On 15 August 1945, the Japanese Empire surrendered to the Allies, ending hostilities in the Pacific – World War II was over. 3DB announcer Eric Welch ventured onto the streets of Melbourne to capture the historic moment as millions gathered to celebrate victory.

What this recording captures – more than the newsreels or newspaper accounts of the day – is the sense of unrestrained joy felt by the ordinary Australians who can be heard in the background: laughing, cheering and told repeatedly by Welch himself not to jump onto the outside broadcast van lest it fall over.

History is captured as it's happening, a rare quality among radio broadcasts of the period. It's that for that reason, as much as the event itself, that this recording is of such historic significance.

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