and Chris Redman, Powerhouse
2:20
Broadcasting Stories: Exploring the Powerhouse and its Link to Australian Radio Broadcasting History
Power House Museum Station VK2BQK from Amateur Radio [magazine] September 2011. Photo courtesy of MAAS and Ian O’Toole.This presentation aims to underscore the importance of the Powerhouse in preserving Australian radio broadcasting history and engaging the public with its rich heritage. It delves into the history of the Powerhouse amateur radio station VK2BQK and explores its influence on the museum, technological innovations and community engagement. The presentation will also showcase the Ron Cameron archive of radio hardware which offers valuable insights into the evolution of Australian radio broadcasting technology, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of radio's historical development. The presentation will conclude with examples of the Powerhouse’s contemporary broadcast initiatives such as the recent Powerhouse Late: AI (radio play) event and the 100 Climate Conversations podcast.
Natalie Rose Cassaniti is the Digitisation Registrar Team Lead at the Powerhouse, Sydney. Her work involves developing and coordinating projects and workflows centred on the digitisation of Powerhouse's unique collection objects. She has an extensive background in cultural collections management, with particular interest in film and sound collections and has just completed an International Specialised Skills Institute Fellowship focussed on AV Archiving. She is also a Vice President of ASRA.Alysha Rose Connor is the Variable Media Archivist for the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Her work involves the documentation, conservation, digitisation and storage of the museum’s complex institutional variable media collection, for long term preservation and future use. Alysha is also completing her PhD, which explores the relationship between Museums, video games and the gaming community.Chris Redman is the Variable Media Conservator at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum. With a background in digital preservation Chris has helped identify, catalogue, and digitise thousands of Variable Media objects within the collection during his tenure at the museum. Chris is an emerging professional in the digital conservation and preservation fields and is committed to building the reputation of Powerhouse as digital leaders in the industry, focusing on preservation, emulation and access.Dr Jennifer Bowen, ABC Friends
2:50
100 years of radio in 100 seconds: listening back, looking forward
Radio has been a hugely popular medium throughout its one hundred years in Australia, but recent developments in digital technology and audience behaviour have led many to wonder if broadcasting’s future may not last as long. To mark 100 years of radio, the organisation ABC Friends is partnering with the Eureka Centre Ballarat in late November to stage a frank discussion on the past, present, and future of the medium. The event is planned to open with a montage of radio’s history in sound and image. Many histories of radio are words on a page – how effectively might sound take on the task? In this talk, I will discuss the selection of clips for the centenary montage, which are chosen to set an agenda for discussion of the future as much as revel in nostalgia for the past
Dr Jennifer Bowen worked for many years as a radio producer at the BBC World Service and more recently, as a freelance producer for ABC Radio National. In 2018, she completed a PhD in radio history at Melbourne University, ‘A Clamour of Voices: negotiations of power and purpose in spoken-word radio 1923–42’. She has been a lecturer in audio production and journalism studies at Monash University’s School of Film, Media and Journalism. Natalie Cassaniti
3:40
ISSI Fellowship
In 2020, Natalie was awarded the Italian Australian Foundation Fellowship by the International Specialised Skills Institute, which supports Italian Australians with professional development, to become a leader in their field of interest. The Fellowship was awarded on the basis that there was a genuine need of skills in Australia and that learnings would be disseminated within the relevant industry.
The Fellowship was conducted in the United States of America for 2.5 months, where she visited leading AV archives in 2022
The purpose was to enhance her collection management, conservation & restoration and digitisation skills through practical experience, observation and discussions, and foster connections with overseas AV institutions and experts. By sharing her knowledge, skills and experience with the AV community in Australia, Natalie hopes to inspire other archivists, increase knowledge and awareness, and strengthen collaboration and networking across institutions.
Natalie is currently the Registrar Team Lead for the Digitisation Team at the Powerhouse, where establishes digitisation workflows and projects and manages a team of seven registrars who assist the photographers with object handling and administration. Previously she managed City of Parramatta’s Cultural Collections for three years. Before that, she worked as an Assistant Conservator at the State Library of NSW where she developed her AV conservation and preservation knowledge and skills. During this time, she undertook a short contract as a Preservation Officer at the ABC, digitising, inspecting and cataloguing film and sound collections. ASRA Awards Presentations
4:10
Each year ASRA presents an award for dedication, excellence and outstanding contributions to Australasian recording heritage.