Bobo the Clown visits the Heinz food factory in Adelaide. Children gather at the entrance of the factory and Bobo greets them and the officials. He then takes a tour and rides a fork lift and proceeds to hand out party bags to the children.

The children wear party hats with the 'Heinz 57' slogan, introduced by Henry J Heinz in 1896 throughout the world.

By the mid 1960s Bobo’s popularity was at its peak. Turner was frequently mobbed by large crowds at public appearances. 'Playmates’ could become members of The Bobo Club and throughout Hal Turner's scrapbooks there are numerous letters children wrote to Bobo.

As Bobo's popularity grew, so did the range of Bobo-related merchandise. These two dolls appear to be commercial items that have been 'refitted' to look like Bobo. Note that their noses are red whereas Bobo's nose was blue. They could be Bozo the Clown dolls, based on the famous American clown.

This clip from Hal Turner's home movies includes footage of him performing as Bobo the Clown with his daughter Gail as Lenny the Lion. The footage also shows his wife, Pearl, setting up a stall at the Adelaide Show and Turner celebrating his wedding anniversary.

As Bobo, Hal Turner first appeared in an ensemble cast on NWS9’s children’s program, The Channel Niners. In addition, Turner also wrote, produced and acted in the station’s Christmas pantomimes including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin. He was also hosting two radio programs as Bobo and wrote a newspaper column. Bobo quickly became a household name, first in Adelaide and then nationally.

Turner left NWS9 and began a five-month publicity campaign of public appearances, radio interviews, charity work and special events for the soon to be launched SAS10. Meanwhile at NWS9, Bobo’s old station, Rex Heading was developing a new character, Humphrey B Bear. The iconic children’s TV character first appeared on Here’s Humphrey on 24 May 1965 and ran until 2008 as the second-longest-running children’s TV program in the world. 

As Bobo's popularity grew, a range of merchandise was created including Bobo-branded cordial in lemon and lime flavours.

In this filmed oral history from 2000, Rex Heading recalls working with Hal Turner's Bobo the Clown at NWS9 and creating Humphrey B Bear when Turner left the station to star in his own show on rival network SAS10.

Rex Heading was a junior announcer on radio at 5KA in Adelaide with an interest in radio drama. He became one of the first staff appointed to Adelaide’s first television station, NWS9, owned by a 28-year-old Rupert Murdoch, when it was preparing to launch in 1959. Heading was seeking talent for the new station and eventually worked with emerging artists such as Graham Kennedy, the Bee Gees and Ernie Sigley.

Hal Turner joined NWS9 as a writer and head comedian for the Adelaide Tonight show. With an eye to children’s programming, Rex Heading approached Turner to develop a character that would appeal to a younger audience. At first Turner was reluctant, feeling that it would negatively impact on his reputation as a performer, but he was eventually persuaded and became one of the first recognisable characters on children’s television, Bobo the Clown.

As Bobo, Hal Turner first appeared in an ensemble cast on NWS9’s children’s program, The Channel Niners. In addition, Turner also wrote, produced and acted in the station’s Christmas pantomimes including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin. He was also hosting two radio programs as Bobo and wrote a newspaper column. Bobo quickly became a household name, first in Adelaide and then nationally.

Turner left NWS9 and began a five-month publicity campaign of public appearances, radio interviews, charity work and special events for the soon to be launched SAS10. Meanwhile at NWS9, Bobo’s old station, Rex Heading was developing a new character, Humphrey B Bear. The iconic children’s TV character first appeared on Here’s Humphrey on 24 May 1965 and ran until 2008 as the second-longest-running children’s TV program in the world. 

A blue cape worn by Hal Turner when performing as Bobo the Clown in the early 1960s.

Slippers worn by Hal Turner when performing as Bobo the Clown in Adelaide in the early 1960s.

Bobo the Clown costume worn by Hal Turner during the first half of the 1960s.

Bobo the Clown with a group of Aboriginal men holding spears, boomerangs and a woomera. This image was taken in the 1960s at the height of Bobo's popularity and appears in one of Hal Turner's scrapbooks.